Managing Home Maintenance Costs

Buying the cheapest of everything can save you a great deal of money in the short term, but not always in the long term. There is usually a reason that something is cheap. That usually means it is not made well and will not last long! No problem if you do not need it to last long. But if a particular item lasts several years or receives a lot of wear and tear, you may want to spend a little more money and get a better quality product. Often there are sales of various goods for a variety of reasons.

Consumers can save a great deal of money. The mantra that our family follows is that we never pay full price for anything we purchase. We always look for sales. If something is not on sale, we either negotiate or wait until the item goes on sale.

Buying the cheapest of everything

Following this approach of always waiting for a sale item usually means buying items at a lower price and saving ourselves quite a bit of money. We also watch for sales that save us even more money.

For example, several times, we have purchased something on sale during the week. We know we are already ahead; however, some stores will have additional sales on the weekends. They might have a tax-free holiday, and whether an item is at full price or on sale, you still save on the tax. All we do is return to the store with our receipt and ask them for a credit for the additional savings. All large department stores and chains usually honor this approach.

By following the sales and by staying alert for sales, you can really follow the Buying the cheapest of everything approach!

Consumer buying in bulk can definitely save money if they purchase products that they will use. The problems start when you purchase items that are on sale when buying in bulk but you really don’t need all of that product. For example, the picture shows this consumer buying toilet paper. She is obviously getting a good deal and is stocking up on toilet paper. There is no question that she will use all of this product and save money at the same time. But what about other products that might not be used as quickly. For example, if you purchase 5 bottles of ketchup which have an expiry within one year? Will you use all of the ketchup within that time frame. If you do not and have to throw out some of the bottles, have you really saved any money?

Buying in Bulk When it Makes Senses

Items like toilet paper, paper towels, cans of fruit and vegetables, items you can freeze etc are usually good buys when you buy in bulk. Buying fresh vegetables in bulk makes no sense at all, nor does it make sense to buy fruit this way unless you can freeze some of the product for later use. We tend to purchase meat in bulk, separate it into reasonable portions, and then freeze it.

The same applies to bread and buns. Soap for dishwashing, soap for washing clothing, and similar products can also be purchased in bulk. Occasionally we will purchase some products in bulk that have an expiry date in a relatively short time frame. We tend to give away some of the product to other family members rather than see it spoil.

Before buying in bulk, ask yourself can I use all of this product prior to the expiry date. If I have to give some away or let it spoil will I still save money compared to purchasing the same thing at a regular price.

Driving out of the way to use a coupon would seem to be a silly thing to do for many people, yet everyone wants to save a dollar and they really do not appreciate just how expensive it is to drive and use your gasoline. It takes some effort to clip coupons. Also to sort them so that you can use them at the best times and when they are still valid. Consumers can save a great deal of money by using coupons, but when is the best time to drive somewhere to save money using a coupon? We came up with an easy approach to figuring this out.

Driving out of the way to use a coupon

Consider that your vehicle will use gasoline at the rate of an average of 30 miles per gallon. Some vehicles will get much more than 30 miles per gallon and some will be less, but let’s use this as an average. The average price of gasoline at the time of writing is $3.00 per gallon. Consumers can drive 15 miles and return for a total of 30 miles and a cost of $3.00 not including wear and tear on the vehicle.

If your coupons will save you at least $3.00, you are breaking even, and if you can save more than that you are ahead of the game. Driving 30 miles is not that far and saving money on larger items where you can save at least $3.00 or more means that it is worth it to take the drive and save a bit of money. Anything less than this and it is costing you money.

Grouping coupons is even better than just going for one coupon. Taking your full list of coupons to the grocery store for example is one way to save a lot of money and reduce your overall cost for gasoline as well. Focus on large discounts to really make a difference especially if you need to travel any significant distances.