Shop seasonally!
Well, agricultural produce is not the only product that we buy seasonally. Buying electronics, clothes, sports gear can also be considered seasonal. Say, sports gear is always on sale in January – we all do our New Year resolutions in December, so the health and wellness gear manufacturers are out there to provide us with gear when our resolutions are very hot!
When it comes to electronics, you are better off buying TVs at the end of January – beginning of February right before the Super Bowl weekend or before the Oscars.
We also know well that we can find good deals at the beginning or end of a product’s season. For instance, when do you want to buy your new BBQ? It will be either in April/May or in September/October that is either at the beginning or end of the BBQ season.
You may say that the end of an item’s season makes sense to you when it comes to deals and reductions. What about the beginning of the season? Wouldn’t it be better to raise prices as the demand soars? No, stores usually have a lot of inventory, plus there is a lot of competition (both online and offline). If they don’t discount, they will stay out of business!
If you pay full price, you are wrong!
In Canada everything goes on sale at some point. Paying full price is for impulsive shoppers. Smart shoppers are patient and strategic.
Smart shoppers do not wait for the last day before their vacation to buy the needed gear, they stock up well in advance. Say, a smart shopper would not go to their grocery store when they run out of toothpaste, they would rather buy several toothpaste tubes when they see a great deal.
The best tip here is to back up on items that you buy and use every day.
If you know you will need new winter boots next year, buy them at the end of this winter during clearance events instead of waiting till next fall.
Well, never ever pay full price. Yes, there will be exceptions, especially if you want to own a luxurious item which is never discounted.
Saving requires time
Time is money, but money is also about having enough time dedicated to making it.
The good news is that you don’t often have to spend too much time to save. Before spending a good amount on something you want to buy online, just google the product and check if there are any promo codes available. Promo codes ranging from 10 to 30% are usually easy to get. 20-30 seconds of your time can result in some good savings if you are smart and strategic!
Look around for store policies
When you go into your Maxi, Sobeys, No Frills, look at their store policy. Yes, you are in a hurry and the policy is in fine print. But when you take a minute to read through, you will find that every retailer has a price-matching policy. This means that consumers can get the best price if they show that a competitor has a better price for the same product.
For instance, here is the price matching policy from No Frills / Maxi:
We will match the competitor’s price only during the effective date of the competitor’s advertisement or within 7 days of the receipt date. We match identical items defined as same brand, item type (in the case of produce, meat and bakery), size and attributes or comparable items in the case of private label.
So, we as consumers have 7 days to match the price! This is a clause that is not used very frequently. Have you ever used it? I bet you did not!
These 4 tips are easy to follow and, fortunately, they can help you save even more!