How to Get the Best Bang for Your Hard-earned Bucks
As a frugal mom, you pride yourself on being extra careful with your money. You try to cook as often as possible instead of blowing cash on takeout, you shop the sales for groceries, clothing and household goods, and you cringe at the idea of buying a brand new car, when a pre-owned vehicle will be thousands of dollars less.
While you are already a budget-minded mom, you know you could probably do a bit more. With that in mind, the following tips can help make sure you are always getting the best value for your money:
Follow Your Favorite Companies Online
You probably have preferred brands for things like makeup, cleaning products, pet food and more. In order to be sure you are buying only the highest quality products with your hard-earned money, consider following some of your favorite companies on social media. For example, if you are a fan of Amway and their high-quality cleaning products, consider following the company on LinkedIn. There you’ll find articles about the ingredients used in the company’s products and information on where to buy them for the best price. You can also “like” different companies on Facebook and follow them on Instagram; this is a good way to learn about upcoming sales and discounts on some of your top products. For example, The Pet Way, an all natural and holistic quality pet food store, often posts offers for free delivery and more on the company’s Facebook page.
Save More with a Browser Extension
If you love the convenience of shopping online, not to mention the opportunity to score some really great deals, you can up your money saving ante by downloading browser extensions. Browser extensions are web browser plug-ins that will automatically find the best coupons and discounts for your online purchases—how cool is that? For example, Honey will find and apply the best coupon codes at checkout, which means you no longer have to spend time searching for these codes on your own. Honey also promises to locate the best prices on Amazon, and you can also earn cash back on eligible purchases.
Read Reviews
In addition to getting the best deals, you also want to be sure you are buying high-quality products that will last. Spending $20 for something that will wear out in a week is not a frugal choice, but paying $100 for an item that will last for years can be a wise buy. This is where reading online reviews can come in handy—they can lead you to the high quality products that are worth investing in. If you rely on reviews to make purchases, you are not alone—Bright Local notes that 85 percent of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. However, to be sure you are getting the most out of the reviews, go beyond the number of stars a product has earned and read a good number of the comments. If an item that you are interested in gets bad reviews because “it took too long to arrive” or “it was smaller than I thought” (even when the dimensions are clearly stated) you can probably ignore those reviews in favor of the more meaningful 5-star reviews that praise the product’s quality and value.
Sit Back and Enjoy the Savings
It is reassuring to know that there are tangible ways to save even more money. By following trusted companies on social media, using browser extensions, and critically reading reviews to be sure you are buying only the best products, you will successfully stretch your dollars even more.