In this challenging economy, you need to find ways to save money
when shopping. These are the tips I have picked up through the
years on how to get good deals.

Your goal should be to never pay full retail price for anything.
Always try to get items on sale, whether through weekly specials
or on clearance or by buying at "cheap" stores. This is an attainable
goal, although it will require some work on your part to learn which
stores have the best deals and when certain items go on sale.

It will also require planning and foresight, and the ability to
store items for at least a year, to get the best bargains. For example,
the best buys on candy occur after the various "candy holidays"
throughout the year, when the holiday candy goes on clearance.
The "candy holidays" are Halloween, Christmas, Valentine's Day,
Easter, and Mother's Day. After these holidays have passed, you
can get holiday candy for 50%, 75%, or even 90% off. The candy can
be frozen and thus will keep for a longer period of time. The same
deals can be had for greeting cards associated with these (and other)
holidays. Buy them cheap after the holiday and use them next year.

The best time to buy Christmas decorations and wrapping is at
the after-Christmas clearance sales. Just store the items until
next Christmas. Same thing for Halloween, buy the decorations and
costumes after the holiday and use them next year. Buy winter clothing
in the spring when it goes on clearance, and summer clothing in the
fall when it goes on clearance. Gardening, patio, grilling and other
summer items also go on clearance in the late summer through fall.

Soft drinks tend to go on sale just before major holidays, especially
holidays associated with partying and feasting, such as Christmas, New Year's,
Super Bowl Sunday, St. Patrick's Day, Easter, Memorial Day, 4th of July,
Labor Day, Halloween, and Thanksgiving. Yes, Super Bowl Sunday is
apparently considered a holiday by retailers.

You can get some major bargains at stores such as Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Sears,
and Target by religiously shopping the clearance racks, aisles, and
endcaps. By major bargains I mean brand new shirts for $1.00, if
you happen to be there when the store really wants to clear them out.

Next we consider the "cheap" stores. One type of "cheap" store is
the thrift store, generally run by charities such as Goodwill, the
Salvation Army, and the Purple Heart Veterans. Almost all of the items
in these stores will be used, not new, and are sold "as-is" and may
not be returnable if defective. The way these stores often work is that items
will have different colored tags. Each day of the week a different color
tag goes on sale; for example, on Monday items with blue tags might be 50%
off the marked price, while on Tuesday the red tag items will be 50% off,
and so on.

Another source of used merchandise is the consignment shop. These are
similar to the thrift store, but usually are for-profit enterprises. At
these stores the prices of items are sometimes reduced as time passes.

Another type of "cheap" store is the "Dollar Store." These come in
two varieties. First there is the true dollar store, where nothing
in the store is over a dollar. Then there are the stores that have
the word "dollar" in their names, but they sell items at all price
points. You can get some good bargains at these stores, especially
on clearance, but you shouldn't assume they are always cheaper. A
dollar store might sell an item for $1.00 that another store carries
for 89 cents.

My favorite type of "cheap" store is the closeout store. These stores
carry merchandise which is closeout, overstock, surplus, or salvage.
Some examples are Big Lots, Ollie's Bargain Outlet, Gabriel Brothers,
and Tuesday Morning. There may also be local or regional versions
of this type of retailer in your area. In Ohio we have Marc's and Value
City which carry closeout merchandise. You can get some fantastic
bargains at these stores, again, especially on clearance. While the
items will usually be new, some may be slightly (or not so slightly)
defective, so it pays to examine things carefully. Appliances, electronic
items, power tools and power equipment may be factory refurbished or
reconditioned and usually carry a warranty.

Another type of "cheap" store really isn't a store, but is a truckload
sale which periodically comes to town and sets up in a tent, rented
hotel room or storefront, or fairgrounds. These are often tool sales, but
I have seen book sales operate like this as well. You can get some
bargains at these events, but the quality of some of the items (particularly
at the tool sales) might not be that high, so buyer beware.

Speaking of getting tools cheap, Harbor Freight Tools, which has
catalog, online, and retail stores, is a good source. But you
get what you pay for, so watch the quality.

Still another "cheap" store is the outlet store, in which a major
retailer such as Sears or JC Penney consolidates its clearance merchandise.
There are also outlet malls, often on the outskirts of major metropolitan
areas, which are comprised of many outlet stores, some of which are
run by manufacturers or major brands, such as Nike or Rockport. Again,
you can find bargains here, but you shouldn't assume the deals are always
better. You have to be a careful comparison shopper to recognize true
bargains.

Then there is the going out of business or store closing sale. In these
tough times there will more of these events. They are unfortunate for
the retailer, but fortunate for you because you can score some major deals
at these sales, if you know how to "work" them. The way the sales start
is with a modest discount, usually 20% off everything in the store. But
be aware that they may have marked up the "regular" prices before taking
the 20% off. So the 20% off usually isn't such a great deal. The
discount will stay at 20% off for a few weeks, then they go to 30% off.
It will stay at 30% off for a few more weeks, then the discount goes
to 40% off, then 50%, 60% and on the last day everything is usually 90%
off. As the discounts get steeper, the time at which that discount is in
effect diminishes. The last few days of the sale usually are 70% off
for two days, 80% off for one day, then 90% off on the last day. On the
last day the deals might get even better as the day goes on, such as anything
you get into a bag for a dollar, or a whole cartload for $10.00, etc.
On the last day they just want to get rid of the stuff and close the store.
You can usually buy store fixtures at these sales as well.

Of course, while the merchandise is dirt cheap on the last day of the
sale, it will be really picked over and there won't be much left. These
sales involve a balancing act on your part, and a bit of gambling.
You need to weigh getting the item at the lowest price versus it not
being available. You should visit the store at the beginning of the
going out of business sale, and mentally record what they have that
you want and what the price is, and what is the maximum you will pay
for it. Then visit the store once a week as the sale progresses.
Keep track of their inventory. If a whole chain of stores is closing,
you can visit multiple locations to keep track of their merchandise.
I find that 40% off is when the prices start to get into "bargain" territory,
but of course your goal is to get it even cheaper if possible. But, if you
really want an item, and its inventory is getting low at 30% off, and it's a good
deal at that price, then buy it then, as it may not be there later. Always
go on the last day, at 90% off, as there is bound to be something you
can use that is dirt cheap.

One thing to be aware of at going out of business sales is that the
merchandise is always being moved around by store personnel as the
inventory declines. They consolidate the merchandise, and rope off
the empty parts of the store. So an item you are watching in Aisle
16 probably won't be in that same location throughout the sale.

If you live near your state line, you should research the sales tax
policies in your neighboring state, as there may be opportunities
to save money on sales taxes by shopping there. Some states have
no sales taxes at all, while others do not tax food or clothing. Prices
on gasoline can also vary greatly by state. Also be aware that sales
taxes can vary by county within a state. You want to shop where the
taxes are lowest, but of course you don't want to spend $4.00 in
gasoline driving to another county or state to save a few cents in sales
taxes. But it would be worth the drive if you are spending a lot of
money in a low-tax jurisdiction such that you might be saving $40.00 in
sales taxes. As always, bargain shopping is a cost/benefit analysis.

Cost/benefit analysis best describes the "wholesale club" stores,
such as Sam's Club, BJ's, and Costco. The cost is that these stores
charge a membership fee. The benefit is that supposedly the prices are
lower, particularly if you buy in bulk. I say "supposedly" because I
have little experience with these stores. I don't have a large family,
so buying in bulk is not an advantage for me. I don't like the concept
of having to pay for the privilege of shopping in a store. I personally
believe that I can do better by careful shopping at clearance sales and
closeout stores. But, your mileage may vary. If these club stores
save you money, great, go for it.

Another source of bargains are online sales venues, such as eBay,
Amazon, Craigslist, and Freecycle. Garage sales and flea markets
also have stuff cheap. And, for the best price of all, there is
dumpster diving and "free at the curb" merchandise on garbage day.
But these could be subjects of their own posts.