The Best Way to Save Money in a Recession

As an avid sale junkie, I can only speak to ways that I know how to save money and that is through great sales!

Even in a recession we still need to buy necessities but we are also going to continue to buy things we don't need either... We are human and still get are enjoyment from items that make us happy and that usually isn't a gallon of milk or a pack of eggs! We (woman and men alike) like buying fun stuff that we get to show off like a new pair of shoes, a stylish top or big screen TV...Fortunately, we can still buy those items even in today’s tough economic times.  In a “recession” like we are in today everything seems to be on sale, discounted or better yet free and all you have to do is find the deals...  I have put together a few ways that I save money in this economy while fulfilling my needs and wants at the same time...

Look for promotions and I don't mean nightclub promotions! There are always fast food restaurants giving away free items in order to lure potential customers into their stores. I just recently found out that Chick Fil A was doing a promo where they were giving away free chicken sandwiches between 2-4pm and it was right by my house! True, you may have wanted that chicken sandwich some other day at some other time but this way you can get that sandwich you wanted and its free! These promos are usually done on a local level so keep your ears and eyes open!

With consumers like you and I not spending as much as we were last year retailers are starting to feel the crunch and are closing stores... Stay up on the latest store liquidations because this is where the real deals are. Items that traditionally don’t go on sale are heavily discounted in order to move inventory. The hard thing about store closings is they do a progressive type sale, meaning they start at like 20% and go up from there as they get closer to their close date! Need to monitor them closely in order to stay up on % changes and inventory left.

Traditional sales are popping up everywhere and at every store or website. Whether it’s a luxury retailer or a department store they are going to have sales. The key here is to shop last season’s stuff as retailers want to clear room for new inventory and heavily discount these items to do so. Don’t you love the racks that are take another 40% off of already reduced merchandise? I know my eyes light up! The early bird gets the worm here! You must be one of the first to discover these sales as they tend to get picked through quickly.

Last but not least... Use coupons for everything! We keep a running list of items we need for the week and before we go shopping we go online to search them all. We look to see if there are any coupons for specific items or sales at a specific grocery store that may have these items reduced. We once saved more then we spent at a grocery store and our bill was still over $100.

I hope you found this article entertaining and most of all informative…. Just remember, you can have your cake and eat it too but you just have to be flexible and work the sales!