Shopping Tips – Page 2

Off Season Shopping

Now is the time to shop for your winter items – no, it’s not a typo.

You can get great deals on off season items now. Think snowblowers, coats, heavy clothing, and so much more.

I saw a ski jacket I liked this winter. It was $200 – more than I wanted to spend. I kept an eye on it. In March it was reduced to $80 – not bad but I was hoping for more of a discount. Well in May it was down to $60. I was able to save $140 and get the coat I wanted for next season. It pays to shop off season. In addition, I will watch the price. If it goes down more in the next 30 days, I will bring it back for a price adjustment for the difference.

This is just one example of shopping off season. What are you thinking of buying?

Double (Sometimes Triple) Savings

If you are like me you love to save. Getting something for less makes my day. So imagine if you could save even more. Well I have done great this holiday time.

I have shopped online and in person and saved both ways. Just yesterday, I found the item I have been looking for with double the savings. I have been looking for a great multi purpose day tote / carry on. It has to do double duty to carry all my items as a carry on (needs to be sturdy and have pockets) and it has to double as a day tote for shore excursions (to handle all that’s needed on shore) and zip closed. I have been searching and looking for months – at the outlets, at the famous tent sale last week and found it online this weekend.

I tell you this because I wanted this and I wanted it at a bargain. First, it was on sale for 40% off, then the site offered free shipping and easy returns – a must. Then I found an additional discount with Honey to make the saving even greater.

Another example, I purchased windshield wiper blades with a discount coupon at the auto parts store. They installed them for free which is also great. I came home a found a rebate offer on the purchase of two blades and immediately completed the online rebate. I do this online so that I can keep track of the rebate status.

Yes, I do this with most of my shopping year round. Double and sometimes triple savings with coupons, cash back /rebate offers and credit card rewards all add up to savings. How are you saving with your shopping this holiday season?

Saving money daily – discounts

I love getting a discount. Don’t you?

When we grocery shop, we use coupons, meal plan and shop the sales. We eat healthy with any organic products, so there aren’t as many coupons as in the past. Yes, items do go on sale, but it can still be expensive.

Our grocery store gives us gas points. For every dollar we spend, we get points – 100 points is 10¢ off per gallon. Last weekend we saved 90¢ per gallon. That certainly helps our budget and can helpful to you.

Are you getting all the rewards possible? Learn more on discounts and rewards.

Christmas Holidays in July!

Save

Christmas Holidays in July! You may think I am going crazy but I have a plan. Now is the time to start to think about the holidays. You are at the mid-point of the year, which means there are 21 weeks to save between now and Black Friday.

This year Black Friday is November 24, Chanukah is December 13 and Christmas is December 25.

To stop the January debt hangover, start to save now and have the money you need by automating this process! Set it up once and then you will be at your goal in no time.

First determine how much you want to save and when you get paid (weekly, every other week, etc.). Calculate the amount you will need to save based on the paydays between now and Black Friday. Set up an automatic transfer from your checking to your savings account for the day after your direct deposit.

Do this now and you won’t be scrambling in November. You will be eating turkey for Thanksgiving knowing that you are all set with the cash for the holidays and won’t have to start January off with your holiday debt.

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Do apps and emails make you spend more?

Are you often tempted to make purchases you hadn’t planned to? Are you tempted by a sale that you were unaware of until you received an email? Was there an offer you couldn’t refuse?

Email is a part of our lives. But overspending doesn’t have to be. Take action to protect yourself from spend money that you didn’t need to. Unsubscribe from emails, deleted apps, don’t read sales flyers etc. Take the temptation away from your daily life and save your money for what you really want to spend it on.

Did you spend money you weren’t planning to because of an email or app?

Are you missing out on these rewards?

We saved $1.50 per gallon with our grocery store’s gas rewards program. Didn’t buy anything special, just our usual groceries. Paid $105.9 / gallon!

Saving Money Growing Our Own Vegetables

We save money with our own organic garden in the yard. We grow tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, squash, spinach, kale, broccoli, peppers, peas, string beans and more. This saves us money each and every week as we buy less at the store.

Spring Cleaning Your Finances

Spring is a great time of year! One of my favorites, as the weather turns warmer and the days are longer. For us, it means more time outside and that can be from getting my garden planted and the thrill of fresh vegetables right in my backyard, to having meals outside; either just us or with friends and family. We can open the windows to air out the winter stale indoor air and sleep comfortably with the windows open all night. It means exploring the outdoors, maybe taking a walk in a new neighborhood or park, picnics and movies in the park.

With spring comes weddings and graduations – new beginnings. This can be true for all of us, even if we don’t have a milestone event coming up.

Traditionally, spring makes me think of spring cleaning and tackling the heavier cleaning throughout the house. We can do the same for our finances. For the graduate, you can start them off with the gift of good finances – being able to start to plan their money and finance proactively and make planned purchases versus impulse buying. A great way to start would be the gift of my book, Cash Credit and Your Finances: The Teen Years.

For those who want to get your own finances back on track, 111 Ways to Save or Thrive In Five: Take Charge of Your Finances in 5 Minutes a Day will give you the push you need to get your finances in order.

You can order my books through my website or by order form. If you use the order form, you have the option of me personalizing the book. Just print the order form, fill out the recipient information section, and mail it to the address on the form or fax it to 203-504-7995. For the month of June 2017, we are also offering free shipping on all book sales that are ordered with the order form via mail or fax.

Click here to download the order form.

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Saving money with our garden

The first strawberries of the season! Organic, home-grown strawberries ready for the picking. All you pay for is the cost of the plants. These come back each year. Remember to use netting so the birds don’t get them first.

Stop buying these and replace with

Do you want to save some money? We have replaced dryer sheets with wool dryer balls. As an added bonus these have no harmful chemicals. For more money saving tips visit www.JillRussoFoster.com and subscribe to our blog.