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The Mom's Guide to Earning and Saving Thousands on the Internet Supplemental Material
(c) 2005 by Barb Webb and Maureen Heck ~ All rights reserved. No part of this page may be used or reproduced without full credit and permission of the authors. Email barbwebbauthor@yahoo.com with questions or requests.
REGISTER SAVVY Savvy Shopper (‘sa-vE ‘shä-p&r)
a shopper who maximizes their saving potential by outsmarting the average retailer
“Last week at the store I spent $38 for $92 worth of groceries. I also had $12 worth of rebates to mail in, and accumulated 120 points on my frequent shopper card—lest than $26 to feed a family of three for a week, can you beat that?” - Samantha, GA
Putting it All Together at the Register
You’ve made it this far, you’ve done a bit of shopping in the interim, but maybe you are still struggling with how to maximize your savings and keep it all organized. This chapter will introduce more valuable insights to understanding the ins and outs of stretching your shopping dollars. It will also help you to make sense of combining all the programs discussed previously into one comprehensive plan, thereby molding you into the savviest shopper in the checkout lane or at the virtual shopping cart!
Strategies before the Shopping Spree
The best laid plans are those that are prepared ahead of time. If you apply the same effort and thought process that you may employ planning a birthday party for your little one, your shopping trips will be as rewarding to your pocketbook, as the wonder of your child’s excitement is to your heart! While it may seem a little awkward at first, and initially take a bit of time, once you’ve gotten in the habit of treating your shopping trips as a money-saving venture, you’ll breeze through the process with little effort. The one thing you will immediately notice is the thrill you’ll get from saving your family money, getting free items and services, and doubling your dollar power each time you shop!
Here are some of the most important things you can do before you make a single purchase:
§ Decide what it is that you need/want to purchase and make a list on paper or in an electronic file format. Stick to your list. This is a sure fired way to save money at the checkout. Pay a visit to the MOM(dot)COM™ website at www.momdotcom.net for great shopping printables.
§ Scan your favorite websites and periodicals for coupons available and flip through your coupon file. Pull, clip, print, or record the coupons available for your use. Note the coupon dollar amounts next to the items on your list.
§ Scan your favorite websites, periodicals, and your personal files for rebates available.
§ Pull, clip, print or record the rebates available for your use. Note the rebate amounts on your list next to the items.
§ Think about what stores you intend to shop.
§ If groceries are what you are shopping for, check to see which grocery store has the best sales or offers the best rewards. If it’s another type of store you will be visiting, check the store’s circulars, sales events, online codes, and the current promotions available through store specific credit cards. Briefly note any sales or promotions at the bottom of your list.
§ Check to see if your secret shopping companies are offering visits to any of the preferred retailers on your list.
§ Look for double or triple coupons in the grocery stores. Often they will offer these saving on all manufacturers’ coupons up to a limit set by each individual store. This is a great way to maximize your savings, and is never missed by the savvy shopper.
After searching for savings and compiling your list, simply scan through it and match up the best combination savings!
You may find that you want to visit multiple stores or websites to complete your purchases. This is generally worth the effort, especially if you are looking at higher savings. Occasionally, you may decide the extra effort is not worth the few pennies, and simply choose the best store that will save you the biggest dollar amount or give you the best opportunities.
For example: Let’s say that you only have two items on your list of needs—a new DVD movie for you and a new Potty Chair for your toddler. When you scan through your list, you notice that store A has the lowest sale price on the DVD and store B has the lowest sale price on the Potty Chair.
However, store A also offers you money back on purchases and is available for a secret shopping assignment. In the long run, purchasing both items at store A will give you the biggest payoff.
As you can see, preparing a little before you shop will give you the maximum edge and is easy to do. Using a list is a good guide to follow in the beginning, and later on, when you have more experience and the process becomes second nature, you’ll want to add some guidelines of your own that you’ve discovered along the way.
At the Store: The Other M’s of B&M
The Brick and Mortar (B&M) retailers incorporate several strategies throughout their facilities that are transparent to the average consumer. Even with all the ammunition in The Mom's Guide to Earning and Saving Thousands on the Internet reserve, you may still get sucked into retail merchandising and marketing traps. Merchandising and marketing are what we fondly refer to as the other “M’s” of B&M.
There is no cause for despair or reason to fear the other “M’s” though, as we will safely steer you through the shopping aisles and teach you how to make the merchandising tricks beneficial for you and your family.
Before you shop: Marketing begins from the second you look through the ads in the Sunday circular, or see a commercial on television. Companies everywhere are making every attempt to influence your shopping habits and product choices. Would you like to know two of the best ways to turn this overwhelming tide to your advantage? 1) Learn to recognize price leader promotions, and 2) take advantage of new product discounts and promotions.
Recognizing price leaders is fairly simple—these are the items listed in ads or advertised in the store at a super low price in order to attract a customer’s business. Retailers know the odds are when they get a customer in the door with a low priced item; they are likely to purchase other items during the same shopping trip or become repeat customers. Your mission is to beat the odds and use your shopping smarts and coupons to stock up on price leaders for maximum savings and avoid getting trapped into adding high price items to your cart. If it can wait or there’s a better deal on the other items you need elsewhere, the smart choice is to shop around or hold off on the purchase. Another thing to note about price leaders is that they often go quickly, so shop the sales early or inquire about the stores rain check policy to make certain that you get in on the deal!
New product discounts and promotions can be a fun and fabulous way to get in on super savings, adding improvements to your standard fair of product choices. New products will often be introduced with free offers or other giveaways. When possible, be sure to sample the products in a “try before you buy” fashion since it is a great way to see what you are getting before you purchase it. New products are often accompanied by high value coupons, be sure to look for these in the Sunday circulars, online, and at point of purchase. If you like the product, use these coupons to stock up while the prices are at rock bottom.
In the store: You can take lengthy classes on marketing and merchandising tactics, analysis, and strategies. In a nutshell, we’ll give you a crash course on the top strategies that retailers don’t want you to know:
§ product placement
§ “buy more to save more tactics”
§ locating common items in hard to find places.
Let’s begin with the later first: locating common items in hard to find places. Do you ever wonder why many pharmacies are in the center or back of the stores? Do you know why milk and meats are more than often found at the back of the store?
These placements didn’t happen by accident. The stores design their layout with the idea of keeping you in their facility as long as possible and for encouraging you to walk through the store for each trip. So how do you outsmart this tactic? By knowing it exists. Find a pharmacy that offers drive thru service to avoid having to even enter the store. Realize that as you are walking to the back of the store to get milk along with your cereal purchase, that you are targeted along the way with impulse buys and distractions designed to coax you into spending more. Avoid the temptation and smile, knowing that you are winning the shopping game with each step you take!
The next tactic is the product placement. How many times have you returned home from a shopping trip with items you didn’t intend on buying? While you are on your path through the grocery store, perhaps to get eggs from the back corner, the aisles, end caps, and racetracks are lined with attractive product placement and tempting sales. Manufacturers pay to get prime retail space placement. The best placements are typically considered to be those at eye level, the end of each aisle or the end caps, and pallets, carts or displays placed along the path you are walking ,which is referred to as the racetrack. Often these are higher priced items, items you really don’t need but are attractive to you, or items placed in such a manner as to imitate a sale, but are not truly on sale, just positioned in a high traffic area with a catchy sign. Shake your head at these temptations and you’ll be beating the retailers at their own game.
Buy more to save more tactics are a little trickier to recognize, but they commonly show up in the form of 1) Buy a quantity and get a reduced or free item and 2) Buy multiple items for one price.
An example of the first option, buy a quantity and get a reduced or free item, is when you encounter a sale on undergarments boasting that if you buy 5, you get the 6th one free. On the outside, this may sound like a bargain, but it’s really a tactic to get you to purchase more than you intended, or to purchase items you hadn’t even considered buying in the first place.
Your best bet is to add that item to a future shopping list for consideration and go back to the basics you’ve learned on how to prepare for your shopping trip. If you do this, we guarantee you are likely to find a much better alternative for savings, and even if further investigation reinforces the original deal, you may come up with extra coupons maximizing your savings. There may even be a mystery shopping assignment you would have missed by acting on impulse and falling for the “buy more to save more” tactic used by the retailer.
An example of the second tactic, buy multiple items for one price, is when you are shopping for soup and you notice a special sign enticing you to purchase 5 cans for $7. Retailers often use numbers that aren’t easily divisible for these promotions knowing that many people won’t stop to do the math. Are you really saving with these promotions? Maybe and maybe not. Let’s say the normal retail price for the can of soup is $1.45. The 5 for $7 promotion will only save you $.05 per can, or a total of $.25! Most likely not worth purchasing when you consider that you may be able to find coupons worth twice that value for future purchases or are more than likely to catch the item on a real sale, discounting each can $.25 or more in the next few weeks.
If you are uncomfortable doing the math in your head during your shopping trips, pack a small calculator in your purse or coupon file for moments when you need help deciding if these sale opportunities will really save you money.
Another thing to note about these types of sales is that you most often do not have to buy the required amount to enjoy the savings. Perhaps you stumble upon a really great “buy more to save more” promotion and you only need 2 of the 5 items offered in the sale. Take the 2 items that you need and leave the rest. Look for signs that state “must buy 5” or something similar to help determine the quantities required to receive the discount. Worst case scenario, you can simply ask to have it taken off your bill, if you do not receive any discount at the register.
Be cautious of “tie ins” these are items that are related to an item that is on sale, but offer you no savings on your purchase. You may see onion dip displayed along with potato chips that are on sale for .79. Often you will not see any prices on the onion dip, as the retailer is hoping you will buy that item on impulse, regardless of the cost. If you want dip with your chips, be sure to check for manufacturer’s coupons, as well as checking the appropriate aisle for sale priced merchandise. These are especially prominent during the holidays, when you are already stretching your pocketbook to its breaking point. Say no to tie-ins, and shop smart saving yourself even more in the long run.
Also, learn to tune out those pesky announcements blaring over the store’s PA system. You already know why you are there, and the best sales are always listed in the circular. Do not fall prey to a “great sale on cheese” in the deli department if you did not intend to buy cheese in the first place. By repetition, they hope you will spend more money before you leave the store maximizing their profit, and minimizing the contents of your wallet. Smart shoppers do not hear the messages on the PA, and they save money!
At the Register or Online Shopping Cart
Your shopping journey is coming to an end and you are ready to checkout. Does your shopping savvy end there? Not if you follow the extra tips outlined below to ensure you leave bargain-happy and dollar-wise!
Beware the Impulse Trap: As a last ditch marketing effort, B&M retailers and on-line retailers alike use impulse items and sales hoping to bulk up your purchase at the register. Resist these efforts at all cost unless you are sure purchasing impulse items will afford the savings you seek.
Ask questions like, do you really need that magazine or could you get a free subscription on your freebie boards or a significant discount through an online magazine outlet? Do you have a coupon for the batteries on the end-cap near the register or are you better off going to another store and stocking up on a battery sale? If you tack on the $10 t-shirt offer to your online order, will it really save you money, or are you better off waiting until you visit your local superstore retailer where the same t-shirt cost $7 plus you’ll receive added points on your frequent shopper card? Be certain that you really have a need for the item, or are getting the best deal with those last minute purchases.
Another way to avoid impulse buys is to pay with cash if there are not any benefits in regards to points, rewards, or delayed financing for using your credit card. It is a lot easier to resist buying the extras if you have already budgeted a set cash amount for your purchases. If you are using a credit or debit card to make your purchases, be sure to set a price limit, and do not exceed it unless it is absolutely necessary. Use the calculator you carry in your purse to keep a rough total of money spent as you shop, if you are unable to keep track in your head.
Watch out for Suggestive Selling Tactics: Retailers train their employees or spend large sums of money to craft the right words or motivators on their websites to up sell you on products and services that add money to their profits, but don’t necessarily add value for you. A prime example is the common “would you like fries with that?” Did you go in with just a sandwich in mind? Do you really need/want the extra calories or fat content? No? Then you really don’t need fries, or pies, or bigger sized drinks.
Another example is an extended warranty or service plan often offered on electronic products. You may be buying a $20 phone and be offered a $5 extended warranty option. Is it worth it? Probably not.
Look at the product packaging and find the manufacturers warranty information or ask a store clerk to look the information up for you. If they are carrying the manufacturer’s product, they should at least have access to the warranty information or the phone number through which the warranty information can be obtained. Also check out the store’s return policies. Weigh the manufacturers warranty period and the store’s return policy against the extended warranty. Chances are with smaller electronics, the problems will occur within the first months of use and you will be covered by either the store’s return policy or the manufacturer’s policy.
Still considering purchasing the extra policy? You should read the fine print carefully before making your final decision. Many times things like breakage due to use, surge protection, or parts of the item are NOT covered by the extended warranty. Be sure you are paying for something that will cover all fault in manufacturing and reasonable use of the product.
This is not to say that all warranties should evoke an immediate “no” response from you. When purchasing larger appliances or new technologies, these policies may give you peace of mind and pay back in the long run. Just be sure to read and understand the policy thoroughly and weigh your options before spending your hard earned cash on a service you may not need or use.
Do a Mental Check on Savings: While you are standing in line at the register, review the items in your cart and make sure you’ve pulled out all the coupons pertinent to your choices. Pull your frequent shopper cards and special credit cards out so they are ready to be utilized.
As you unload items out of your cart, ask yourself if they are all necessary buys or if you have fallen prey to any marketing tactics along the aisles or web pages you have shopped. Don’t be afraid to give items to the cashier to be put back into the store. You are always entitled to change your mind.
Check for Scanning Errors: Watch the items as they scan through the register and inform the clerk immediately if you catch any pricing errors. Most people do not make a habit of checking the items as they are scanned. Stores have multiple thousands and sometimes millions of products to keep track of- it’s easy for some to slip through the cracks and for less-than-current pricing to show up in the register system. Watching for these errors up front will save you from losing money and the time and hassle of returning to the store for a price fix. Check with your individual stores for policies on items that scan incorrectly at the check-out. Often they will offer you the item for free, or give store “dollars” for savings on your next shopping trip. Be certain to watch the cashier ring through any coupons you’ve provided, checking for their accuracy and ensuring that each one of them is scanned into the system. You have the right to question any coupon that does not ring correctly, or politely point out to the cashier that they missed one of your savings.
Check Your Receipt: In the same vein as watching the scanned items go through the register, check your receipt before you leave the store or close out of your online purchase. If purchasing online, also take the extra step to print your receipt in case there are discrepancies down the road when your order ships. For example, occasionally an item will be out of stock or placed on backorder and when the retailer recalculates your total, the coupon, certificate, or code that you used may not be applied correctly to your new billing. Having a copy of your receipt with the coupon, certificate, code numbers, or savings present will come in handy when you contact the retailer to adjust your billing accordingly.
After you leave
You’ve left the store, remembered all the steps and are now the savviest shopper on the block! What more can you do to enhance your savings and rewards? Keep in mind these S.I.M.P.L.E. extras to truly expand your buying power!
§ S is for Share: Did you find a great deal, catch a fabulous clearance, or scrounge up the best coupon available? Be sure to share the information with your friends, relatives, or online buddies in your favorite forums who might be interested. After all, you want them to do the same for you!
§ I is for Index: File your receipts and copies of rebate forms right away so they don’t clutter your desk and are easy to retrieve. Tuck away any new coupons, codes, or offers you’ve received into your designated coupon system for future shopping trips.
§ M is for Manage: Fill out and send in your rebates as soon as possible so that you won’t forget or miss the deadlines. Fill out and submit any mystery shopping forms you might have while the information is fresh in your memory, so you can receive reimbursement in a timely fashion.
§ P is for Praise: Did you receive exceptional service from a retailer or did the product you purchased exceed your expectations? Let the retailer or manufacturer know via a phone call, email, or letter. Very often these companies will reward you with extra coupons, small tokens, or insider mailings for your efforts. In addition, you’ll know that the positive experience you’ve encountered will continue to be reinforced due to your feedback.
§ L is for Learn: Assess your experience. Are there things you could have done differently? Did you miss an opportunity? Follow up to see if you can correct the situation. For example: if you forgot to use the link for your online points program, check with the company to find out if you might still be able to receive full or partial credit for your transaction with their partner retailer. It never hurts to ask! Also, note the things that may have contributed to your savings and what you may have noticed about the sales patterns of your retailer. Make a note in your shopping notebook or on your calendar for future reference.
§ E is for Earn: Collect your reimbursements from your rebates and mystery shops. Record them as they come in and follow-up on any delinquent offers. Check your point offers and reward program balances to find out if you have received the correct rewards for your efforts and to see if you have accumulated enough to submit for gift certificates, cash, or prizes to add to your overall earnings.
By following the MOM(dot)COM™ S.I.M.P.L.E principle, you’ll be sure to add extra value to your shopping experience and rack up the maximum savings available! Are you ready to be a register savvy shopper? We think you are!
In the “Lifestyle” section of The Mom's Guide to Earning and Saving Thousands on the Internet we’ll be taking your register savvy to the next level by giving you a jumpstart in the hot-spot shopping arenas for moms on a budget for purchasing baby items, travel, and saving on entertainment and household items.
Read on!
(c) 2005 by Barb Webb and Maureen Heck ~ All rights reserved. No part of this page may be used or reproduced without full credit and permission of the authors. Email barbwebbauthor@yahoo.com with questions or requests.
