Family life doesn’t come cheap, does it? That’s why so many people make it their priority to find ways to cut the cost of their monthly outgoings. The fact is that although running a home and purchasing all of the items that you need to get by can be expensive, it doesn’t have to be. If you are clued up when it comes to how you spend your money and where you shop, it is possible to cut your living costs low.
When it comes to cutting living costs, one of the most common questions asked is what the best way to shop is – online or in store. When it comes to bagging a bargain, people often wonder whether it is best to shop online or in store for making the largest savings. It can be difficult to know which option is best, as both have their pros and cons and different deals on at different times.
Bearing this in mind, below is a comparison of shopping online vs. shopping in store, to help determine which options offers the best bargains. For everything that you need to know about finding the best deals and bagging the most amazing bargains, read on.
Photo from FlickrBargain hunting when shopping in store
Despite the fact that the internet is an incredible resource for shopping and a whooping 70 percent of shoppers do the majority of their shopping online, for many people stores still have an appeal. If you prefer to shop in store, then you may be wondering whether you are able to bag as many bargains in store, as you can online.
Believe it or not, it is possible to make some incredible savings when shopping in store; it’s just a case of knowing what steps you need to take to do so. The fact is that if you take the time to look for all of the best ongoing deals, for instance, you can easily reduce the cost of your shopping. It’s just a case of knowing what deals are available to you and how to take advantage of them.
Coupon clipping is a great way to reduce the cost of your spending when hitting the shops. You can find coupons in magazines, promotional leaflets, and online, so take the time to browse for them. When you find coupons that you can’t use yet, don’t chuck them away, store them in a folder and save them for the future. Coupon clipping can be a great way to cut costs and keep your shopping as cheap as possible when shopping in store.
Another way to reduce the cost of shopping in store is to take advantage of sales. A few times a year, companies run sales offering 10, 20, 30, 40, and sometimes even 50 percent off. Sign up for email alerts from all of your favorite stores, so that you are always alerted to any sales that are about to start, and don’t end up missing out.
Make sure to sign up for the loyalty cards of any store that you shop at regularly. Each time that you go shopping make sure to scan your loyalty card to get a small percentage of money knocked off the price of your shopping or to collect points to convert into money or vouchers at a later date.
Picture linkSales shopping when looking online
When it comes to saving money when shopping online, there are lots of useful hacks that you can take advantage of. It’s not just a case of paying the price that you see, as a quick Google of the store that you want to shop at and the term ‘deal’ or ‘voucher code’ and you can often stumble across a code that will reduce the price of your shop.
Then there is the fact that a lot of the time, items are cheaper to buy online, particularly when you shop on websites like Amazon and eBay, or choose to use online auction sites like Deal Dash. Resources like https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/heres-how-dealdash-is-revolutionizing-the-online-auction_us_5a5e8566e4b03ed177016ec0 can help you to learn more about these kinds of sites and how you can take full advantage of them to make the largest savings. The fact that you can pick up lots of items online for a much lower price than in-store, does give online shopping an advantage over in-store shopping.
In addition to this, there are often various websites that have discount codes and vouchers that you can take advantage of to cut the cost of your shopping. Sometimes these vouchers provide a two for the price of one deal, a 10 percent off deal, or a free shipping deal, each of these help to reduce the cost of your shopping. If there isn’t a voucher available on the site itself, it’s just a case of taking the time to do some Googling to see what there is available on other websites. It is important to remember that there are whole websites dedicated to deals, discount codes, and vouchers, so more often than not, if you need a voucher, you should be able to find a suitable one.
Of course, that being said, when you shop in-store you don’t have to worry about the cost of shipping, so shipping is actually an additional expense to add to the cost of your shopping. However, should you get a coupon code that gives you free shipping, then this is not a problem that you need to worry about.
Often, online sites have more deals available at any one time that high street stores. You may even find that a high street store that also has an online store will have a sale online but not in store. So in many instances, shopping online can be a fantastic way to save – always make sure that before you purchase something in-store, you check the price online, as well as any deals available.
Another major benefit of choosing to shop online is the fact that online shopping makes it much easier to compare prices. There are various comparison tools that you can use online to ensure that you are purchasing an item from the site that offers the best deal. However, when it comes to shopping in store, comparing prices becomes much more difficult as you have to go from shop to shop to do so.
The fact is that where you are more likely to bag a bargain depends on when and where you are shopping. Both online shopping and shopping in store come with a range of pros and cons, so it is difficult to determine which option is the best one in terms of cutting costs. Often, it depends on your personal preference – usually, wherever you choose to shop you can find deals, it’s just a case of putting in the effort to do so. Want to make larger savings online? Resources like https://www.blesserhouse.com/2017/06/10-sneaky-ways-save-money-shopping-online.html can help.
The key to saving money is taking the time to shop around. Instead of deciding what you want and choosing to purchase it from your local high street or online, take the time to do some research first. Look at what deals are available to you, compare prices, and make a decision about where you buy from based on where you can get the best deal from.
However, that being said, online shopping is often easier when it comes to looking for deals. This is because it is much simpler and more straightforward to compare prices online, hence why it is easier to find all of the best deals when shopping online.
