Here Are Seven Ways to Buy Stuff at Discounted Prices

Find the prospect of paying things you shop at full price a pain in the wallet? The good news is that there are ways to buy items at a discount. Take a look at our tips below and find your budget more than enough to fulfill your weekly needs.

Use Coupons

This is the most common and popular way to pull down the costs of various items ranging from food to appliances. Glean them from various magazines or newspapers, as well as handouts during promotional events. Some retailers also reward certain behavior with coupons, like a 15% coupon for every bag of used clothing delivered to an apparel store, for example.

However, be careful to note the total purchase you’ll need to rack up just to get the discount. Otherwise, you may end up spending more than you planned for. An example is having to shell out $20 in order to get that 10% discount. If your necessary purchase only totals to $10, don’t bite the bait by whipping out an extra $10 just so you can enjoy a discount. This is except if the total sum (already discounted) is actually less than or just a little over the intended amount when you fulfill the purchase amount required to get the discount.

Take Advantage of Student Discounts

Even if you’re not a student, there’s a way to get your purchases eligible for student discounts. You can just use your old school ID or .edu email ad to make this happen. Or let someone in your family or circle of friends still attending college or high school buy something for you (with your own money).

Buy Baked Goods Near Closing Time

Some bake shops or stores selling pastries slash product prices by half near closing time to cut their losses from the excess goods of the day (it won’t sound good to re-sell those pieces of bread the next day, wouldn’t it?). You can time your purchases to those opportune hours so you save on bread money or have a less costly food alternative.

Note Sale Season of Retailers and Shop Accordingly

End of season sales should be your best friend. If you’re thinking of refreshing your wardrobe or home décor, or some other item, do this during sale season so your money gets a serious buying power boost.

You can also take the waiting game online, as some virtual stores host sale at certain times of the year (e.g. Cyber Monday).

Take a Break from Online Shopping

When you quit your shopping cart, the e-tailer usually sends a “we want you back” email with a discount coupon code included. That being said, it does pay to take a break from online shopping once in a while.

Be In the Know about Price Codes

Price tags generally come with rows of numbers that don’t mean anything to you at first glance. However, those codes give you clues on discounts and how low a particular item’s price will go when it’s discounted.

“I used to work in River Island and light pencil marks such as 015 would mean an item would go down to £15 or 0015 down to £1.50,” said one insider.

It’s possible, though, that the item will sell out or run out of stocks in your size or color by the time the sale happens, so waiting it out does come with this risk.

Connect with Retailers through Social Media or Newsletters

There are times retailers send notifications of coupons and discounts every now and then. They may also, seemingly out of the blue, give you an opportunity to own a new item if you engage in their promotional activity, which usually doesn’t cost you a thing but can yield you rewards.