5 Shopping Tips When You Have Less Budget

Look, the fact is that most of us are not rich. Our salaries are not infinite. Also, whatever salary we get we have to save something for the future. So, most of us are left with a tight budget. Surfing on such a budget can be tough. But nothing is impossible if you plan well and are disciplined in your approach. Here are 5 tips which will hopefully help you get through your shopping when on a low budget.

1. Wait for Sales

Let’s kickstart the list with something which probably many of you already do or at least have thought about when you are stumped for cash. With the growing popularity of online shopping more and more sales and discount seasons are happening around the year. This is because there are lots of competitors in the game and to beat them or to at least attract a certain percentage of customers to their own website company’s have to lower the prices. This is great for people who are on a budget. Look for end of season sales as companies (both offline and online) will try to sell of the surplus products to keep the shelves clear for the newer batches. Then often there are sales during festive periods like Christmas, Thanksgiving, Black Friday, etc. Sometimes many day-to-day items are sold even at a discount 40-60%.

2. Plan before you shop

Good planning wins you the game. So, it is very much important that before you head out to shop prepare a list of items you need and stick to them. In this discipline is very important. You can’t go freestyling. Our minds are programmed to wonder and stay distracted. This can be problematic when you are in a shopping mart and you see many things which attract you. This can be overwhelming and you might end up spending more. While making a list try to be specific. Include brand names and even plan for the scenario when that particular brand is not present. This way you will have a roadmap to follow and your mind will be less distracted. On a side note, this will also save a lot of time as you don’t have to wonder every now and then whether you need a particular item or not.

3. Liquidation Stores

If you are a retail store owner and don’t have much budget to get items for your store then consider checking out liquidation wholesale Stores. A liquidation wholesale company or store is one which helps big e-commerce giants like eBay, Amazon or even Nordstrom clear their surplus products which have been shelved for a long time. For bigger companies space is very important. Newer products have a better probability of selling than older ones and thus space has to be created for them. So, they sell these products for a very low price to liquidation companies who in turn sell them at a discounted price. These stores buy truckloads and further sell the products at liquidation outlets. A popular liquidation wholesale store is quicklotz.com. It is an online store which has been serving a large customer base for a long time. If you smartly choose the liquidation store and the item then you will have a much better profit margin.

4. Buy things offseason

This relates to the first point and is applicable mainly for clothing and related stuff. If you ask me or any other normal middle-class person they will say that buying winter clothing is costly. You have to have coats, pullovers, sweaters, jackets, windbreakers, winter caps etc. You might also need to buy a blanket if you don’t have one or the one you have is worn-out. The trick is not to buy these items during winter. Since it is the time of need for these items they will be costly as the demand is high. Try buying them in summer. This will ensure you get a good deal as in summer these items are off-season and no one is going to buy them anyway. So, shop owners wi often put in huge discounts so that they can get them off the shelf. Of course, there won’t be everything that you need as it is not the season but the stuff that you do find is in stock so be very cheap.

5. Grocery Shopping tip

Let’s have the last tip for people who are trying to shop for groceries on a budget. Living alone for quite a long time has given me a certain experience when it comes to grocery shopping. Obviously, the first tip applies here as well. Also, don’t bother buying stuff which is on sale just because you think it will save you money. You have to judge whether you will use it. Don’t buy things which you might need once in a while since food products or additives last only for a year or half before they expire. If you buy something like let’s say cheese powder and you only use it once or twice before it expires then it will be a loss. So, think smart and curb such desires and spend money on something you will need regularly. Rather than buying ready to eat meals learn to cook. Believe me, it will save you a lot of bucks. As you get more experienced you will learn to use less to cook a more tasty, healthy and cheap dish.