|
Tips for using promotional offers to make the most of your money
Store deals can save you hundreds of dollars a month, but it’s up to consumers to be diligent about finding them. We’ve all stood behind them in the line at the grocery store: the people who are demanding the sale price that is shown in the flyer, even though the product is ringing up at a higher price. While the wait may cause us to roll our eyes, that person is just trying to use promotional offers to make the most of her family budget.
Instead of just heading to the store and cruising the aisles, add another step to your weekly grocery shopping routine. Gather the flyers from local grocery stores and scour them for store deals and special promotional offers. Also, look online as some places will have online only store deals.
Here are some tips for making sure that you use store deals to stretch your dollar as far as possible.
Location
One common mistake made by bargain shoppers looking for the best in store deals is to drive 30 miles to save 30 cents. That’s just not smart. Instead, concentrate your search to include only the stores that are closest to your home or work.
Promotional offers won’t really work to save you money if you’re spending an extra $20 in gas to find them.
That being said, if there is a place that offers fabulous store deals but is a bit of a drive, make a trip there once a month. To save on gas, see if you have a friend or neighbour who’d like to share the drive and the cost of gas.
Don’t Be a Sucker
Another very common mistake is to buy anything and everything for which there is a promotional offer. Do you really need 30 bags of cat treats? Is your family really going to eat 100 cans of ravioli? Don’t buy things just because they are part of a store deal.
Retailers count on customers snapping up everything with a sale sticker. Don’t feed into that marketing ploy.
Buy Only What You Need
Instead of grabbing everything that is part of a promotional offer, buy only what you need. That means making a list and sticking to it. You can certainly plan your meals around items that are part of the store deals, but stick to the items that you really need.
Couple with Coupons
Many stores will try to match up some of their promotional offers with the coupons that are in the Sunday paper. You can greatly increase your savings by coupling the store deals with manufacturer’s coupons.
Also, check online coupon sites like the site, Dealsharks as many manufacturers post additional coupons online.
Stock Up
If an item that you use on a regular basis is part of a great store deal, stock up. Buy as many of the items as the promotional offer will allow. Sure, it will cost you a little extra this week, but if it is an item that you really use a lot, you’ll save money in the long run.
Shop Early in the Week
Because many locations will only stock limited quantities of the items included in the week’s store deals, it’s a good idea to shop as soon as possible after the flyer comes out. This will give you the best chance of being able to take advantage of all of the promotional offers that interest you.
Using store deals and promotional offers to get the most from your family budget is not difficult, and it doesn’t even take a lot of time. Just be diligent to check the flyers and online deals, find the right store deals and promotional offers, and watch your savings add up.
View All Articles
|
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
Use Store Deals to Design a Budget That Works.gif){kind=small}
.jpg)