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Big Box Stores Like Costco

Start with The Costco Website

First of all, big box stores like Costco entice you to sign into their website with your Costco card number, although they say that is not a requirement. Most of the prices on the website have discounts. So, that would place most of them on sale or to appear on sale.

There are “member only” items that entice you to click through and check out the price. Non-members online may be assessed a surcharge, and executive members may receive a credit for a 2% rebate.

People will cheat you if you let them

Coupons

Costco mails out a coupon booklet to card carrying members monthly.On coupon day many shoppers are seen around the store with coupon booklets in hand, after a mailing. The coupon booklet is not needed to get an in-store discount, but it makes it easier to identify the months Costco bargains. This draws shoppers to the store and to buy. The coupons are a powerful draw for the coupon addicted.

Discounted Items That Have a Purchase Limit

Many of Costco’s discounted items have a limited number of items you can purchase. The limit gives you the psychological mindset that there must be a lot of value in this item, so it makes your mind think you must buy to the limit, so you can get your share.

Because of this process, you end up buying more than you normally would in a regular grocer to make sure your mind knows it’s not missing out on a huge deal.

Pre-Packaged Big Food at Costco

Food is packaged in 2’s, 3’s or 4’s. Most people don’t buy 3 or 4 of each item they need when they go to the regular grocery store, but in Costco they force multi-packaged items on you since the items are taped together in multiple numbers.

Because items are pre-packaged in multiples, we don’t even think to comparison shop the price, we just assume it is less than if you purchased it alone.

Costco Loves Sample Tasting

Sometimes on busy days there are tasting stations. Most of the tasting is for pre-made food items, sauces or frozen goods. After tasting items, many people automatically walk over and buy that item. I have tasted items, purchased them, and didn’t even use them after I got home due to allergies.

Product Placement as You Walk Costco Ailes

Upon entering the store the first merchandise that grabs the eye is some must-have seasonal products on the left, then the cameras, television’s, and computers on the right, and the expensive jewelry practically hits you in the face. Then before you get to the groceries, it continues to force you to look at clothes on the left, and other must-have but not-needed items.

Then you pass the attractive wine racks and beautifully appointed bakery goods. Finally, you get to the quadruple packaged meats, tripled packaged deli products, and then cheeses and fruit. It goes on and on, smartly placed to make your mind tell you to buy, buy, buy.

Containers and Packaging

In addition to the multi-packs of items in many of the big box stores like Costco, you will see a lot of large containers of items. This forces you to buy more that an average person would, and for most shoppers they will also settle on stocking more than normal, because they have more. This is great for large families, but it alse keeps busy people from making frequent shopping trips, so in that sense it great for everyone. Calculate the price per unit on each item to comparison shop at other stores, so the actual value reflected in the packaging is reflected in the price.

The Dress of the Employees

Lastly, most of the employees wear jeans and t-shirts. This gives you the feeling that you are in a super-discounted place, because even the employees dress down. No uniforms and no company logos on t-shirts.

The No-Frills Warehouse Design

The no-frills warehouse design gives you a feeling of plain, simple and inexpensive overhead that will be passed on to you the customer. When you get to the counter the no-frills feeling is continued with the recycling of boxes the Costco merchandise comes in, these boxes are reused to hold your groceries and other items.

With items 1-9 above, you now know what the process is to saving money at big box stores like Costco. Go to the website first and establish what you need, then make a list, write down the price of each item and stick to your list with your new-found Costco shopping awareness.

Note how long each of the items will last you so you know when you need to shop again and how much you will spend in a one-month or two-month period. Costco warehouse can be a great way to save money, if you have what I call “Costco Awareness”.

Lois Center-Shabazz | Course Delta Agency

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Money Saving Tips For Single Moms

01 Dec 2016

Lois Center-Shabazz

Personal Finance

Money saving tips

Creating a list of money saving tips is essential for all single moms, and the list will vary considerably from one person to another. The money saving tips working for a single Mom would be different than for a student, and a working professional and entirely unique saving methods would apply for a couple.

Being a single parent is not an easy job and this job becomes even more difficult when a single mother is pressed to save money. Life is not easy for mothers especially in today’s financial climate when Mom’s must play the dual role of breadwinner and homemaker, a lot of introspection is in order.

A single mother needs to take care of every personal financial detail, this is the main reason why financial success is possible. If you are a single mom and looking for techniques to save money, then you’ve come to the right place, I will present you with some of the most successful money saving tips available for single moms.

Food issues

A mother is responsible for providing her children a balanced diet and nutritious food, but a single mom is responsible for doing the same in an affordable way. A single mom can save a lot of money by planning family meals in advance. You can also receive bulk and coupon discounts from grocery and retail stores. Cooking in bulk that can be used over a period of 1-2 weeks when you freeze the excess, can help you save on cooking expenses and save a lot of time and energy. Try to purchase seasoned vegetables and fruits and avoid expensive cuts of meat and off-season vegetables as they will heavily increase your supermarket bills.

The second-hand option!

Children are always full of demands, and in fact, I won’t be exaggerating if I say that their demands are never-ending. As a single Mom, you need to handle these demands without jeopardizing your monthly budget and savings. You can save a lot of money by buying used toys and clothes for their kids and, and even for yourself. And if second-hand clothes are not something you like, go in for recycling your clothes and save a lot of money on buying new ones. There are several shops that offer second-hand products used and in good condition, and available at 70-80% of the original price. These include consignment shops, thrift shops or Salvation Army type shops. You can see that there are many options for saving money on clothes, you can think of others.

Look out for discounts and coupons

The life of a single mother is full of struggles and difficulties but one should never feel hesitant or shy in asking for discounts from some stores, and shopping only at the lowest prices. Take advantage of different types of shopping coupons, store loyalty, and reward cards and make the most of your shopping experience by paying the lowest price as a rule and not an exception. You can go in for kid’s clothes shopping during sales at regular stores and at deep discount retail shops when looking for money saving tips.

Team up with other moms

There is one famous quote saying ‘Divided we fall, United we stand’, this is an inspirational quote for all single Moms. Befriend single Moms in your area and form a group where you can all trade babysitting when any of the group members are in need, which would not just save money, but also foster friendships within the group. Organize group activities such as cooking demonstrations, excursion trips, picnics to nearby places with kids and carpooling.

Save on household bills

Household bills will always be with us, but unnecessary bills can be cut out. The process of saving money on household bills begins with cutting back on cell phones, cable, electricity and water bills. Single moms can take advantage of the internet to compare various cellular plans and should consider discount friendly options only. Always ask your electricity, water or gas companies for a subsidy or discount, as many companies give subsidized electricity and other amenities at lower rates to people belonging to certain income groups. Take advantage of government offers for moderate income people.

The tip jar

For those of you who complain that you can’t save any money in an account. Start with a tip jar. Choose any large jar in your home. Place it somewhere safe. Whenever you have an excess of change in your wallet or purse, place most of the change in your jar. In anywhere from 4-12 months, you will notice the jar filling up, depending of course on the size. The larger the better, 1 to 1/2 feet high is good. When you have an emergency you can turn in your coins to a local store coin deposit machine and get cash for something pressing. In addition to your jar, I suggest you open a bank account at a bank, a regular passbook savings account. At this point you are not concerned about interest, your goal is to accumulate money for a rainy day. It doesn’t matter if it is $20 a month or $200 a month. Make this a bill, pay into to the savings account every single month when you pay your bills, it’s even better if it is auto-deducted from your checking account or payroll check, that makes it easier.

Get out of the debt trap

[sociallocker]Debt is an integral part of the lives of a single parent, the trick is to keep it low. Many people know that debt is the enemy of savings, and to increase savings, one needs to get out of the debt trap as soon as possible. I suggest you replace your big car with a small one or a big house with an apartment or small manageable home. Big assets acquired in the form of a loan only adds to your liabilities and increases outflow of your cash by the way of down payments, loan installments, and big repair bills. Get rid of bigger loans with huge installment payments, and high-interest rates; and save up your monthly income for a healthy budget and securing your children’s future.

We know as a single mom, you know the importance of money and savings. This is the reason why you can see plenty of single moms working terribly hard from morning to evening to earn an income for their children. This is the reason why we’ve given you the best workable tips for achieving the task. Take advantage of the money saving tips here and see your budget consistently improve over time. [/sociallocker]

These are just a few of the money saving tips for single moms, look for more in my downloadable kindle eBook.

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Lois Center-Shabazz
author of, Live Rich Save Money! Budget Planner
Download “Budget Planner” Instantly Now

author of, Live Rich Save Money! 68 Powerful Ways to Save Money, Now and Forever
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& Get Out of Debt Forever in 17 Amazing Ways

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How to Save Money On Groceries 5 Magnificent Ways

22 Oct 2016

Lois Center-Shabazz

Money

Save Money On Groceries

Learn how to save money on groceries in these 5 magnificent ways

Shop with a List and Stick to it

You can save lots of money on groceries. Go through your refrigerator and your cupboards. List the items you need to replace. Create a budget, then decide how much you can spend. The budget should be predetermined by your monthly take home pay. You can save money on groceries when you stick to a strict budget.

Don’t Shop When Your Hungry

When you shop when you are hungry your mind plays tricks on you, so you grab high priced items you would not normally purchase. There are many prepared meals at grocery stores now, but those meals are easily and quickly prepared in your kitchen. Don’t fall for the quick, easy convenient method when shopping. Eat a meal, and then shop for meals you can easily and cheaply prepare at home.

Create a Magnificent Budget With Easy Budget Planner

Coupons Are King

You can get free coupons in several places. Some grocery stores have a coupon kiosk when you enter. You can get coupons in a discarded newspaper from your neighbor or friend. And some grocery chains have their own coupons on their grocery store website. Most grocery stores give coupons when you checkout and some have them on the back of the receipt, check everywhere, they are popping up in many new newspapers and circulars. Coupons are a powerful way to save money on groceries.

Don’t Forget to Analyze Your Grocery Sales Page

Grocery sales pages come out in free newspapers and paid newspapers. Pay attention to the rotating sales of the grocery sales pages. You can alternate products you need to get everything replaced in your food pantry for the month. Grocery sales pages are another very powerful way to save money on groceries.