Tag Archives: Shopping

More Ways to Save Money in Happy Valley

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Last week we got started on a few ways to save money in Happy Valley.  Since there were so many, I decided to continue the same subject this week.

  • Many of you have relocated from warmer climates.  And this week you got a little taste of the autumn chill of Pennsylvania.  The reality is that winter is only a few months away, so warmer clothes will be a necessity.  But you don’t have to purchase brand new.  A large part of my plan to “reduce, reuse, recycle” is to buy as many of my clothes as possible second-hand.  My primary supplier is the State College Goodwill store.  If you need to load up on cold weather clothing, this is a great place to do it on the cheap.
  • Another great place to find useful cheap stuff is at the campus Lion Surplus store.  On any given day you’re never sure what you may find.  Computer accessories, computers, filing cabinets, and old dorm furniture are regular fixtures.  But you may also find bicycles, sports gear, clothing (I got a Blue Band jacket just last week), musical instruments, or any number of other unusual things.  It’s just across the parking lot from the Katz Building so worth a walk to check it out!
  • Do you need to open a new bank account?  If so consider a credit union.  Credit unions typically offer more favorable interest rates and more free services than typical for-profit banking institutions.  The catch with credit unions, however, is that you have to qualify to become a member.  But by nature of being a Penn State student, you are automatically eligible to join the Penn State Federal Credit Union.
  • Do you like to go to the movies?  The movie theaters in State College not only offer student discounts, they have $5.00 Tuesdays.  All movies, all day, $5.00 each.  And if you also have their loyalty card, you can get a free popcorn too!
  • And finally, have you ever thrown away a pair of shoes that you wish you could have had fixed?  In State College, you can probably have them fixed!  While shoe repair is a dying art, there is an awesome little shoe repair place downtown where you can get your leather goods fixed up for a lot less than the cost of replacement!  I’ve had many a shoe and purse there for re-working, and I’ve always been happy with the work.

I hope you’re all enjoying being back in Happy Valley for the fall (IMO the prettiest time of year to be here!).

 

Saving Money in Happy Valley

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Many of you are new to Happy Valley.  Many of you are just returning after a summer away.  Whichever is your situation, here is a refresher of the many ways you can save some money in the State College area.

  • Do you eat at any of the campus eateries?  Many of the dining options offer a discount if you pay with LionCash.  You simply add some money to your ID card and use it to pay, and the discount is automatic!  It’s also a great way to limit the amount you spend on eating out each week by setting a weekly LionCash amount that you won’t exceed.
  • The presence of the Sheetz gas station/mini market chain is pervasive in this part of the state (with their corporate headquarters only 40 miles away).  Since it is practically inevitable that you will shop there, you should make sure you have the My Sheetz Card.  With this card you will save 3 cents per gallon on every gallon of gas, as well as accruing loyalty points that can add up to free food and beverages.  And while you are there, you can do your banking.  Every Sheetz has a fee-free ATM!
  • While we’re talking loyalty cards, don’t forget about your grocery stores.  In State College you will find Giant , Weis, and Wegmans.  Each one has a loyalty card program.  Scan your card with your purchases and save money on select items as well as earning gas rewards at Giant and Weis.  But you have to sign up to bring in the savings.
  • If Trader Joes’ is more your speed, don’t forget to bring your own reusable bags.  Every time you shop there and BYOBag, you can sign up for a drawing for a Trader Joe’s gift card.  They draw a winner every week.

The money saving opportunities in town are endless.  So I’ll be back next week with even more ideas!

 

Food and Stuff: Adventures in Grocery Shopping

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I went to three different grocery stores this weekend.  I hate grocery shopping.  And totally on purpose I did it three different times in two days.  But there is, indeed, a method to my madness.  And it’s all about getting the best stuff for the lowest cost.

My first stop was Trader Joe’s.  I know lots of folks love Trader Joe’s for nearly everything.  For me it’s really a one purpose trip.  It’s all about the canned cat food.  It’s no secret that I’m a little nutty about my fur babies.  And I’ve tried every canned cat food from Friskies to the ultra-high end grain free foods.  But I keep coming back to Trader Joe’s.  The combination of high quality and reasonable price just can’t be beat.  Worth adding a quick stop at an extra store?  Since it’s not far from my house (so I’m not putting any financial savings into my gas tank), I think yes.

Second stop was WalMart.  I know lots of people have ethical objections to WalMart, but I really love having a low price “food and stuff” store close to my home.

My mission there was dry goods, toiletries, and cleaning supplies.  Some of these I can’t find exactly the brand and size I want at my favorite grocery store, so I go to WalMart.  And for things like laundry detergent, it’s just plain cheaper there.

All of that was enough for one day for me, but Sunday morning I was out again, this time to Wegmans.  My mission there was produce and store brand products.  I’m a huge fan of Wegmans brand stuff.  Toilet paper.  Tissues.  Soda (which yes….I know I shouldn’t be drinking…but I have an addiction).  Soups.  Dairy products.  All Wegmans brand.  All cheaper than I can get name brands at either WalMart or Sam’s Club.  And in my opinion better quality than I’ll find in the more expensive name brand items.

So for someone who hates grocery shopping, why did I put myself through this?  Could I have just gone to Giant and gotten everything I needed there for just about the same cost?  Maybe.  Would I have been as happy with the items as what I got by making all three stops?  Definitely not.

For me, the three stop shopping weekend isn’t the norm…but a two stop weekend is not unusual.  This was a big one.  I was out of a lot of things and preparing to not be home next weekend.  But my reality is that the best product for the best price is important to me.  Worth going to three grocery stores in one weekend.

Are you a one-stop shopper?  If so, you likely know that your priority is getting the groceries quickly and easily.  If you’re a multi-stop shopper like me, you know that you’re more focused on getting the best price on the product you really want, without compromise.  Both are viable tactics.

How many grocery stores do you go to regularly?

 

Thanksgiving: The intersection of travel, food, and shopping

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The week of Thanksgiving always make me think of three specific things:  travel, food, and shopping.  Since I already waxed poetic over leftovers last week, I’ll take the spotlight off the turkey feast, and instead focus in on the intersections of food and travel as well as food and shopping.

When you are getting ready to drive or fly or bus or train to wherever it is you may be going, start by eating a good meal and then packing some food for the road.  Travel food, whether it be airport chow, a roadside restaurant, or a Sheetz stop along the highway, is always going to be more expensive than food you prepare yourself.  So make a sandwich.  Fill a baggie with chips or  veggies.  Grab an apple.  Fill a travel mug with coffee or a plastic bottle with water.  And save yourself a fortune in travel food!

The same rules apply if you are braving the crowds at the stores on Friday morning.  Don’t leave home with an empty stomach that will lead you to a mall food court.  Make a plan.  Pack a snack or even a whole meal.  I’m a big fan of Black Friday shopping.  I sit down with the sales flyers from the newspaper Thursday night and plan my attack based on the items I am pursuing and what time the stores they are in open.  Last year I remember specifically having about 20 minutes in between when I was done getting a great deal on a frying pan at Macy’s and when Bed, Bath & Beyond opened.  This was my breakfast window.  I sat in my car in the parking lot enjoying the coffee I had brought from home and the granola bars I had in my purse for exactly this situation.  It would have been really easy to run to McDonalds or Sheetz for a breakfast sandwich.  But I didn’t need to spend that extra money (or consume the extra fat).

When you’re thinking about your Thanksgiving week adventures, plan ahead.  Take some food with you.  You’ll save a bunch of money.  And while you’re at it….don’t forget to think about all the many things you are thankful for.

thanksgiving

 

Shopping Off-Season–Even Resale!

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Everyone knows that shopping off season can save you some money. For example, this week is the best time to get a great deal on next year’s Halloween costume or decorations.  Or a giant bag of candy to satiate your sweet tooth and disappoint your dentist.

Halloween-clearance-70-off

But what if your favorite place to shop is a resale shop (like my favorite shopping fix, the State College Goodwill Store)?  Do you still need to think about shopping off-season?  I think yes.

I made a journey to Goodwill yesterday (Sunday….because that’s the day they change the prices and you get the best selection in the 49 cent and half price categories) and found several things for the current season, but also got amazing deals on a couple of pairs of shorts and an awesome pair of REI convertible pants (the legs zip off and they turn into shorts) for camping.  Did these things cost less than if I had purchased them in the summer?  No.  But I did have a lot more to choose from because most people are not looking for summer clothes in November.  So I bought the summer clothes and they’ll hang out in my basement until May, and then I’ll have new (to me) clothes that I completely forgot about over the winter.

Shopping off-season isn’t limited to regular retail.  Think about it when you’re shopping resale as well!

 

How valuable is your time?

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Last week, at the peak of Penn State undergrad move-in days, I found myself standing in line at a State College big box discount store, watching befuddled students and parents trying to figure out how to ring a giant plastic drawer unit through the self-checkout lane.  I knew it was move-in and I knew the store would be insane.  I had other options.  And I went anyway.  Why?  Frugality.

I was in need of a new sleeping bag for a camping trip in the State Forest last weekend (a frugal woman’s vacation!).  And I knew I had two options.  I could go to the sporting goods store and pay more than I wanted to.  Or I could go to the discount store, brave the move-in crowd, and save myself ten to twenty dollars.  My time and my sanity are valuable to me.  But in this situation, I would likely only have saved myself about ten minutes by going to the sporting goods store rather than the discount store.  My time is definitely valuable.  But “one dollar per minute” valuable?  I don’t think so.

When you’re trying to weigh out the frugal option versus the convenient option, you should definitely factor in the value of your time.  But be careful not to overvalue your time.  A lot of times the frugal option makes a lot more sense.  Besides…you wouldn’t want to miss out on the entertainment value of undergrads trying to run jumbo items through the self-check, would you?

Online Prices: Up and Down Like Horses on a Carousel!

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I’m a frequent shopper on Amazon.  And I regularly put things into my Amazon cart and let them sit there unpurchased for long periods of time.  But recently I’ve noticed that the prices on these items in my cart can fluctuate greatly from day to day.  I noticed it first when I was getting ready to buy camping cots.  I had done the research a long time ago and put the cots I wanted into my Amazon cart for purchase closer to the time when I would need them.  But as soon as the weather got warmer, the price on the cots shot up.  One of them by almost 50%.  So I waited.  And eventually the price came back down.  And I purchased before it could go back up again.

Last week I noticed it with my dream treadmill (because I’ve been searching for a treadmill for some time).  Good quality treadmills aren’t cheap.  And the one I’ve been eyeing sells for about $1,300.  Then one day last week, the price dropped by 10%–$130.  It stayed there for just a couple of days, and then returned to its former norm of $1,300.  I have to wonder if it will ever drop down again.

This weekend it was running shoes.  I’ve been thinking about getting a new pair of running shoes since I started running outside more in this warm weather we’ve been having.  I picked out several pair I liked and just left them in my Amazon cart, marked “save for later.”  My favorite of these shoes was $46 when I first put them in the cart.  Then on Saturday I noticed they dropped to $42.  Then Sunday they dropped to $40 (and I pulled the trigger and bought them, because that’s a GREAT price on good running shoes).

If you like to shop online, be aware that prices can fluctuate from day to day.  You may want to take your chances and wait to see if the price on your item drops.  There’s always the chance it may go up, of course.  But what goes up must come down.  Watch your saved items in your online cart and try to buy when the price is at its lowest.

Adventures in Grocery Shopping

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I dislike grocery shopping.  It’s one of my least favorite things I do every weekend.  Yet I regularly go to three different grocery stores every week.  While it’s kind of a pain, it saves me a lot of money…all in the name of getting the best possible product for the lowest possible price.

In order to make it more manageable, I usually head to Wal-Mart and Trader Joe’s on Saturday morning, and hit Wegmans on Sunday morning.

At Trader Joe’s I get a limited number of items that I find are the best quality for the money (usually just coffee and cat food, but sometimes I’ll get some pasta sauce or snack foods).

At Wal-Mart I’ll get some of my regular grocery items that are less expensive there than at Wegmans.  Why do fat-free cottage cheese and Progresso soup have to be cheaper at Wal-Mart than at Wegmans?  I’ll never know.  But I get those things and several other items with lower price tags at the Walton empire every week.  I also browse through the meats and produce at Wally World to look for bargains.  It’s not my regular go-to spot for these things, but sometimes I find amazing deals.  For instance, a week ago I got an amazing deal on some strip steaks that were labeled “first cut.”  They weren’t pretty.  But they were delicious nonetheless.  And they were much cheaper than the rest of the strip steaks in the case.  And I regularly find great deals there on meats that are going out of code.  Look for the bright yellow labels.  They usually say to use or freeze by the current day’s date.  No problem.  I have a freezer and I love to get a great deal!

At Wegmans I get just about everything else I need.  Believe it or not, many things are cheaper there than at Wal-Mart.  A box of store-brand cereal is a full 28% cheaper at Wegmans than at Wally World.  And that’s just one of many, many things that are less expensive at the store where all the carts do not have at least one wobbly wheel.  And Wegmans is also my go-to for most of my produce needs (though I am thinking about turning to a CSA in the future).

While I don’t go there every week, like the other three stores, my local warehouse club is also a part of my regular grocery plan.  I get most of my meats at Sam’s Club in bulk and freeze them in individual serving sized packages.  The quality of the meats is great and the savings is significant.

Is it a pain in the neck to go to so many different stores for my grocery needs?  A little bit.  I have to take the time to go to a bunch of different places.  I have to have a general awareness of how much the items I use regularly cost in the different stores.  I have to be aware of quality issues (because sometimes the cheapest option has disappointing quality, making it not the best choice).  But going through this exercise helps me to get the food that I want at the best possible price.  To me, it’s worth it.  If I were to get everything in one store, I would have to make concessions on either quality or price.  And those are sacrifices I’m not willing to make.

How many grocery stores do you visit regularly?

Is It Ever Too Late to Return a Purchase?

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At the end of October I bought the perfect white button-down blouse.   I carefully hung it in my closet with the tags still on it and stashed the receipt in a safe place.  And then it got cold outside and I started wearing turtleneck sweaters regularly, so the blouse stayed on its hanger.  Fast forward to March.  Since I bought the blouse I have lost a bit of weight and the blouse no longer fits.  It’s way too big.  A nice problem to have, but I was feeling awful about the $35 I spent on the perfect blouse that I never wore.

I started wondering how much money Clothes Mentor (my favorite place to get rid of clothes I no longer want in exchange for cash or for store credit) would give me for the blouse.  But I thought it might be worth asking at the store where I bought the blouse if I could possibly still return it.

As it turns out, despite the fact that I had purchased the blouse five months earlier, the store was still selling that particular blouse and was willing to offer me store credit since the tags were still on it and I still had the receipt.  So that store credit very quickly turned into the skirt for the new suit I needed (since the perfect black suit I bought last fall is now too big for me as well).

The lessons I took away from this experience:

  • Keep receipts until you are absolutely certain you are keeping something.
  • Don’t take the tags off a new piece of clothing until you are really going to wear it.
  • Don’t be afraid to ask if you can return something.  Even if you bought it a really long time ago.

Did you ever buy something and then never use it?  You just may be surprised at your ability to return it!

 

Caveat Emptor: Let the Buyer Beware

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Caveat emptor.  Let the buyer beware.

It’s no secret that I’m a fan of buying things second hand.  Sometimes this works out really well…like the designer clothes I pick up at Goodwill and the barely used snow blower I picked up from a friend moving to California.  But sometimes things don’t work out as well as I’d like.  And with second hand purchases, there really isn’t a lot of recourse.  If you buy something new and it doesn’t work, it might have a warranty.  Or you may be able to return it to the place where you bought it.  But it doesn’t always work that way when you’re dealing with thrift stores, Craigslist and eBay.

I learned this the hard way a few weeks ago.  Just before Christmas I was in the market for a Fitbit Flex fitness tracker.  But I didn’t want to pay the $99 retail price.  So to eBay I went.  I got what I thought was a great deal.  For about $60 I got what was billed as a lightly used Fitbit Flex, complete with the computer dongle, a wristband, and a charger.  I got it and everything was great.  I used it without issue for a couple of weeks and left positive feedback for the seller.  And that’s when things started going badly.  One day I couldn’t get the Fitbit to sync with the Fitbit app.  I did a little research and learned that the answer was to reset the Fitbit using a special reset button on the charger.  And that’s when I learned that the charger that came with the Fitbit was not the original manufacturer’s model.  It was a cheap knockoff that didn’t have the reset button.  So I went to Amazon and ordered a replacement charger.  But before it was even delivered the Fitbit stopped working altogether.  My $60 was gone.  My Fitbit was dead.

Since the Fitbit was actually helping me with my New Year’s fitness and weight loss resolution, I bit the bullet and headed to my local big box electronics store and handed over $99 for a new replacement.  So the Fitbit I resisted paying $99 for ended up costing me $159.  And even the accessories that came with the second hand version aren’t particularly useful.  The charger is fine for charging, but not for a reset.  The dongle may or may not function…I’ve never used it since I prefer to sync with my smartphone.  And the wristband also turned out to be a cheap knockoff that I don’t like near as much as the manufacturer’s version.  All in all….I pretty much flushed that money down the toilet.  But I learned an important lesson about purchasing electronics second hand.  I likely won’t do that again without making sure I have an option to return.

Second hand purchases work out for me more often than not (along with the Fitbit only a Craigslist kegerator and an eBay smartphone stand out as “lessons learned”).  And I have no intention of giving up my second hand shopping habit.  But I’ll likely think twice before dealing in used electronics again.  Caveat emptor.