In this article, you learn when to spend and when to wait to get more bang for your buck. After all, your goal is to keep more of those bucks in your pocket!

Stockpile When There’s Savings – Save Money by Avoiding Emergency Purchases

Many people today are “need buyers” – they buy something when they’re of out it or when they have a need for it.

Unfortunately, that’s not the stretch-savvy way to spend. Waiting until you’re in need leaves you at the mercy of the seller. And the more badly you need something, the more willing you are to pay a higher price. Take the power away from merchants, and instead begin purchasing items when the price is right for you. This means you have to learn how to stockpile.

Stockpiling sets you up for dollar-stretching success as well as convenience. You’ll encounter less frustration as you’ll likely have extras on hand when you need them, and you’ll save time and effort by minimizing trips to the store.

The challenge with stocking up is knowing where to put everything you buy. A bit of creativity can help here. Put every closet, corner, nook, and cranny in your home to work for you. When you realize the vast savings and convenience that can be yours, you won’t think twice about reinventing storage possibilities around your home.

Saving Money by Following Sales Cycles

But before you go out and stock up and save, wait a second. There really can be too much of a good thing, including extra stuff at home, no matter how useful and how great of a deal you got. After all, you don’t want to be tripping over toilet paper for the next 4 years, do you?

The key is to purchase just enough to get you through to the next discount opportunity. And like anything else, there are tricks to this trade.

Become a sales-cycle sleuth, and you’ll never have to pay full price again.

Uncovering sales timetables isn’t difficult. Start watching sales fliers and coupon circulars in your area for repetition and patterns to anticipate when you’ll best be able to snag a deal. Even if you don’t crack open the sales fliers past the front page, look to the loss leaders to determine what you can purchase that week for the most value.

When you’ve discovered a pattern, create a sales-cycle tracking method in a notebook or on a calendar so you’ll know when to keep your eyes open for particular items. When an item goes on sale, mark the date so you’ll be able to anticipate the next sale. In general, sales cycles are 9 weeks long. Use that as a starting point to determine the cycle lengths specific to the stores you shop most often.

This helps you not only anticipate your next opportunity to stock up at a savings, but also determine how much you should purchase during any one sales period. It shouldn’t take you long to master this cycle so another deal comes around just when you’re running out of your stocked goods.

definition

A loss leader is on item advertised, usually on the front page of a sales flier, at a sale price that’s actually below cost. Advertisers use these items to lure you into the store and bonk on you buying other, more expensive products while you’re there.

Stockpiling Tips – How to Keep Track of What You Buy

Lack of storage space isn’t the only challenge stocking up can present. If you’re not accustomed to “shopping” from inventory you already have at home, you can easily forget what you have and head out to purchase more.

To avoid this, assign a set place to store and organize your purchases. It also helps, at least in the beginning, to keep a record of what’s stored where. Keep this list in a place that’s handy for everyone in the house to reference, such as on the refrigerator or inside a frequently used cabinet door. Plus, a list is nicer to look at than a lot of cluttered goods, so tuck away the merchandise and keep out the list for reference.

Be mindful of expiration dates, and I don’t just mean those on food items. You might be tempted to stock up on items such as antiperspirants, over-the-counter drugs, and toothpaste when there’s a great sale-after all, these types of purchases can reap the biggest savings. But don’t purchase so much that your supply is in danger of expiring before you can use it.

Check expiration dates when you make the purchase, and carefully rotate your stock at home so you use the items due to expire sooner first.

Super Saver

Keep a permanent marker handy to number your purchases in order of what should be used first, or plainly note the expiration dote so it’s easy to read.

A wise coupon-wielding shopper can rack up substantial savings by using multiple coupons on a single item, if the store allows it. If there’s a sale price on top of that, you just saved more money!

What are you waiting for? Grab an envelope, a pair of scissors, and a can-do attitude, and let’s start clipping and in some cases, clicking!

Saving With Coupons – Where to Find Coupons?

Think the Sunday paper is the only place to get coupons? Think again.

While coupons are nothing new, there are many creative ways to use them and to acquire them in the first place.
For example, consider using a coupon-clipping service. It’s illegal to sell coupons, but it’s perfectly legal to pay someone for their time and effort to collect, clip, and organize them for you.

Using such a service enables you to purchase only the coupons you’ll use for a nominal fee. Not only do you save the time and effort by not having to find and clip the coupons yourself, but you’re guaranteed to only get the coupons you’ll actually use.

The backs of cash register receipts are another great place to find coupons toward dining out, dry-cleaning bills, and even car maintenance. If you know ahead of time there’s a valuable coupon on the back of the cash register tape and you have a friendly cashier, ask him to scroll out an extra length of the tape so you can get more coupons.

Super Saver 

Keep your coupons where you’ll use them-with you! Using an envelope inside your purse or wallet, organize coupons by expiration date with the most current one on top to ensure a valuable coupon doesn’t get lost in the mix before you get to use it.

You can also go directly to the source – the manufacturer for coupons. If you like a product, let the manufacturer know and ask for coupons.

Many manufacturers have a toll-free “tell us what you think” line or at the very least a customer service phone
number you can call or an e-mail address you can write to. When you do, be sure to ask for coupons so you can continue purchasing their products. They’re grateful for the repeat business, and you can reap the savings.

Nowadays, you can do nearly everything from your computer purchase and print airline tickets or postage and even click and print coupons. Although some stores have placed restrictions on printable coupons use due to fraudulent activity, more and more stores are embracing the practice. From promotional coupons on manufacturer web pages to entire sites devoted to these money-savers, printable coupons are essential in a dollar stretcher’s arsenal of tools.

Dollar Stretcher

Often times employee, can give you a heads-up on an upcoming sales or clearance markdowns before they’re advertised. If you have a specific purchase in mind, ask an employee..

How to Use Coupons to Save Money

Your mother probably continually told you to be nice, and standing in a cash register line is a great place to put this into practice-especially if you forgot your store-issued coupons at home. Nine times out of ten, the cashier will ask how you are, so tell her and then remember to reciprocate. After all, cashiers are people, too. Be nice to her, and she’ll likely be nice to you and probably even identify with your predicament.

She may have the same coupon available for you to use then and there or be able to tell you how to get another one.

If you live in a part of the country where stores permit coupon doubling, take advantage. If you don’t, you can still use coupons to compound your savings even more. Many coupons have “No Doubling” printed across the top, but that doesn’t prevent you from using a manufacturer’s coupon in conjunction with a store coupon or a sale price.

You can even use coupons on clearance or discount items to bring the cost down even more.

Spending money is as much about knowing how to play the game as it is about actually purchasing an item. From the background music in stores to the specifics of product packaging and placement, manufacturers, stores, and advertisers know how to play the game.

It’s time you did, too. The next time you enter the marketplace to make a purchase, whether it be in person or online, be sure you’re prepared to win by knowing how to spend. After all, it’s your money at stake!

Penny Pitfall

While at the cash register, keep an eye out for incorrect prices, duplicate product scans, and any extra weight unnecessarily added to the scale when purchasing produce.

It might not save you much money, but it will help protect you from accidentally paying for something you didn’t buy.

The old saying of “money is money” is quickly becoming not the case. The method of payment you choose to use can often have a profound effect on the price you end up paying after all’s said and done. Know when to use the various methods to pay and you’ll not only lower your bottom line, but ensure you get more for your dollar, too.

1. Credit Cards

Credit cards aren’t inherently evil; they are a financial tool like any other form of payment. Be wise in how you use them, and they can work to your advantage. If you’re making a major purchase and a sales associate offers you a discount if you sign up for the store’s credit card, consider it. Charge the total purchase to the new credit card to receive the lower price and then pay in full as soon as you receive the bill. (Feel free to close the account quickly as well.)

Many credit cards also offer reward programs as a way to attract and keep business. Use this to your advantage to earn rebate checks or free items by using your credit card to purchase everyday items. Just be mindful to pay the balance due in full immediately, or you may actually end up owing more in the form of interest. One of my friends uses the gift cards she earns from spending on her American Express card during the year (and paying her bill off every month) as holiday gifts for all her nieces and nephews.

Major credit card issuers such as American Express, Visa, and MasterCard also offer complimentary extended warranties for qualified purchases. All you have to do is pay for the entire item using your credit card and then register the product with your credit card company. It will afford you extra protection for your purchase and cost you absolutely nothing.

Super Saver

If you use your credit card often, link your credit card account to your bank account either through the creditor or the bank directly so you can transfer money immediately to payoff purchases even before you receive the bill. Tnil means no postage paid and often no interest accrued. Even if you’re unable to pay the balance in full, you’ll be better equipped to keep the balance from growing.

2. Debit, Check, and ATM Cards

Check and debit cards offer the convenience of a credit card with the peace of mind that comes without accruing debt. They’re not only convenient, but can save and even earn you money, too.

Using a debit card reduces the number of trips you have to make to an ATM to get cash, saving you money on ATM fees. If you have to pay for check printing, using your card can save you money by minimizing the number of checks you write. And with some debit cards, you can earn rebates offered by some banks, credit unions, and even retailers such as IKEA. Even PayPal.com offers a debit card (linked to your free PayPal account) that pays 1.5 percent cash back on all debit purchases.

Don’t get complacent about the convenience, though. Remember to save receipts to reconcile with your check register later, or-better yet-subtract the purchase amount on the spot. It can be easy to for get a purchase here and there, especially the small ones. They add up quickly, though, and a molehill of forgotten debit purchases can add up to a mountain of expensive overdraft fees.

Penny Pitfall

Remember, your debit card enables businesses to deduct funds from your checking account immediately. To avoid any possible over draft fees, ask your bank to link your checking account to your savings account for overdraft protection If this isn’t available, consider opening a line of credit through the bank for iust this purpose.

3. Cold, Hard Cash

Even in this day and age of electronic money transfers and automated banking, there’s still the practice of “cash only.” There are costs involved in processing credit and debit card purchases. Many businesses are rewarding the cash-carrying crowd by passing on savings. Plus, if you pay in cash, you can stretch your dollar by avoiding any associated fees such as interest on a credit card balance or an ATM/debit card convenience fee.

Money talks, so let it scream volumes for you. Whenever making a major purchase, offer to pay for it using cash to strengthen your bargaining power when asking for a lower price. Remember, take the initiative! Your ability to pay in cash saves the seller money, which they can pass along to you in the form of a discount.

The power of paying in cash isn’t limited to purchasing things. If you don’t have health insurance for a specific issue (such as chiropractic or dental), paying your fees in cash (or check) can often get you a lower price. Many gas stations even offer a special price for cash-paying customers.

Look for products by manufacturers that will stand behind their products. Keep in mind, too, that guarantees are always a better value than warranties. Regardless, don’t pay for your own mistake when you can learn from somebody else’s. Talk to friends and family to find out if they have any experience with a brand or product. Or check out Internet sites that provide a platform to openly review products for the benefit of other consumers (see Resources). It never hurts to ask at the customer service desk if they get many returns of the particular product, either.

The more major the purchase, the more important it can be to buy from a reputable retailer. Double your buyer protection by not only purchasing from a manufacturer willing to stand behind the product, but also from a retailer willing to stand behind your purchase. A store that offers a longer return or exchange period can help protect you further should that purchase go kaput too soon.

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A warranty protects a manufacturer by defining limitations for what they’ll do in the event something goes wrong with a product. A guarantee protects consumers by promising their satisfaction with a product or service.

Look Out for Ongoing Operational Costs

If you’re in the market for a product that will have ongoing costs, don’t forget to consider those also prior to making a purchase. A cheaper appliance that has costly accessories, refills, or filters is no deal at all.

Many manufacturers will purposefully price their items low to rope consumers into paying more for additional costs over the life of the product. Paying a bit more upfront for an item that has lower ongoing costs can be the best way to get more for less.

For example, when you’re in the market for a home printer, ask store employees which printer features cartridges that are easily refillable.

Even if you opt out of refilling cartridges, there’s still great savings to be had. Search eBay for your printer’s replacement cartridges. You’re sure to find either discounted manufacturer or generic cartridges brand new for less than you’d pay in the store.

The following list shows a few examples of the kinds of products that require ongoing operational expenses:

The information is easy to attain and the savings can be great, so jot down the name and model number to scope out the ongoing operational costs either in the store or online. Do be careful, though, as store brands as well as generic competitor brands can all vary greatly in price as well as quality. You can even ask a repair service which model historically breaks down the least.

It can pay to check for online reviews of accessories as well. Items such as generic video game accessories may not pose any harm to the actual system itself, but low-quality ink may do damage to a printer. Do some research before you plunk down your money.

More to Love? Don’t Get Cheated by Extras…

Our high-tech society seems obsessed with appliances that multi-task as much as we do. These appliances can be great budget stretchers, but they can also create more problems when something goes awry. You may be able to live without your scanner for a few days if your 3-in-l printer, scanner, fax machine breaks, but it may be more difficult to cope without TV if your combined TV/DVD player stops working ..

Consider in advance how reliant you are on specific appliance tasks, and purchase multifunction appliances accordingly. Remember, it’s the manufacturer’s job to try to con you into thinking you need more. Do you really need a toaster oven with a separate toasting function on top for bread and bagels? On the other hand, a video game console that doubles as a DVD player may be expensive initially but can be a worthwhile investment as an entertainment powerhouse.

The easiest and most effective way to get creative about spending is to find new ways to use tried-but-true techniques. People still use coupons because they do help save money. Just don’t limit yourself to traditional sources. Clearance and discount bins offer great savings, but don’t wait for items to end up there before you seek the cheaper price: take control yourself! Loyalty card programs can reward you for shopping at a particular store, but increase the card’s savings potential by using it in different ways. Let’s take a closer look at discounts and loyalty cards.

Devise Your Own Discounts

Take the initiative, and ask for discounts that aren’t even offered. Be open to outright asking for discounts for less-than-perfect products or packaging. If you’re not worried about getting the original packaging with your purchase, ask if floor models are available for purchase at a discount. And if you purchase an appliance without a manual or the original packaging, have no fear. Most  manufacturers provide full, printable manuals for their appliances online.

Another easy way to snag a lower price is to point out product or packaging flaws. If you see a tear in a package, a small dent in an appliance, a missing button, or any other cosmetic imperfection, don’t wait for a markdown that you might miss. Bring it to the manager’s attention now; ask for a discount and you may very well receive it. The very worst that can happen is he’ll say no and you’ll be left paying no more than you would’ve before. Give it a try, and you might be surprised at how much you save.

From booking travel arrangements to unadvertised specials at retail locations to special long-distance phone rates, don’t miss an opportunity to ask if any discounts or special offers are available.

Many special pricing opportunities aren’t advertised and are only offered to those who ask. Resolve to be one· of the lucky few. Repeat after me: I will take the initiative.

Let Loyalty Pay You Back

Many stores and even restaurants offer loyalty programs to help encourage repeat business. If you see this as nothing more than a marketing ploy, you’re absolutely right. With every wave of your card, the store can track your spending and monitor your purchase habits.

If you’re willing to give up a little of your anonymity, you can rack up significant benefits, including savings. Depending on the specific loyalty program, you might get special pricing, free items, or even rebate checks. The benefits don’t have to stop there, though. Many supermarkets either partner with local gas stations or have their own and offer per-gallon discounts to loyalty card users, for example.

If your store prints out coupons at the cash register, use this purchase tracking system to your advantage. Purposefully alternate the different brands you purchase. Each time you shop, you’ll increase your chances of “earning” a coupon for a competitor’s brand of the same product.

Another way to get more coupon variety and rack up a higher rebate is to hand out all those extra cards you received when you initially signed up. If friends or family decide not to sign up for their own account, ask if they would be willing to carry and scan your card for their purchases. They’ll receive any available savings on the spot, and you’ll accrue their rebate points. Last year, a friend of mine got a free turkey for Thanksgiving just for using her loyalty card at her supermarket.

Super Saver

Need more loyalty cards than you were given when you signed up? Pick up a new set and call the customer information line. Ask that the new cards be linked to your existing account. You’ll have more cards available to help you accrue points and rebates faster.

• What and who you need to know to save
• DIY clearance items
• When to buy quality
• Cash, check, or credit?
• Great ways to get and use coupons

If you’re like most people, at one time or another (probably more recently than not) you’ve stood at the cash register waiting with slight trepidation for the total to ring up, or you’ve looked down at your outgoing bills with a flutter of fear in your heart. Rest assured, you’re not alone.

We all want to maintain our current lifestyle while reducing the amount of money we spend to have it, right? Does that seem like wishful thinking to you? Well, it’s not! Stop wishing and make it happen. The tips and techniques in this article can help you keep your shopping cart just as full while you save money. That’s what stretching your dollar is all about: more for less.

Knowledge Is Your Key to Savings

Ignorance may be bliss in some situations, but it’s certainly not when it comes to saving money. Simply not knowing any better leaves you victim to higher prices, shoddy quality, and fewer options.

Lack of knowledge isn’t an excuse, but it may very well be the reason many people don’t get the most from their money.

Educating yourself doesn’t have to be drag, though. In fact, it can be fun because getting more for less can be a great challenge. Turn it into a game to see how much more you can get while keeping your spending at the same level it is now (or even dropping it!). Some things will be easy, while others will be more challenging. For instance, for small purchases, all you might have to do to stretch your dollar is simply look at all the options on the store shelf before putting something in your cart. On the other hand, major purchases will likely require more effort because more of your money is at stake.

The good news is that the more effort you put in to acquire all this spending knowledge, the more you’ll be rewarded when you shell out less money at the cash register and keep more green in your wallet.

How to Save Your Money

Let’s start with the what of stretching your dollars. If you’ve ever read anything on how to save money, you’ve likely heard it said time and time again: make a list and know what you’re going to get  before you go shopping. This is true, but there’s a lot more worth figuring out before you plunk down your money.

Decide in advance exactly what you need to get out of your purchase so you’ll know how much money to invest in it. Advertisers pay big bucks to entice you to purchase their products. Knowing exactly what you want helps you withstand the siren song of more than you need, not to mention the advertising ploys. Sometimes good enough really is; don’t allow yourself to get talked into-and pay for-more.

Whether you’re looking for something on the cheap or looking to invest in a long-term purchase, you can’t identify a great price without first knowing the item’s various price extremes. Do some research-in stores, online, or both-to become knowledgeable in price ranges and what exactly you can expect to get for each price point. You may very well know you want a bare-bones coffeemaker.

But unless you know what a fair price for that appliance is, you leave yourself vulnerable to paying an espresso-machine price.

A great resource for both price and quality comparison just so happens to be a free one, Consumer Reports. Their tagline, “expert, independent, nonprofit,” says it all. A quick look www.consumerreports.org can immediately help you determine what a fair price is for nearly anything.

And because they’re nonprofit, you can rest assured that the information you’re getting is as unbiased as it can get.

Who You Need to Know

So you know what you’re buying, but what about who you’re buying it from or who can help you save? I’m sure you’ve heard that networking can do great things for your career; it can also do amazing  things for your wallet. Sometimes it’s just as much about who you know as what you know. Tell me who your friends are, and I’ll tell you how you can save money-it’s the “stretching your dollar   network,” as I like to call it.

The easiest way to start your network is to get your friends on board. You can often get a great price by asking your friends to shop for you. Senior citizens can take advantage of senior discount days at a variety of different locations, including discount retail stores and thrift shops.

Store employees often get store discounts where they work. Teachers can get lower prices nearly everywhere. By simply showing a school ID badge, pay stub, or other proof of affiliation, educators can snag discounts at bookstores, office supply stores, and even software manufacturers. Some teacher discounts are reserved for classroom purchases only, but more and more retailers are offering the discount as a way to thank the educators in the community and are allowing them to take advantage of the savings on all purchases-professional and personal.

Dollar Stretcher 

Educator discounts aren’t reserved for in-classroom teachers. Many retailers offer the same discount privileges to librarians and home schoolers. Be sure to ask if your affiliation qualifies you for such savings.

If you’re able to get such friends to make a discounted purchase on your behalf, be sure to not wear out your welcome to similar savings in the future. Show your gratitude for their assistance in helping you save, and reimburse them promptly. And maybe offer them some similar help if you have shopping perks your friends don’t have.