Are you thrifty?
Do you like a good sale?
Do you use coupons?
Or are you just fine paying regular price for things that you need or want?
I remember as a preteen and teenager going to the store for a few things my step father would hand me $100 to pay for it. Maybe it was 1 pizza or maybe it was a basket full of groceries. No matter what he usually told me to keep the change. I would sometimes use the change for another trip to the store but most of the time I would find a few things I “needed”, leaving no change and leaving me without a sense of how to handle money.
When I moved to my dad’s for college I received $10 a week allowance and had to give change back as well as only buy what was on the list. Boy was I in shock.
I quickly got a job. In a border town that was 98% Hispanic I had to pay an employment agency to find one for me and give them a portion of my income each week for a certain period of time or a certain amount of money. I forgot the formality.
Retail is where I worked. The mall. Best for my school hours.
I quickly learned I loved clothes more than I thought and I thought I loved them a lot already!
I quickly learned discounts are great.
I quickly learned to NEVER buy full price.
These 3 things carried over into my future. I received an Associates Degree in Retail Merchandising while working on my Bachelors in Psychology/ English. Minor in Sociology. I don’t think I have ever paid full price for a piece of clothing since I was 18. I learned discounts are great on every item you purchase.
All that said……..
When I grocery shop I shop or a week. We do not go back to the store again. If I forgot it we do without. On a $250 grocery bill I save around $100 with in store savings and coupons. $1.00 off
gas up to 20 gallons ( basically another $20 off of gas). Then there are my apps. Goodness gracious the apps.
There is receipts hog. You get coins for scanning your store receipts as well as pull the arm of the slot machine on your phone. Sometimes you are lucky enough to get a survey and just recently I earned 2 coins for every product I scanned off my receipt.
Saving Star is next. Kinda like coupons. Instead of clipping them you click a button saying “I want this”. If you purchase something that you clicked, money will be added to your account in around 24 hours.
Ibotta— this one you have to jump through a few hoops. Answer surveys, post on Facebook, tweet, watch videos, scan the receipt and the bar code of the item but you can earn a good chunk of change if you are consistent.
Checkout51– this one is pretty easy. You scan your receipt and click the items you bought that the app has posted. The receipt is approved and money is added to your account. This app sends you a check. The other apps pay using paypal.
My husband travels a lot with his job. We now have a hotel rewards card. Earning free nights stays.
I might be overly ambitious but I’m planning on using our savings for vacation this year!
What do you do to save?
Would you like to hear tips on saving?
NOW 365 