I developed a bit of a nasty retail therapy in the 6 years I was unable to travel abroad. The thinking was, “I’d prefer to spend on experiences and not stuff, but since I can’t spend on the former, I’ll spend on the latter!” Oddly, I guess it parallels my tendency to drink more when I can’t run — need some kind of dopamine hit supply, right?
That said, while I am fortunate to be financially stable now, I grew up poor and went all the way through my PhD with forcibly learned legendary-tier penny pinching skills. These were skills I was grateful I had when time came to move coast-to-coast for the third time after grad school; I had just enough to cover all my moving expenses and the deposit for an apartment.
Even now that I’m doing well, that doesn’t necessarily mean I like to spend any more than I absolutely have to. I will absolutely look for ways to save a few bucks in anyway I can, because any cost minimized in the course of a purchase is money that can be reallocated toward other interests. I wanted to share a few of the things I do to save a few bucks here in case they can help you save some money, too!
Google Shopping is your friend
Comparison shopping can feel dead in the age of Amazon dominance, but I’ve had fantastic luck finding deals on products I want using Google Shopping. Google does a surprisingly decent job of lining up listings for the same product across hundreds of stores so you can compare their prices. It’s not uncommon to see an item that’s full price with one retailer be on discount at another, especially at smaller shops looking to clear out inventory. Google Shopping also seems to do a surprisingly good job of picking up and taking into account in its aggregate displays coupon codes that are available for various stores.
Call/email the store
You’d be amazed what you can get just by asking. In guitar land, I get 15-20% off sticker price just by asking more often than not. You could do email instead — I have and it works fine — just pick your preferred communication channel and work your charm. Even as I was shopping for a piano, I was getting unadvertised offers just by getting in contact with stores and asking. And this doesn’t necessarily have to be for singular, big ticket items, you can absolutely try your luck purchases of multiple smaller items as well.
Check your credit card
Credit card issuing banks often have programs attached to their credit cards that offer discounts on or rewards for making purchases at certain retailers; Amex Offers and Chase Offers would be two of the major examples. For example, with my Amex, I saved money on condo insurance with a “10% back on insurance purchases” offer, while I also saved on a recent home improvement goods purchase with a “10% back on Home Depot” offer. To my understanding, these offers are based on your spending data, so the more you use your card to purchase things that are important to you, the more likely you are to get useful offers. Log in to your credit card online banking to see what’s available.
Buy from out of state
Pay your taxes. At this point, given the 10%+ sales tax where I live, I’ve come to construe the 10% tithe the Bible calls for as a metaphor for paying sales tax to give back to the community around you. That said, I will mention here that if you want to at least temporarily put off that extra cost until you account for them in your use taxes down the line, there are lots of small mom-and-pop shops out there in all sorts of sectors that won’t charge you sales tax if you aren’t in the same state as them. Just saying…
Be flexible
This one is easy; don’t be too picky. The most obvious example people are aware of is in travel, when being flexible about your travel parameters can easily save you money. But this also applies to purchasing products. For example, do you really need that particular item to be that particular color? Conversely, are you okay with that other item being an unconventional color? And every once in a while, you luck out and find that while the standard/common colors (that everyone is comfortable with) are still full price, the less common color that you’re personally fond of is on sale. Also, I’ve generally found that being willing to rock colors defying gender norms can help you save a few bucks; no, I don’t give a flying fuck that my Flipbelt is pink!
Sell your soul data
Lots of websites offer you 10% off or something along those lines just for giving them your email address and phone number. I have a ‘burner’ email address and Google voice number that I use solely for this purpose. This way, I can get my discount and not have to get hammered by spam.
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