In the Money Section of the Sun Sentinel, Thursday, February 28, 2013, a new website by Time was announced: www.allyou.com. It seems that it is a new resource for shopping tips and discounts. They did a survey of 2,600 women ages 21 to 59, and found more than two thirds of the women said they shop for deals because they want to, not because they have to. They discovered that 90% of the women surveyed said they would still shop for bargains even if they became millionaires. 88% said getting a bargain is worth bragging about.
Yes, this Grandma says shop smart. We have known forever that certain months are good for shopping for certain items. www.allyou.com has a detailed article on each month: http://www.allyou.com/budget-home/money-shopping/best-month-to-buy-00411000068406/page16.html
You can find the information on which months to buy what on many websites and you should check before you make a major purchase. Even Oprah has her list! http://www.oprah.com/money/Best-Time-of-Year-to-Buy-TVs-Computers-Jewelry-Gym-Memberships
We Boomer Grandmas know how to take advantage of the internet. Why pay for shipping when you can just put in a code and get free shipping? Why pay more for an item when you can just put in a code and get a discount? We know to wait for a sale and there is likely to be a sale often in today’s economy.
Before I click “buy” on the internet, I always check www.retailmenot.com. I have found that this one stop shopping aide is most up to date and I really do not want to check ten websites for codes. If the website is not listed, I then put the name of the on line store and the words “coupon code” into google.
I have found on line shopping to be the best now. “Brick and Mortar” stores are not carrying the stock they carried before. I cannot seem to find the style and size in stores that I can find on the internet. Also, my daughters and I have found that even GAP and GAPKids and GAPBABY have more discounts on line than in the stores! We have gotten to the point of shopping in malls for pleasure, but pulling out our Smart Phones to comparison shop before we buy in a store! More often than not, we put the item down, especially in GAP, and go home and buy the same item for a discount with free shipping on line.
This Grandma cannot decide which came first: stores not carrying full stock or better shopping on the internet. But one thing is for sure. Why pay more than you have to for anything when the internet is the easiest tool for comparison shopping! And the best is that it enables this Grandma to justify buying more for the grandchildren with
Joy,
Mema