Bargain Hunting

Critical to living frugally is finding deals. Last week I touched on the high cost of nutrition and how it’s imperative to put some serious thought into budgeting for food.

This week I want to open it up and look at bargain hunting in general. Finding bargains is an absolute necessity for building wealth. A frugal person never pays full retail! First, an important distinction about bargain hunting.  A bargain is truly a bargain only if it is for materials or services one needs to purchase. 

I’ve talked at length in my blog and book, “Millionaire on a Worker’s Budget” about performing a needs assessment before every purchase. I can’t emphasize enough this first critical step to living frugal!

Identifying needs and discarding the wants is critical to good personal finance. Too often we are enticed by a perceived bargain and make purchases for things we really don’t need. This is the opposite of frugal living! Fight the temptation and jump only on those deals for what we really need.  

A last important distinction about bargain hunting is good deals don’t always equal the cheapest product. Never have truer words been spoken than, “you get what you pay for”. Going with the cheapest is not always the best way to save money, in fact, it can often cost more in the long run. More accurately, bargain hunting requires finding the best value for the things we need. 

So what does bargain hunting look like for our family? First I’ll describe what it definitely is not! I remember as a kid watching my parents drive across town to fill up the tank at a station where gas was a few cents cheaper.

I’ll admit, I used to do the same thing when I started driving. I’ve done the math to compare savings on a tank of gas and the cost of fuel to get to the station. This is not an effective way to bargain hunt! But it certainly doesn’t mean don’t top off the tank if the low priced fuel happens to lie along a planned route!

The best way to bargain hunt is to be patient. Bargain hunting requires research. Thankfully, the internet is a wonderful tool to help in this endeavor! Once a need is identified or we see a need on the horizon, start doing the homework!

Most often bargains are tied to sales events. Part of the research is learning when retailers and outlets have their best sales. These usually occur at the end of a season or model year.

Beyond the big name retailers or department stores, never be afraid to visit thrift stores, preferably those that help a good cause. While selection may be limited, they may have the perfect blender, mixer (insert unique item you may need but will seldom use) for much less than retail.

In our town, Habitat for Humanity has a store that contains donated construction materials and hardware. All sales benefit Habitat for Humanity. I’ve found supplies there to maintain our rental properties. Not only do we save a lot of money on our repair costs, we simultaneously help a great organization!

My personal favorite bargain hunting practice is visiting the clearance racks and end caps in the retail stores. Most of the time there is a reason these items are marked down drastically and doomed to the end cap. But that sense of excitement when there is a clearance item that actually meets a specific need can’t be beat!

Take advantage of special employee discounts that may be available. I was very fortunate to benefit from many businesses’ military discounts over the years. Since I’ve returned back to civilian life, I’ve also used some of my civilian employer’s retail discount opportunities. Coupons both digital and paper are another effective tool in the bargain hunt.

Avoid traps, such as black Friday sales. Black Friday is designed simply to lure shoppers into the store with an outrageously low bargain, usually on cheap products (see comments above). Once in the store, the goal is for the shopper to make impulse purchases of full priced wants. This is the antithesis of deliberate purchasing and the frugal lifestyle!

Retail sales are cyclical. Learn the patterns! When new fashions arrive, expect a good sale on last year’s clothes. This is not a new concept as evident by this week’s featured pic. The pic is from a department store’s summer clearance sale in 1907!

We love outlet malls for this very reason. Same holds true for appliances and TVs. Car dealers have monthly, quarterly and annual quotas. Learn the dates for sales quotas and plan your visit!  

A little patience to wait for an inventory reduction sale can save hundreds or even thousands when needing to make a major purchase. Making quick purchases as soon as a need arises and paying full retail is counterproductive.

Haggle on all big purchases. Haggling is a lost art and many are uncomfortable with the practice but I say get comfortable! I get a chuckle out of car dealers who advertise their “no haggle pricing”. I love haggling and do not feel I am getting good value if not permitted to haggle. I will most likely look elsewhere if a car dealer is unwilling to haggle.

Key to good haggling is to remember it’s not personal, it’s just (your) business. If I make a good deal with a retailer, they will earn my return business and most sales professionals appreciate the customer loyalty.

Important for good haggling is getting creative. Let’s say a shopper has a current need for a new couch but is anticipating a need for a new mattress in the coming month.  “Bundling” for a discount is an effective form of haggling that can sometimes save hundreds.

There may also be same as cash or 0% financing options stores don’t advertise. Generally “free money” opportunities are a good move on major purchases if personal credit supports. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and get creative.

The $100, $500 or more you will save by bargain hunting and haggling adds up over time. Take these savings, place into an investment account and watch those savings compound! Saving on the products we need to survive is almost like an additional income stream or at the very least ensures every dollar we earn works as hard as it can for us.  

Next week I’ll wrap up this series of blogs on frugal living with some thoughts on a common trap for the frugal person, beware the free lunch!

If you’re interested to learn more about financial truths that helped guide my family’s finances, check out my new book “Millionaire on a Worker’s Budget: Five Financial Truths to Build Wealth” on sale at Amazon!

The commentary provided in this blog is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a source of financial or investing advice.

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