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Shopping

Ask For Last Year’s Merchandise And Save Money

A great way to save money when you shop is to be willing to purchase last year’s merchandise.   When buying shoes, don’t be afraid to ask the sales representative if they have any shoes left over from last year in your size.   If you are lucky, they will have just the shoes you are looking for, and at discounted prices since they came from last year’s stock.

Recently my husband and I benefited from this strategy.  While shopping for shoes in the States, the shoe salesperson brought out various pairs of shoes from last year that fit us perfectly. We were able to get good quality shoes without paying regular price.  As a result, we saved at least $60.

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Shopping

Become A Member And Save Money When You Shop

Although it may be annoying to have so many cards in your wallet from all the various stores where you regularly shop, it is worth your time to become a member when it results in saving you money.  It’s important to familiarize yourself with the benefits of membership and often all it takes to apply is your name, contact information, and mailing address.  The best part is that membership is often free!

You can also benefit from becoming a member in a country other than your own.  This worked for me when I was shopping for groceries during our travels in the U.S.  While shopping I noticed that members enjoyed significant savings, so when at the till, I asked the cashier if I could become a member even though I was Canadian.  She said it was no problem and it only took about two minutes to fill out the application form.  On that same bill, by taking the extra 2 minutes, I was able to save about $15.00.  It never hurts to ask!

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Shopping

Shopping Around Pays Off

The other night my husband and I went shopping for special devices used for dental hygiene.  The two items we were looking for included a Philips sonicare toothbrush and a Waterpik waterflosser.   These may sound like really weird gadgets, but they are supposed to help promote dental health and we definitely need to be taking better care of our teeth.

We started off by checking out the prices at Zellers.  The waterflosser was $100 and they didn’t have the toothbrush.  Next we went to Superstore, where I expected to find the lowest price for these gadgets.  We discovered that the toothbrush was $100 and they didn’t have the waterflosser.

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Shopping

Is It Worth Your Money? Take The Quiz To Find Out

Do you think it is worth the money to have a lawyer draw up your will?

Do you consider generic prescription drugs to be as effective as the more expensive brand names?

These and other topics are brought up in the Kiplinger.com quiz “Is It Worth It?

To buy or not to buy- that is the question.  There are certain things that are offered to us that may seem like a good idea but later we find out that we wasted a lot of money for nothing.

Before reading any further, I would encourage you to take the short “Is It Worth It?” quiz on Kiplinger.com under the Spending Wisely section.

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Shopping

Do Women Have To Pay More Than Men For The Same Item?

While I was sitting in a waiting room the other day waiting for an appointment, I browsed through the April 2010 copy of Chatelaine magazine.  I found an article about how women’s products are generally more expensive than men’s products.  The article was specifically talking about hygiene products such as deodorant, body wash, shaving cream, etc.

The author of the article stated that for the most part, women are willing to spend more on hygiene products so stores jack up the prices accordingly.  The author’s suggestion to women is to check out the men’s products before making their purchases.  If they can find an unscented men’s product that is the equivalent to the higher priced women’s product, then they should go ahead and buy the men’s version.

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