Written by Paul on June 22, 2009.
The key to getting a good deal on any product is knowing the best “regular” price on any item. With groceries this has become easier with Wal-Mart and Aldi being the low cost leaders on pretty much every item out there. In fact, if you do not want to play the coupon game you can save about 20%-30% off the regular prices at the grocery stores just by shopping for groceries at either of these two stores.
If you are looking for the absolute best prices on groceries coupons are the way to go as long as you know that you aren’t paying more just to use a coupon and get a name brand item. Now I tend to know what a good deal is on any product due to my diligence in understanding prices across the markets, but I am coming across many items that I have no real basis for how much they cost as my wife and I prepare for the birth of our first child. In short, I have no clue how much baby supplies should cost.
I saw this as a great opportunity to share how I create a pricing strategy for any item. So for this example we will be using diapers, but the method can be used for any item that you purchase at retail stores.
Diapers turned out to be a little more complicated than I originally expected because there are so many different sizes (which makes sense when you think about it but I never had). So I headed down to my low cost leaders (Wal-Mart/Aldi) and priced out diapers. Now if this were electronics I would have spent more time online than in the stores.
Next I take the prices and put them into a chart that looks something like this:
Now as I was looking for the best prices I noticed that none of the companies had the same quantity of diapers in their packaging. So instead of being able to rely on the data above we have to take another step and add a per unit column. This makes the chart look like this:
Very simple concept, just divide the number of diapers into the total price to get the cost per diaper. Using this number I can easily whip out the calculator on my cell phone and determine if this weeks special really is, all that special.
Written by Paul on June 18, 2009.
Anyone who buys in bulk or stocks up on sale items runs into two problems. The first is running out of space. I don’t tend to have this problem because my wife cuts me off from purchasing more before all the storage in our house is gone. The second, is not realizing that you are running out of a product that you had a ton of.
A good example for me is that we are now down to three rolls of bath tissue. This creates a problem; I now have to settle for the best deal available instead of the best deal possible. Meaning I am spending more money than I want to on bath tissue.
Like most people my life is really crazy. This means I have to force myself to take an inventory of the non-perishable items in my house. I tend to put this off because it is not a fun job but the latest oversight of bath tissue has forced me to go ahead and take inventory in my house. I know this will please the few of you who have asked me in the past to let you know what I stock up on so here is my list of stocked items, with the quantities currently in storage.
Shampoo - 7 and 8 free sample packages
Body Wash - 5
Bar Soap - 5
Deodorant - 1
Toothpaste - 5
Toothbrush - 2
Mouthwash - 2
Moisturizer - 6 free samples
Bath Tissue - 3
Since it is just my wife and I this list tells me that I need to look for a great deal on deodorant toothbrushes and, of course, bath tissue. With a new baby less than a month away I have started looking for baby products that I need to take advantage of the best possible deals. I am told that the stock pile of diapers we have received will be gone in a few days and I should look to have as many on hand as possible. Any other advice from you seasoned parents out there?
Written by Paul on June 17, 2009.
I have noticed an interesting trend in various public bathrooms. Instead of a soap dispenser they have switched to a foamy soap dispenser. This means that people use less soap and thus cost the company less money. Shortly after I noticed this I started watching these little wonders pop up in people’s homes also.
This got me to thinking, “how much soap do I waste at home by not using foam?” As I started to pay attention I realized that the amount was quite substantial. The biggest culprit being in the shower with body wash and Shampoo. No I have managed to cut down on my shampoo usage by trial and error of how much I need based off of the size of the drop in my hand, but body wash has been really hard. So I decided to make my own foam.
I did this by taking my last (and now empty) bottle of body wash and filling it 1/3 full from the new bottle. I then filled it another 1/3 with water. I left the rest of the space for the foam that will form when I shake it. Now this may seem a little extreme since I have at least four more bottles of body wash sitting in storage (especially since I got them all for free using CVS Extra Bucks), but I just do not want to spend my money on things that are vital but do not make my life better.
Of note, my wife quickly mocked me that I was watering down the soap. Which I see as an OK alternative since that too would make the soap last longer (as long as I am still getting squeaky clean). After my first trial run I am pleased with the early results and will update you in a couple of weeks with how this experiment worked out.
Written by Paul on December 16, 2008.
I know that many of you are great shoppers when it comes to planning ahead. Most of the women in my family are great about buying presents for Christmas throughout the year so that there is little stress for them when Chrismas rolls around. Despite my best efforts I never seem to be able to accomplish this feat so I am always running around at the last minute looking for deals and ideas that make it not so expensive for me at Christmas. I will continue to keep you updated with deals I find and will probably throw in some inexpensive ideas on items you can make. Here are a few of the deals I am using to give to people for Christmas:
Restaurant.com - this website is great because it gives you a discount on the gift certificates, but right now using code “SANTA” you get 80% off their gift certificates. This means you can give a $50 gift certificate for only $4.
Van Huesen Shirts on Amazon.com
- Most of these shirts are discounted to $9.37 (down from $37) with free shipping. The standard shipping takes up to 5 business days so they should get to your house no later than the 23rd
Target - Target has some of the best clerance items of any store. To get a good idea of how to shop the Target clearance items check out my post “Target - The Clearance King“
Written by Paul on July 21, 2008.
With a slow down in the economy giving gift cards to people can end up being a waste of money. Yes, it is great to get a gift from someone and be able to shop at one of your favorite stores, but there are some new perils involved in using gift cards these days.
Many of the smaller store fronts are starting to contract. This means they are closing their doors in unprofitable markets. A great example of this is Starbucks. Starbucks is known for its overlapping territory deployment of retail locations. This means that you could (and frequently did) end up with a Starbucks across the street from a Starbucks. The closing of one of these type of stores will not affect people who live in larger cities due to the existance of many more, but if you live in a more rural area where there is only one of a store there is a real chance that it could close. Linens N Things going into bankruptcy rocked a lot of markets and there may be more retailers to come. So when purchasing a gift card for someone I wold stick to the major retailers like Target and Wal-Mart and stay away from the specialty box stores.
Written by Paul on June 13, 2008.
With the high cost of crude oil based fuels people need to start looking at vehicles that use alternative fules. This three part series will cover alternatives that are available now. Not possibilities for the future.
The last of the alternative vehicles that are currently avaiable is the Natural Gas vehicle. This type of alternative fuel has been around for decades. Many fleets of government vehicles run on Natural Gas. This means that if you look for them they are available. There are two types of Natural Gas vehicles; Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and Liquid Petroleum Gast (LPG). Which one is best for you really depends on what fueling stations are in your area. The best website I have found to get an idea of stations in your area is the Alternative Fuel Station Locator.
If there are no fueling stations that are convenient for you and natural gas is available at your home you can purchase a home fueling station from Phill. This will cost you about $2k but if you drive long distances each day the savings are substantial. How substantial? Well, Natural Gas vehicles run at about the same mileage as gasoline but only costs around $1.50 per gallon equivalent.
Other factors to consider with Natural Gas is that it burns so cleanly that you do not have to change the oil as much and the engines last longer. A well maintained CNG engine should last for about 500k miles. This means by the time your CNG vehicle dies on you we should have some other alternatives to talk about.
For me CNG seems to be a great option. The idea of fueling up at home is very appealing. I hope this series has been fun and informative and that you will consider purchasing a vehicle that saves you money and allows for a little more supply in the regular gasoline market. Making prices go down for everyone.
Written by Paul on May 20, 2008.
I absolutely killed it at the grocery store yesterday. I was so impressed with my haul that I called my good friend Joe Sangl to brag about the amazing amount of food that can be purchased if you are willing to couple the sales with coupons. My wife and I are going to be hosting 5 teenagers at my home for the weekend for an event through our church so a good bit was snack food, but it also included dog food and yogurt which are items that we go through like crazy in my house.
The most interesting thing about this shopping trip was that I accomplished it at Bloom. For those who are not familiar Bloom is an upperend grocery store. Their main selling point is convenience. The store is laid out logically, the carts have maps of the store on them so you can find items quickly, and they even have touch screen monitors where you can look up a recipe and, once found, a little printer prints it out for you with where all the items are located in the store. Overall Bloom is one of the best shopping experiences around. The trade off is you pay a little more for every day items if you do not shop the discounts. So, of course, I shop the discounts and boy did it pay off this week. Here are the numbers:
Regular price for all groceries after taxes - $67.18
Weekly promotional disounts - $29.02
Manufacturers Coupons- $10.05
Store Coupon - $10.00
Grand total - $18.11
That’s right $67.18 worth of groceries for $18.11. That is a 73% savings off the regular price. The key to this whole equation is the $10.00 store coupon. You see Bloom has a rewards program called the Breeze Card. They are still working on how the program works, but by signing up you are immediately put on the mailing list to receive $10 off coupons ( you have to spend $35 to get $10 off). You get these coupons in groups of four and can use one each week over the course of a month. If Bloom is doing this I will bet other grocery stores will follow or are already using similar promotions. Check with your favorite chain to see if they do any special promotions for people on the mailing list and you could save a ton!
Written by Paul on May 10, 2008.
International travel is a very sticky endeavor. You have to make sure you have your passport (which these days is no small task) and make sure you do not get ripped off. The truth is there are traps all over the place to traveling internationally. Even the cruise industry is really sneaky with the way it does things. So how does an amateur avoid all these extra fees and weird tax policies?
Get a travel agent.
Yes I said it. An experienced travel agent can be a real asset when planning overseas vacations. For a small fee you can save yourself hundreds of dollars. Just a few examples of things I had to search long and hard for that could be common knowledge to a good travel agent.
–The cruise industry started adding a fuel surcharge that did not appear until after you had booked your cruise.
–England is one of the most expensive places to fly. It is less expensive to Fedex your bags to your hotel and then fly into France and take a train to England.
–Your cell phone will cost you a fortune to use overseas and on a cruise (even if you are docked). You are better off going prepaid
I am sure there are tons more of these little tips that are annoying and require way too much time to hunt them all down. An experienced travel agent can really save you in these situations.
The problem is, the travel industry is in the dumps with the emergence of the Internet. So finding a good agent can be difficult. The best way is to get a recommendation from a friend or family member. This way you know that you are getting a quality person. If your friends and family do not travel then you can try the ASTA. This is a reputable group and can really help you narrow down your choice. If you are looking to take a cruise a good place to try would be the CLIA. In searching on these pages I picked up a lot of great info and was cued into some good travel agents. Happy Vacationing!
Written by Paul on May 9, 2008.
Standard travel is different depending on with whom you talk. For me standard travel, in the realm of vacations, is limited to either driving or flying to somewhere inside the U.S. If you do not live in the states this would mean inside your country or, in the case of Europeans, continent. This is by far the least expensive way to vacation. By staying in your own country you do not need a passport to travel.
When staying in a hotel, flying, or renting a car I have yet to find a better way to score a deal than using Hotwire and Priceline in conjunction with each other. You can see my post on this strategy Here. In that same post I explained how VRBO.com works. This is another great way to save money on housing while on vacation and is a recommended site.
For the more adventurous I have recently learned of the National Parks and Federal Recreation Land Pass. This looks like a great deal if you enjoy the out doors and go to national parks frequently. For $80 a year you plus three adults can get into the parks for no charge (kids under 16 are free). This also covers standard amenities fees at any of these parks. BUT WAIT!!! If you are a senior (62+ years old) the deal gets really sweet. Instead of $80 the pass is $10. And instead of being a one year pass it is a lifetime pass. This means you can camp at national parks for a one time fee of $10. Now in many ways this is not a great deal because you paid a lifetime of taxes for this to be available, but why not take advantage of what is there. Either way for most families this is a good deal when you consider how much a week long stay could cost you. A good example is everglades national park. You can enjoy the great out doors and the amazing environment of the everglades and then easily take a day trip over to Miami for some urban fun. Just one trip would more than pay for the $80 pass and any more you made during the year would just be a steal. You can check out all the park locations here.
Since we talked about standard travel today I will be covering a little bit of what I consider non-standard travel tomorrow. See you then.
Written by Paul on April 28, 2008.
I came across a website called Drive Cam. It is simply a way to watch for risky driving behavior. Their main focus is companies with fleets of drivers, but I see this as a real way to reduce your insurance if you have a teenager in your home. My niece, DOBS (which stands for daughter of black sheep), is now sixteen and starting to learn how to drive. Frankly she is scary. Black Sheep is the only one who is willing to ride in the vehicle with her and he is a battle tested veteran of the U.S. Army. Almost nothing phases him.
With this program you get a camera inside the vehicle plus they make recommendations for how to improve the driving habits of the driver. This seems that it would comfort an insurance company and give you a chance to ask for a lower rate when insuring a young driver. If they do not comply at first maybe after a year with documented evidence of good driving you could get them to budge a little. Plus you get to know where your teen is going. This probably will not go over well with the newly independant but their safety and your insurance rates are what is at stake.
