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Black Belt Shopper
(featured column)
Timing
Can be Everything
by Larry
Wiener
It was 9:00 a.m.
on Saturday, October 8th, at the Pasadena Library here in California. Dozens of frugal book lovers (myself included) were lined up waiting for an important monthly opportunity—the Friends of the Library book sale that takes place the second Saturday of each month.
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Those book lovers were showing their understanding of an important component of
black belt shopping—TIMING. A little planning on the timing of your purchases can save you hundreds or even thousands of dollars throughout the year.
Black belt shoppers here also know that two grocery chains often feature sale prices on items featured in the Sunday coupon supplement. If you take those coupons in between Sunday and Tuesday, you have a chance of catching the item on sale and being able to double your coupon.
Also, if your schedule permits, early morning may be a good time to get a bargain on yesterday’s meat (good for freezing) or yesterday’s milk (which will work if you have a large family and can use it soon).
Tuesday is also a 10% off day for those 55 or older at Ross Dress for Less. Theaters offer bargain matinees some as late as 5:00
p.m. on weeknights and weekends. A latish lunch and bargain matinee could save big over dinner and a
night-time movie.
Certain items are a better buy some months than others. You can find bargain calendars online and in books.
Here is one useful
link.
If you are buying a new car, you may be able to snag a good deal the last week of the month when dealers are trying to beef up their numbers so they can get better deals from the manufacturers. A stormy day may also be a good day to go car shopping because salespeople don’t have too many customers and may be anxious to make a commission that day (they also may have more time to explain the various cars to you.)
Consistently buying at the right time will take some research and organization. It will be time well spent, however, when you consider the money you save. Here are some tips that may help you.
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Find out when coupons come out and when the supermarkets in your areas introduce new sale items. Coordinating these two elements can make a huge dent in your food budget.
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Find out what days the thrift stores, closeout stores, and dollar stores get their delivery. Getting to those stores when they first get their deliveries will give you the widest choices of merchandise.
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If you have attained the age of 55, find out about stores in your area that have senior days. Often they are on Tuesdays at least here, but that policy varies.
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If you are a moviegoer, find out when the bargain matinees are. Go to those matinees fed so you are not tempted to load up on expensive junk food.
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Buying toward the end of the season will save big (winter coats in March, patio furniture in September and October, etc.)
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Use your local newspaper to learn about sales in your community.
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If you are a write-it-down type, you may want to have a notebook or calendar to help you remember when you can get the best bargains in your area. You may even want to adjust your schedule so you can take advantage of these regularly occurring bargains. |
And here’s a special tip for those of you who live in a city that has both Macy’s and one of the stores owned by May Department Stores (Filene’s, Robinsons-May, Hecht’s, Kaufmann’s Marshall Field, Strawbridge’s). Macys’ parent company has bought out May and will be closing some duplicate stores sometime after Christmas. That should yield some pretty decent bargains, so plan ahead for that opportunity.
Timing your purchases can save you big. Once you get in a routine it ‘s not that hard to time your purchases. For more information on using timing as well as the other two main strategies of black belt shopping (choices and information), check out my e-book
The Black Belt Shopper’s Guide available
on this site.
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Copyright
© 2005 by Larry Wiener. All rights reserved. Want more
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