One of the biggest tricks the retail sector pulls on consumers is convincing them that they can save money by buying sale items. Yes it’s true that buying something you need at a discounted price is surely advantageous but many of us are more inclined to forgo our financial savvy in the face of so-called “sale” items. Luckily there are three steps for ensuring that you are making good purchases and taking advantage of real sales.
Step 1: Do Your Research
We all know those certain stores where everything seems to be on sale all the time. While there are restrictions on what retailers are legally allowed to call sale items (usually requiring them to sell the items at “full price” for a certain number of days during the year) it can often be difficult to tell if a price is really discounted or fairly standard. This is where the internet comes in handy. By searching online for the products you’re considering buying you can not only compare prices across multiple retailers but also get a ballpark for what the item typically goes for.
Step 2: Calculate Your Target Price
Obviously few among us are disciplined enough to purchase only items we absolutely need — many of the goods we buy fall somewhere in the middle of the need-want scale. That’s fine as long as you access how much you are (or should be) willing to spend on a non-essential item. After you establish the typical going rate for an item you have your eye one, decide how much you’re willing to spend on it and what price would make it a good purchase for maximizing value.
Step 3: Wait It Out
Whether you choose to do weekly searches online to see if there are any price updates on your item or visit the retailer in person you’ll want to keep tabs on your potential purchase to see if there are reductions or available coupons. Some items you want will drop in price and reach your target but others will not — and that’s ok! Remember: if you weren’t willing to pay more it then you probably didn’t really need it anyway.
Although “sales” can be deceptive there are good deals to be had on items you may want to purchase. The trick is to outsmart the retailers and ensure that your decision to buy is a solid one. By following these three easy steps you’ll get to enjoy the thrill of splurging while still sticking to your budget.
I'm a small town guy living in Los Angeles looking to make solid financial decisions. I write for a number of finance websites, including HuffingtonPost and Business2Community. I founded DyerNews.com in 2015 to focus on personal finance and the emerging FinTech markets.
A FinTech that specializes in creating credit card experiences is rolling out some new features. This week, Marqeta announced what it calls a "significant expansion" of its credit platform. This includes more than 40 new credit APIs that will further help clients craft and launch their own credit card products. Additionally, the company notes an updated intuitive dashboard. Using this platform, businesses can create unique card options that can not...
The popular platform PayPal is rolling out a new product built specifically for small businesses. Today, the FinTech announced the launch of The PayPal Business Cashback Mastercard. The new card will be issued by WebBank and marks the first time PayPal has offered a business credit card. With the PayPal Business Cashback card, business owners will be able to earn 2% cashback on all purchases. This earning rate is not...
A new rewards credit card is on the way from Wells Fargo. Today, the bank introduced its Autograph card, which expands the company's refreshed card portfolio. In terms of rewards, the Wells Fargo Autograph Card will earn 3 points per dollar spent in a number of categories. These include restaurants, travel and transit, gas stations, select streaming services, and phone plans. All other purchases will earn 1x points. Beyond the...
Put simply, the value proposition of Pay with GasBuddy is that you can use a special card that's accepted at most gas stations in order to save a few cents off of every gallon of gas you buy. That sounds good — almost too good, if you think like me.
Over the past few months, I've been a bit torn. While I love saving money and keeping costs down, the convenience of grocery delivery has proven too powerful for me to resist. Now one of my favorite discount grocery stores is rolling out a better option with the introduction of Aldi Curbside Pickup. Yet, the question still remains: is this option actually worth it?
Over the past few years, the free credit score site Credit Karma has expanded into other aspects of finance. This includes offering an unclaimed funds finder as well as a free tax filing platform— which it recently announced would be sold off to Block Inc (formerly Square) when Intuit's purchase of Credit Karma is completed. Now, Credit Karma is rolling out a free checking account in the form of Credit...
A few short weeks ago, I shared my review of an app called Current Rewards that allows you to earn gift cards and cash just for listening to music (although you'll need to do a bit more if you want to really earn points). As I noted in that review, I was first made aware of the app's existence thanks to an ad I saw for the Mode Phone. Well,...
First the bad news: considering all the major data breaches that have hit retailers, websites, and freaking credit bureaus alike, there’s a very strong chance your personal info has been compromised at some point. Luckily, in addition to steps you can take, such as freezing your credit reports to prevent criminals from using this data, there are a growing number of tools you can use to foil thieves in the...
Comments are closed.