ImageEveryone looks for ways to save money in every aspect of their lives. And it’s no wonder with the economy the way that it is, and even with living wages slowly increasing, it’s never at the same rate. And there always seems to be another bill to pay for, or a surprise one that forces you to dip into your hard-earned savings. But, at least they are there. So many people get into debt through depleting their savings and needing to find further funding. Which makes building up those savings again even harder. But it all begins with finding the money to save in the first place.
Apart from the essential bills, there are always more things we pay out for – like phones, Netflix and shopping. And you should be allowed to have those luxuries, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t save money while still having the things you want.
Online
The issue with shopping online is that you can’t judge the quality of the product until it has been delivered to you. And so you might be spending money on something that isn’t up to standard, plus shopping online can be hard to return products when buying through independent sellers, meaning that you can’t get your money back. Which is way it can be the better option to buy through the big, well-known brands. This way you are aware of their reputation, and they usually have a straightforward return policy. However, to save the most while shopping online, you should always look for the best deal, and to do that, you must shop around. Smaller sellers and e-commerce stores often have reviews written through sites like https://www.sitejabber.com/reviews/dealdash.com, where you can get a clear idea of the store and it’s products. Bookmark the pages you’re interested in and compare the prices – and if it is approaching the end of a season, why not wait for a few weeks and see if the item you are looking at will go on sale.
Clothes
When buying clothes, either in store or online, the main thing to consider is quality. Luckily if you go in store you can feel the material and know pretty quickly whether it’s going to last. Fashion trends come and go, but staple parts of your wardrobe are always worth spending a little extra on. Coats and shoes take a big brunt of day to day life, so make sure you’re buying things that are going to last. Online, again the risks are there with independent stores, but everyone tends to have a favoured clothes store that they can rely on. You should always look to shop in the sales and to learn how to do minor repair work – if there is a split seam or missing button, most stores offer a discount on the product – you can find some basic sewing tips here http://www.threadsmagazine.com/2012/04/27/simple-fixes-and-mending-techniques. Buying in store rather than online also give you the chance to try on the product before buying, meaning that you will only spend money on something you know fits and looks good on you. Yes online you can always return – but that missing money for a few weeks might make all the difference. As always – look for the best deal by shopping around. Do your research online and then visit the stores in person to make sure that you are getting the right value for money.
Food
Food shopping isn’t really a luxury, however it is an expense where you buy luxuries. Swap out your branded products and try the store’s own – do it for a week and keep the swap permanently if you can’t tell the difference or prefer the non-brand product. When in the store you can do one of two things to help keep costs down; the first is that you simply buy what you need – no more and no less. If your meal plan (which you should definitely have) calls for two peppers, then only pick up two peppers rather than a pack of four. The second option is to bulk buy sale products. If a cereal your family eats all the time is on a buy one get one free then bulk buy that product and stockpile your long-life products. On top of these practices, you might want to look into coupons. You don’t have to go overboard and end up on that TV show, but you can save a lot of money through using some in your weekly shop.
Furniture
Shopping for furniture can be pretty straightforward; find the sale and buy what you need from the sale. Furniture needs to be hard wearing and last a lot longer than a new top would. The quality of materials here is so important; if it’s a sofa, for example, you will have people hopping on and off it constantly for the next five years. Food and drink will be spilled and naps will be taken – so you need to make sure that what you are buying is going to last. You can buy decent second hand furniture online through sites like ebay.com, and the item can be cheaper and just as good as buying it new from the shop. But, once again, you don’t know what is wrong with the product, if anything, nor can you return the items if it doesn’t work properly, it breaks or if it simply doesn’t fit.
