10 SHOPPING HACKS That Will Save You Money!

- These are 10

shopping

tricks that

will

guarantee you save

money

every time you visit your favorite store. Trick Number One: Did you know that most stores have an extensive price adjustment policy that isn't always so visible and could actually be to your advantage? If you're ever worried about not getting the best deal at the best time, or if you're making a purchase and have a feeling the price might drop later, many retailers give you the opportunity to get a receipt and get a refund or credit for the difference after the fact. Costco's price adjustment policy is 30 days.

Home Depot has 30 days for appliances, but 90 days for everything else. That's a huge three months if you don't buy an appliance. Target has a 14-day price adjustment policy. Walmart is seven days, and although Amazon does not release their information, in my experience, until a week after delivery, if the item you purchased drops in price, very often an Amazon customer service representative is

will

ing to make a price adjustment. or get you that refund. So if you take all this into account, if there is a high-priced item that you know will be priced lower for an occasion like Black Friday or Cyber ​​Monday, and you don't want to wait until that big day and risk the item . out of stock, just look at the price adjustment policy, buy the item a week, two weeks, a month before Black Friday and then look for an adjustment after the fact.

And you don't have to worry about that item going out of stock. Trick number two is tied to groceries and knowing an accurate window to shop if you're looking for something at a deli counter or a specialty item like a rotisserie chicken. Visit the store of your choice after 7:00 or 8:00 p.m., and many items will be marked down to clearance prices right now, before the next day arrives. I want to use my local Walmart deli as an example, but this trick, like I said, could apply anywhere. I visited the store at 7:15 p.m. And as you can see, not only are there plenty of new items marked down or on clearance, but this wasn't the case when I checked out the exact same area of ​​the store earlier that day.

On several major deli purchases, you could save $10 to $25 on your grocery bill. Speaking of grocery stores, retailers are really going to hate me when I share trick number five. So make sure you wait for that. But first, trick number three, pay close attention to the price per item and the unit weight on the price tag. When I'm trying to compare the size and price of products to make sure I'm getting the most bang for my buck, I always pay close attention to how stores list the price in relation to the weight of the product. The largest package is not always the cheapest.

Let's take this pack of albacore tuna as an example. Tuna in the sealed package costs $1.64 and contains 2.5 ounces of tuna, or 74 grams. This can of the same tuna costs 6 cents less per can. And at $1.58, it contains four ounces of drained tuna versus 2.5 ounces. So you get more tuna for less

money

. Stores often use different units of measurement side by side, going from pounds to grams to fluid ounces. So that extra minute of math you do in your head or on your smartphone can save you a lot of money. Another great example of this, I found the 62-count container of Cascade capsules priced at $18.67.

Look at the price tag right below on the store shelf. The label indicates that the price of $18.67 is equivalent to 0.54 per ounce. Now, to confuse you a little, if you're not sure if it's a good deal, the smaller 21-capsule package containing the exact same thing right on top is priced at $7.34. This package has a store label indicating 0.35 per capsule. It is not easy for a customer to compare. Why is one package of pods measured in ounces and the other by the package? In this case, the largest unit is equivalent to $0.34 per capsule. Obviously, you can simply divide the cost by the number of units, but stores play with unit types to sway the buyer in one direction, which is often related to which products stores should sell first, not the best value. .

Trick Number Four: Understand that the end of the month is your friend when it comes to that big-ticket item. You may have heard that when buying a car, it often pays to buy at the end of the month, so commission salespeople eager to meet their final monthly installment might cut you an extra break. But you can actually apply the same tactic of buying at the end of the month to all types of purchases where a store employee receives the same incentive. That means that in addition to cars and RVs, furniture and appliance stores, even bigger home theater purchases will benefit you if you buy at the end of the month so you can get a price reduction or other bonuses to sweeten the deal.

Before I explain how you can use the way stores track you to your advantage, for trick number five, have you ever noticed that those

shopping

carts we all push seem to get bigger and bigger? That's on purpose. Grocery stores are trying to capitalize on our strange, innate need to fill our shopping carts. The larger the cart, the more space we all feel we have to purchase more items. It's psychological. And a little trick I found is a way to outsmart them and stay on budget: always use a shopping basket instead of a cart. Or if you can't carry a cart easily, or want the convenience of a shopping cart, place a shopping basket inside the cart and use this size parameter as a better way to gauge how much you're buying.

If you have a child or grandchild, or can borrow someone else's child with their permission, put it in the shopping cart. This also does the job. As a complement, another psychological trick to be aware of how stores physically place products within their stores is to understand that the most in-demand and essential items are always in the back of the store. That's bread, milk, eggs, which means you have to walk through every aisle and you'll add all kinds of items to your shopping cart before you leave. Also, have you ever noticed that your grocery store regularly changes items within the store?

They are moving sections. I know my local Walmart loves doing this, and I'm starting to think I'm crazy. This is done to deliberately disorient us a little, so that we spend time walking down hallways we wouldn't normally visit. Costco, which happens to be one of my favorite stores, is definitely guilty of this tactic. Not only will Costco change items regularly throughout the store, but no aisle has any type of labeling or signage to further add to that confusion. Finally, if you're trying to stick to a budget but still need the essentials, stick to the outer edge of a store as much as possible.

You will find all the essential items around the perimeter of the store. Processed foods and non-essential items are usually in the interior aisles. I'll get to that online tracking trick in a moment. But first, for trick number six, if you or someone you know wears glasses, know that you can often get a price 30-75% cheaper online. No, my advice is not to abandon the mom-and-pop prescription eyewear stores in our community to purchase eyeglasses from some online corporate entity. But what I'm saying is that if you normally shop at stores from giants like Walmart Vision, Target Optical or even LensCrafters, online retail alternatives will feature identical or nearly identical glasses and lenses without the markup those brick-and-mortar stores typically pay for. . your rent.

While we're on the topic of online shopping, trick number seven is how to make the most of the way stores track you. Companies track your decision when you abandon a product in your shopping cart, whether because you've been distracted by something else or simply forgotten. So if there is an item you want and you are willing to wait a few more days for a lower price, visit that online store, create an account with your email address, add the item you want to purchase to your shopping cart . . And then, just before entering your payment information, close your browser.

Larger, more sophisticated retail websites will often email you a discount code or coupon for the item in your abandoned shopping cart if you complete your purchase. Look what happened when I tried to contact a chat agent at 1800flowers.com. I used the automated chat box and asked them if they had any promotional codes. The agentbot sent me to a page full of active promo codes. Many websites are programmed to do this. If you want to go further, you can also try chatting with a live agent. At Vista Print, a website I use from time to time, I asked Abigail, the live agent, to help me with a promo code.

And she provided me with a 15% discount coupon. The whole experience took a minute, but was worth a $30 savings on my particular order. Before we move on to a trick related to purchasing prescription drugs, for trick number eight, you can price match a warehouse club without even being a member, you don't even need to be an Amazon Prime member to price match. Many shoppers still learning the ins and outs of price match guarantees don't take warehouse clubs for granted, but if you read the fine print of some price match policies, stores like Target will match retailers' prices on online, from Amazon to Chewy.

Best Buy is an example of one of many retailers that will price match Costco and Sam's Club. And they don't even need to know if you're actually a member of that warehouse club your price matches. Best Buy's policy states: "Yes, we price match warehouse clubs as long as the warehouse club is a local retail competitor and has an identical product immediately available and all other price matching criteria are met." By the way, if you are enjoying this content, feel free to like this video, subscribe and turn on notifications. Trick number nine is linked to generic medications and eliminating the myth that generics are not as good as brand-name drugs.

Many of us have heard or had the impression that generic drugs are not the best buy, but generic drugs are exactly the same as brand name drugs. Keep in mind that the FDA actually regulates generic drugs to ensure that they have the same quality and performance as brand-name drugs. While we're on the topic of medicine, be sure to use websites or apps like GoodRx, a free search tool that allows you to download coupons to reduce the price of prescription medications. They are not sponsoring this. This video is not sponsored, but I discovered that GoodRx is a great free search tool that allows you to download coupons to reduce the price of prescription medications for use at your preferred pharmacy or retailer.

While I'm on the topic of brand versus off-brand, before we get to those additional tricks, it's trick number 10, and understanding that store brand versus big brand may not make any difference when it comes to the following products. . You may have heard that store brands are often manufactured in the same facilities that manufacture the alternative brand. But for some products, there really is no difference. Simply choose the cheapest option. In the case of milk, there is no branded cow. Milk is milk. It will taste the same. When it comes to performance, bleach will do the exact same thing regardless of which brand of bleach you purchase.

Regular ionized table salt or kosher salt is usually always the same, regardless of the brand. Flour and baking soda rarely vary in any way depending on how they are processed and transported. And when it comes to in-store brands, like Kirkland or Trader Joe's, everything from olive oil to vodka and even breakfast cereals and Oreo replicas are often better or identical to the original. You can see here clearly, side by side, brand-name Oreos and Trader Joe's attempt at making an Oreo look identical. And between us, I was surprised that Trader Joe's version tasted better. And now, two extra quick tricks.

If you're often bothered or just feel slighted by that annoying voice at the self-checkout machine, did you know there's a mute button you can use, which comes in handy on those big, long grocery orders? I'm sure there are many times my wife wishes I had a mute button, but we'll talk about that another day. And finally, don't neglect or throw away the Sunday newspaper. You will often find deals on coupons that are not presented online. If you don't subscribe to a Sunday newspaper, it's worth buying one a couple of times a month before making a purchase.important order at the supermarket or shopping.

Savings can add up very quickly. I also share deals and some other store secrets as part of my Insider Deal Guy texting club. You are welcome to write to me, send me a message to register, 440-298-2181 is my number. I hope you like the video, but most importantly I really appreciate you watching it. I love you. Bye bye.