How to Shop, Spend Like a Pro

Shopping isn’t all its cracked up to be.

In fact, it’s better.

At least that is the mindset shoppers take when they put their minds to saving money and shopping all in the same breath.

Far too often, shopping is viewed as the biggest budgeting buster that you could potentially encounter if you’re trying to save money and get on track financially.

Most look at examples such as shopping too much and splurging versus the flip side of that: calculated spending that allows you to get what you want and what you need, but on your terms from a money standpoint.

Look, if you’re someone who shops haphazardly, whether that’s a shopping spree for a new wardrobe or charge cards maxed out to enjoy that next vacation, you’re indeed giving the idea of shopping a bad name.

You’re overspending, and that’s why shopping, for most, is a downfall financially.

Americans aren’t happy with money in general and where they are financially, and often shopping and not spending wisely is part of that issue. Roughly 65 percent of Americans say they lose sleep over money.^[1]

And while shopping can and often times should be blamed for your lack of funds, that isn’t to say you can’t enjoy the fruits of your labor and be able to shop like a pro, minus overspending habits.

Those who have done admirably and been able to shop almost as if the shopping and saving money dichotomy is in cruise control have a game plan, they map out their path of travel as far as how and where they spend, and they do so with adopting anything from coupons to online deals, best time of the year or month to shop, and other tips and tricks that make shopping anywhere from second nature to seemingly impossible not to enjoy, particularly knowing you’re doing it well.

But that isn’t the cases with the masses. Turns out, most of us spend in a way that only furthers the discussion about why debt runs rampant, and overspending isn’t so much about spending our own money but rather that of the credit card companies.

The average person is nearly $6,000 in debt via credit card spending ($5,700).^[2]

This would suggest a disconnect in understanding how to shop smart and avoid things that only need repayment versus being able to save money in the process while spending your own money.

Shopping smart isn’t a secretive society or only partaken by a select few based on a know-how of what to do and how to do it.

It relies more on specific measures to ensure you’re shopping is fun, but hardly an expensive undertaking that is going to leave you financially inept or completely reliant on one paycheck to the next, rather than being able to save and, in fact, get what you want.

Those who do it well are always quick to do the following:

Emotion Less: Smart shopping starts with leaving emotions at the door

A huge aspect of shopping that tends to be our downfall relies on how we spend based on how our day or week went, emotionally charged spending that leaves us feeling short changed after it’s all said and done.

The same exists when you’re upset and you polish off an entire gallon of ice cream: happy now, sad later. Money is no different. Those who spend wisely are quick to point out that the “sad later” means debt, falling off your budget goals or simply not spending wisely.

Nearly half (49 percent) of the population spends based on emotionally driven decisions.^[3]

Those emotionally driven decisions don’t always have to be related to personal problems or perhaps something that transpired at work. This also can be predicated on spending based on an emotional high, too.

Take your pending tax return, for example.

While some look at this tax return as a reason to overspend, those who shop smart and save in the process know that the latter (i.e. saving) should often overtake what you do with most of that money.

Approximately 43 percent of people put that tax return into a savings account. https://www.gobankingrates.com/taxes/what-americans-do-with-tax-refund/">[4]

That would suggest that 57 percent of what’s left is being used to buy this, that or the other things. Shopping smart would suggest that you’d put closer to 60 or 70 percent into a savings account or retirement fund, for instance, with only a marginal amount being used for that one item you need or have wanted.

Shopping smart means when money falls in your lap, you aren’t quick to spend it.

So managing your emotions is what will allow you to shop in a way that is more beneficial than you think. That 49 percent mentioned previously has 29 percent devoted to being stressed, with the rest on being overly excited, suggesting that being caught up in your feelings about money can take a turn no matter celebratory or sadness permeating through you.

With any purchase, practice the 24 hour rule: if you really want something, wait a day (or two) and see if that need still is there. More often than not, it’s disappeared.

Shopping like a pro also means knowing when to walk away.

Comparison Shopping: You should always look for lower price, period

Shopping isn’t about impulse, and those who shop well and are able to save money realize that the consumer wins (or at least that’s the way it should be).

The idea of shopping at one store, accepting one price is downright silly when you consider the growth of online shopping in the last 10 years.

The number of individuals who shop online versus the big-box retailer model is staggering, with 79 percent of the population doing their shopping online, citing price as the reason.^[5]

That’s a good sign particularly since shopping and price should go hand in hand.

Years prior, you were lucky to get a price match or stores and or online retailers fighting over each other for your business.

The good news is that most individuals comparison shop and go with the lower price, to the tune of 80 percent of people checking prices online before buying in a store, for example.^[6]

If you’re not comparison shopping, you’re undoubtedly missing out on saving money and shopping much smarter than you are now. The influx of not only online shoppers versus in-store ones also is met with apps that do nothing but comparison shop, along with web sites that focus solely on online coupons codes that you can apply at checkout to save even more, whether it’s a percent off the total or free shipping.

A person who is adept at shopping rarely takes the first price or location they see, and instead exercises a serious dose of patience in order to partake in a purchase that is perfectly suited for their financial wants: being able to get what you want and save accordingly.

You have to be careful, however, that coupons don’t create a sense of saving and thus overspending. Always remember that coupons aren’t a free pass to buy what you don’t need, just because it’s on sale.

Applying coupons and coupon codes alike should be done on what you’re in the market for at the moment, not an excuse to use just because.

Time Sensitive: Shopping at right time makes world of difference

Between not letting your emotional get the better of you and shopping with saving money and comparisons in mind, what about the timing of your shopping? You may not always be inclined to buy what you want based on seasonal changes in the marketplace, mainly retailers being quick on the clearance trigger at different times throughout the course of the calendar year.

For example, November is the most lucrative month to shop based on the ability to save, which shouldn’t surprise may given that it’s the month of the year Black Friday falls in. On average, in November, you can save 5.99 percent versus any other month with January being just behind at 4.95 percent, while March offers the worst deals during the year (2.76 percent).^[7]

This suggests that people who are good at shopping not only know when to shop but also resign themselves to looking at a month like November or January and knowing if they don’t have an immediate need for something, that it can wait and then benefits subsequently reaped as a result.

Talking about the lure and lucrative nature of online shopping, you also have to be time sensitive when heavy hitters such as Amazon, for example, have “sales” that are hardly traditionally when you consider there is no store.

In 2017, Amazon Prime Day was a bona fide success for all involved, and yet another example of timing being everything with how and when you spend.

Amazon Prime Day ran from July 10 through July 13 for prime members, who spend $10.99 per month for that service, which also includes 2-day shipping for free all year round.^[8]

In addition to certain months being better to shop than others, pro shoppers also are quick to point out that the granularity of shopping can be as specific as day of the week, too.

If you’re in the market for a new car, what day is best to buy? Experts agree that Monday stands tall in the car business with an average of 8.1 percent off the sticker price if you decide to shop on the first work day of the week.^[9]

The day of the week decision making also pertains to more than just cars, but also clothing, shoes, accessories and even grocery shopping as far as sale pricing goes.

Grocery shopping is best on Wednesdays, while Thursday are overall the better day for shopping for clothes, particularly handbags, which are around 36 percent off on that day.^[10]

If you’re someone who shops smart, you pay attention to more than just sales or clearance items, but also the when as well as far as shopping and being able to save money.

The real issue with shopping as it relates to saving money centers on the choices you make from one day, one week, one month to the next.

If you have a budget, stick to it.

If you don’t, get one.

But even if you have a budget isn’t a guarantee you’ll know how to shop smarter than the average person.

If you’re someone who can temper their emotional spending, and be patient with how they spend, whether that means waiting out that impulse or looking toward price matching, comparison shopping or online coupon codes, then you’re obviously understanding what it means to shop with purpose, underscored with the enjoyment that having a product or service.

Shopping as a negative thing only is perception driven.

Some have no problem shopping and staying on point, on budget and still get what they want when the time is right and the price is even better.

That mindset separates the good from the bad, the good from the ugly as far as shopping goes.

Look no further than the epitome of all spending and overspending: the holidays.

The majority of people are quick to put a number, a price tag on what they want to spend, only to see that fall by the wayside.

If 65 percent of the population sets a budget for the holidays, 77 percent of those exceed it.^[11]

Not exactly a ringing endorsement of our willpower, but more of a commentary on how we view spending: more like a “whatever” proposition.

Those who shop and do it well understand that you can have what you want, spend what you need but with saving money in mind.