Tip #5: Create or join an existing newsgroup of like-minded
bargain hunters on yahoogroups.
It's like having an extended family looking out for you!
For example, I belong to a Chicago-based group in which people
in my area e-mail all of the bargains that they find daily. It
is a wonderful group because people will mention the specific
store that has the great deal. I've stocked up on diapers for
$3 a bag because someone posted which grocery store had the
special clearance price.
Don't miss out on community-based services like the Freecycle Network, where people in your area post items they want to give away. The caveat: This setup isn't a one-way street -- you are expected to post your goodies for swap, too.
Tip #6: Get a credit card that earns you points or awards,
and then put all of your purchases on it.
The trick to making this tip pay off for you is to make sure
that you pay your bill off in full each month, lest finance
charges negate any savings you're making.
We've used Discover Platinum for years and put everything from groceries to school bills to gas on it. With this card, they give you a cash back bonus in monetary form, or you can choose to increase the amount with one of their partner stores. We always opt to increase it and get gift cards for places like restaurants (Red Lobster and others) and bookstores (such as Borders). We've often doubled our cash back bonus by getting Blockbuster gift cards (pay $20 in cash back money and get 10 rentals -- worth $40). We haven't had to pay to rent a movie in years!
One Phoenix, Arizona, mom recently moved to a new house, and charged all of her home improvement expenses -- everything from sheetrock to carpeting -- to a Visa card. A couple months later, she turned her accumulated points into a brand-new 30GB iPod, which she kept for herself as a reward for having lived for months with half-built walls and ancient linoleum floors.
Tip #7: Find out clearance schedules for local stores.
Target after-holiday sales, for example, go in a pattern of 50
percent, 75 percent and then 90 percent off. Things will always
be 50 percent off immediately after a holiday for at least
three days. You can then count on it going to 75 percent the
fourth day after the holiday, and this will last approximately
three days. By the seventh day after the holiday, the clearance
will hit 90 percent for at least one to two days.
The only time this schedule really changes is at Christmas, when the sale doesn't go to 90 percent off for at least two weeks.
You can also depend on Target clearing out their baby gear (strollers, high chairs, car seats, etc.) each January for the new year's arrivals. For example, we bought a Maclaren umbrella stroller this year for $70 (was $140 and still sells for that online). But be quick: Usually the baby clearance items only get down to about a 50 percent discount before everything is snapped up.
According to Kim Danger of Mommysavers.com, author of the article, "Hitting the Bullseye: Strategies for Shopping at Target," the typical Target store follows this weekly markdown schedule:
Monday: Kids Clothing and Electronics Tuesday: Women's Clothing and Domestics Wednesday: Men's Clothing, Toys, Health and Beauty Thursday: Lingerie, Shoes, Housewares Friday: Cosmetics, Housewares, Automotives
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