There are some shoppers who would rather not pay full price for anything but their strategy — wait for the prices to drop fails to yield any results because they wait too long and before they buy, the items hit rock bottom prices then start to steadily go up. Knowing the lowest price an item will cost will save you a lot of money because you won't miss out on any deal when you see it.
The easiest way is to look it up on the internet as there are many sites that compare the prices of items. Generally I have a good idea of what is cheap and what isn't (but this is after many years of learning), but also to balance quality, quantity and the expiration date. If it lasts longer, it's worth paying a bit more for than something short dated.
I admit that I cheat on prices. I have a general idea of what I expect something to cost but if I think it's lower than usual, I have an app on my phone that will scan the barcode and actually tell me what the prices are in other places, both online and local.
For those that have smartphones there are many apps that will do that as well. That was really kind of annoying about the phone I had. The bar code reader and scanner functions didn;t seem to work. This was one of the reasons I had gotten the phone. I had already downloaded dozens of apps before I discovered this. Anyway, I digress...comparing and knowing prices is always, one of the most helpful money saving ideas there are! oftentimes, price comparing is vital, to know if you have a deal or not.
I do know what most of my regular purchases should cost, and when the price is low or high. I know a bargain when I see one. I know where to go to get certain things the cheapest, and I plan those places into my route when I do other things, instead of making a separate trip. After many years of shopping for (what was) a large family, I have a pretty good idea of what prices for many things should be. If I'm unsure, I look it up online. I don't much care for apps.
I try to know the highest discounts of the items I usually buy or from the stores I usually buy them from. Is way, I don't get tricked into spending a lot on mid range sales because I know they can and will eventually do better. During the medium sales is maybe just buy a few items depending on whether or not they have something that is exceptionally low priced, but the time I really spend a lot and buy a lot of things is when I know the discounts are at their highest.
Absolutely right! I found Walmart got the cheapest for most things and many people are finding it out on Oahu for many items are sold out as months go by it seems. No harm in widow shopping if you got the time especially at Walmart and you'll be pleasantly surprised!
I tend to buy the same things over and over, and have for years, so I'm pretty familiar with their prices in the various shops I frequent. I do prefer one stop shopping, so will pay a few cents more for that convenience, rather than running all over town, but sometimes I will postpone purchasing an item if I know I'll be near a location where I can pay less, within a reasonable amount of time. If I'm planning to buy something I'm not familiar with, I often look it up online to see what prices come up, that way I'll know if the price at a particular store is worth paying.
