It’s Not Really Frugal – It’s Just A Way Of Life

I’ve mentioned before how much I like the "deal".  For me, the "deal" is anything that I can do to get a better price on something.  I absolutely hate paying retail for something.  When I do have to pay retail for something I find myself feeling a bit of dread as I pay the cashier.  Whether I’m at the department store buying new clothes, or at the grocery store buying food, I always prefer to buy the product that is on sale.  Here are a few examples of how I shop:

Awhile back, we needed a new digital camera.  Rather than just drop in to the first store I came across, I spent a little time researching prices.  I had previously seen the camera I wanted while I was shopping at a store so I knew exactly what I was after.  Once I decided I wanted to purchase it, I checked Amazon, Buy.com, Ebay and Pricewatch to try to get a sense for what the "going rate" was online.  Once I knew what that cost was (incl shipping) I then searched through all the potential stores that I could buy it at (online at their websites) Ultimately I ended up buying the camera from a store that had a 10% coupon off all electronics.  While it may sound like it took a lot of effort, I’d say I put in about 15 minutes total to find the best deal.

The latest thing I need is a new pair of shoes.  I have been wearing the same type of casual shoe for a few years now and absolutely love how they fit so there was no question which kind of shoe I’d like.  They are made by Georgia Boot and are called Romeos.  There are some off brands that look similiar but they are not nearly as comfortable and are not as high quality.  I know where to buy these and their cost is always regularly $59.99.  Every month or two, I notice that they go on sale when I’m looking through the Sunday ads.  I’m currently waiting for their sale again and then I’ll pick them up.  I can do this because I haven’t waited until my current pair is completely falling apart which gives me a bit of flexibility.  My brother in law thinks I’m crazy.  He says, "For crying out loud, just buy the shoes!"  Naaah.  I’ll wait until they are on sale and will save myself $20.  Over the course of a year, I will save hundreds and hundreds of dollars by having a little patience and not being quite so quick to pull the trigger on purchases.

It doesn’t really matter what you are buying.  This same approach works for everything.  We saved over $20,000 when we bought our house because we were patient and didn’t jump at buying it the second that we knew it was for sale.  By having a little patience and doing a bit of negotiating we saved thousands.  (It helped that the owner was trying to sell it by word of mouth.  If he had listed it in the MLS I wouldn’t have been so lucky).

Different family members have made comments over the years that I always seem to be able to find the good deals.  It’s really not too hard to find those good deals if you are looking in the first place.  The key is to give yourself time to find the deals as opposed to just handing the cash out the second you want something.  By planning ahead a little bit you can really reduce your annual costs for the things you buy.