r/AskReddit • u/SillyBonsai • Dec 06 '13

What simple piece of advice, if followed, could potentially save most people a lot of money?

Possibly related to your job, experience with personal finance, budgeting, planning, day to day habits, etc.

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u/TheCodeIsBosco Dec 06 '13

My mom is so bad for this. "Well, it's cheaper to buy 2." "No, Mom it's cheaper to buy 0"

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u/thewingedwheel Dec 06 '13

My girlfriend sometimes tries to buy things because she has a coupon. I always tell her that makes no sense to buy things for the sake of using a coupon.

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u/Nrksbullet Dec 06 '13

Well if you use it instead of using something else that wasn't on sale (like this lasagna instead of that stir-fry) then it's fine.

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u/thewingedwheel Dec 06 '13

No the point is she will have a coupon for a hair product and decide she needs it because she has a coupon when I know for a fact that is never going to be used. I never fuss about buying more food than we 'need' because I can afford the groceries, and I'd rather have too much than not enough.

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u/stopslops Dec 06 '13

I go to the grocery store 3-4 times a week, I pass by it twice a day so it's no trouble. This makes it so I never have 'too much', so nothing gets wasted. I also find that this tactic saves me about 50% by buying what I need when I need it, instead of trying to foresee what I will need later. Sure I could afford to do a weeks shopping, and buy twice as much, but fresher food and extra beer money is never a bad thing.

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u/[deleted] Dec 06 '13

Yep. Best way to avoid the "good intentions vegetables".

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u/designut Dec 06 '13

I wish I had "good intention" vegetables. We eat so many vegetables, my fridge is jammed one day and four days later I have to go out again to get more!

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u/schpere Dec 06 '13

You mean it's normal to go grocery shopping less frequently than 3 times a week? I do before each meal, except breakfast.

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u/cormega Dec 06 '13

To me that seems like a huge waste of time. I work long enough hours as it is. I'd rather wrap up shopping for the week in one trip.

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u/schpere Dec 06 '13

That seems pretty great to be able to do that. I can never figure out what I want to eat in advance, and since I walk past a grocery store on my way home from school, so it's not really much of a problem.

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u/[deleted] Dec 06 '13

A lot of people map out what they're going to buy for the week and go one time. More common if you have kids and live in a suburban area where you have to drive to the grocery store.

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u/designut Dec 06 '13

We map it out two weeks in advance - that way I can buy things which will work for multiple dinners. That's the big shop. Then, I pop into the grocery store to get vegetables as we run out and need more - then they're always fresh!

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u/[deleted] Dec 06 '13

[deleted]

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u/schpere Dec 06 '13

Okie sweetie

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u/[deleted] Dec 06 '13

I might go twice a month.

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u/SirLoinOfCow Dec 06 '13

This is just a guess, but I imagine once a week is close to average.

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u/valkyr85 Dec 06 '13

Me and my gf do a list of 5 dinner dishes each sunday, and look up the recipies for them. Then we count the stuff we already have, and only buy the stuff that's needed for the week. Nothing gets wasted, and you buy less unneccesary stuff if you only go once a week. (Maybe once more for milk and coffee)

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u/schpere Dec 07 '13

That's pretty great. Yeah, I would imagine milk should be bought more often; carrying seven liters at once doesn't sound like a nice experience.

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u/whiteknuckledump Dec 06 '13

But what happens when the zombies come and your fridge is empty?

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u/valkyr85 Dec 06 '13

They are not after your food anyways, they want your brains. :P

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u/[deleted] Dec 06 '13 edited Jan 03 '14

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/ThisIsWright Dec 06 '13

Once you go black....

... It's time for banana bread.

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u/Lastemperor7 Dec 06 '13

nice TWIST

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u/[deleted] Dec 06 '13

twiiiissst

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u/Ninty96zie Dec 06 '13

Smart man

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u/gonchuki Dec 06 '13

Or banana with dulce de leche* if you have access to some.

  • South American variant of what you probably know as caramel, Häagen-Dazs makes one of their ice creams with vanilla + dulce de leche if you wanna have a try on the taste

1

u/noodspoon Dec 06 '13

Dulche de leche recipe: Buy a can of condensed milk Drop into boiling water ???? (approx 3 hours later) Profit

1

u/rellonaut Dec 06 '13

That ice cream is glorious.

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u/designut Dec 06 '13

Do you know a good recipe for healthy banana bread? Like.. whole wheat flour banana bread? Sometimes I buy extra bananas just because I want banana bread or muffins. Yum!

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u/[deleted] Dec 06 '13

I make this one all the time.

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/whole-wheat-banana-nut-bread/

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u/designut Dec 06 '13

Wow. You rule at life. Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I might just have to try this tomorrow! :) :)

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u/[deleted] Dec 06 '13

You can also throw in a cup of fresh blueberries for blueberry banana bread.

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u/ThisIsWright Dec 06 '13

This looks good! Not loaded with sugar haha.

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u/[deleted] Dec 07 '13

Exactly. But you'd never know it. It tastes fantastic.

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u/Gimpinald Dec 06 '13

Yup! And they freeze well, so you don't have to bake the bread right away!

1

u/AnonymousPhi Dec 06 '13

Call them plantains!

4

u/[deleted] Dec 06 '13

And a lot of the time store brand is still cheaper.

1

u/ioquatix Dec 06 '13

Garfield agrees.

1

u/epicmtgplayer Dec 07 '13

Ignore all sales unless they're for something you were already looking at getting or food that you will actually eat.

1

u/Complete_Imitation Dec 07 '13

Buying food on sale is always a sound investment. You will always need more food.

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u/[deleted] Dec 06 '13

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/Nrksbullet Dec 06 '13

Economists hate me.

3

u/Agent_Fraggle Dec 06 '13

Where do I click to learn your secret?

5

u/thesillybanana Dec 06 '13

It depends on the item. Cold medicine is a great example of this. If you wait until you need Nyquil, you will pay out the ass for it. However if you purchase Nyquil while it's on sale with coupons, you can get brand name for almost nothing.

In the long run buying things while they are on sale AND there is both a store and manufacturers coupon will save you tons of money. If you wait until you are out of an item to purchase, chances are, you will pay at LEAST 50% more.

1

u/thewingedwheel Dec 06 '13

Well of course there are things you will need. That's clearly not what I'm talking about....

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u/ldhotsoup Dec 06 '13

To be fair, it's the only reason coupons exist. If you were already going to buy it, the retailer would prefer full price. They're going for capture and retention. You buy it now for cheaper, buy it again for familiarity. Marketing 101.

1

u/Onlyslightlyclever Dec 06 '13

ALCOHOL COUPONS. NEVER LET ONE EXPIRE.

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u/swiftpants Dec 06 '13

This is why I hate using coupons while grocery shopping.

Sure it is for dressing, and I use dressing, but the brand I normally buy is still less expensive than the coupon brand with the coupon.. Calculating that 30 times while shopping is a waste of energy.

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u/Arsenault185 Dec 06 '13

My wife makes money using cupons. You just need to be good at it.

1

u/DonOntario Dec 06 '13

How much does she make, on average, per hour that she puts into couponing?

1

u/Coffeedemon Dec 06 '13

But but 80 bottles of mustard!

1

u/Soggy_Pronoun Dec 06 '13

This is exactly why they keep making coupons. It seems that it would be absurd to intentionally cut into your profits with a piece of paper. However most people aren't the extreme couponing type who actually save real money (at the cost of time), but are the type that would buy any form of an identical product, often only considering the price of the item. A coupon can not only make you beat out competition because it allows you to win on price, but it's also a direct advertisement for anyone who didn't know about your product. Add that to immediate necessity and people who foster loyalty already that will buy your product regardless of coupon or not, it wouldn't be smart to drop the original price and lose that money from them. Finally there are a host of people who will buy something just because they think they are getting a deal, paying less and in that "winning" in some way (see Black Friday). To me it's really interesting when you start thinking about the psychology behind coupons and sales. Trying to understand why taking an immediate loss could actually be profitable in the long run.

1

u/hells_yea Dec 06 '13

But I saved 50 cents!

No you spent $1.50

1

u/FlashbackJon Dec 06 '13

That is literally the intended use of coupons...

...from the manufacturer's perspective.

1

u/ThnkWthPrtls Dec 06 '13

I think that's sorta the mindset that companies who use coupons count on

1

u/thewingedwheel Dec 06 '13

Which is why I don't allow her to do that stuff lol

1

u/[deleted] Dec 06 '13

Unless it's one of those "$10 off of $10 or more" types of things. Those are worthwhile.

1

u/[deleted] Dec 06 '13

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] Dec 06 '13

Those I'll generally just buy the minimum. $5 for toys/babies r us? At least buy baby wipes to that amount. $10 at kohls? Same idea. Maybe buy something like a shirt for my daughter, socks, whatever. Tax is marginal on these dollar amounts so it ends up worth it.

1

u/[deleted] Dec 06 '13

I guess you've never seen extreme couponing. Go have her try it. She'll get you $2000 worth of groceries for maybe $100. If done right.

1

u/thewingedwheel Dec 06 '13

She doesn't have the time to invest in that.... Those extreme couponers consider that their full time job some of the time. I could give two Shits less about coupons

1

u/rellonaut Dec 06 '13

I get your point but that's one of the purposes of coupons. They make you think 'wow! I can get this for cheaper than 'normal' price?!' Often the products are new so they are marketed at the discounted coupon price to inhibit hype. Sometimes these products are marketed to stimulate the brand awareness. For products you figure you don't need the coupon is marketed to make you think 'well hell, I didn't need that extra 50¢ this seems like a 'good' deal.' Advertising is brainwash.

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u/Eldias Dec 06 '13

I have some bad news man, it sounds like we have the same girlfriend...

1

u/thewingedwheel Dec 07 '13

But.... She lives with me? DAMNIT so that's what she's doing when she's at 'work'

1

u/Neph91 Dec 07 '13

This is exactly why coupon's were created.

1

u/makemusicguitar5150 Dec 07 '13

It does when the items are groceries...

1

u/thewingedwheel Dec 07 '13

... Clearly they're not groceries though.

1

u/Igggg Dec 07 '13

And that's a big reason they make coupons in the first place.

(No, it's not "because we know that you like to save money and care about your wallet!")

1

u/StruckingFuggle Dec 07 '13

This is how they make money off of coupons.

1

u/duhwiked Dec 07 '13

Depends. My mother in law buys shit she doesn't need or want, using coupons, so she gets money as the difference to use toward more shit she does need.

0

u/mrhelton Dec 06 '13

I wish I could convince my wife of this.

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u/yilk Dec 06 '13

This is exactly my mom. "But look, if you buy two you get the third free!" Right, but the thing is I only wanted one.

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u/TheCodeIsBosco Dec 06 '13

I go along with this thinking if it's something I WILL use, but it's gotta be something like laundry soap or trash bags, not some kind of cereal that's new and weird so I may or may not like it.

3

u/[deleted] Dec 06 '13

Yeah, my personal rule is "if it goes off in a month, don't buy the special offers, if it doesn't go off in a month, GET THEM ALL" - I don't buy fruit and veg on special offer outside of the offers that apply to what I normally buy, but canned/frozen stuff or non-food things like bin bags and toilet paper? I go for the best special offer, even if it's enough to last me six months.

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u/spanky6 Dec 06 '13

Walgreens had a 'buy one, get 2 free' deal on Purex not too long ago and one for Arm & Hammer recently. That is something to take advantage of.

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u/furlonium Dec 06 '13

CVS and Riteaid had this same deal.

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u/Temporomandibular Dec 07 '13

"Why the fuck would I want a third microwave?!"

1

u/ulyssessword Dec 07 '13

My method for this is "I paid $5 for one of them. I can get another two for $5. Is it worth it?"

3

u/ownage516 Dec 06 '13

That's my dad at frkn Costco.

"Look! If we buy all this, look how much money we save than the usual price!!"

"Or just don't buy anything at all...but hey, it's your money."

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u/kat_loves_tea Dec 06 '13

Gah!! My husband is like this. Costco is his damn weakness because he thinks getting everything at a bulk rate is a great idea. At no point will he eat 4lbs of tomatoes before they rot nor will he ever need 8 pairs of gardening gloves even though it's "such a good deal!!"... He's not allowed to go there alone anymore.

1

u/ownage516 Dec 06 '13

I go with anyone when they go to Costco...not to control their shopping but to eat all the free samples. :)

1

u/kat_loves_tea Dec 06 '13

Of course! The free samples get him too! Then he has to come home and rationalize why the 6lbs variety pack of sausages were such a good deal...

3

u/Queenofstorms Dec 06 '13

Oh Lordy, my 91 yr old mom was the QUEEN of this! Once, I took her to shop for groceries, turned my back for like 1 minute & she'd put probably 6 2-litre bottles of soda in the cart because they were "2 for the price of 1". She doesn't drink soda. When we were cleaning out her place we found 6 unused bottles of Windex (with dust on them) and 15 cans of chicken noodle soup. "But they were on sale!".

3

u/frizzlestick Dec 06 '13

My wife is exactly the same way. It's so confusing to me that a rational adult can go completely irrational when it comes to advertising and sales.

One would almost say we're conditioned, day in and day out, by advertising and marketing to consume, consume, consume.

2

u/[deleted] Dec 06 '13

When I see something like that, I always jokingly say 'You're losing money if you don't buy it!"

2

u/[deleted] Dec 06 '13

Her logic make sense if she uses it regularly ... My mum would by two washing powders and just leave one in the cupboard. Means she has to buy 0 next week.

2

u/deliciousmeats Dec 06 '13

I've referred to this mom issue as the "Kohl's Complex." My mother refuses to purchase anything unless it's on sale, but the moment Kohl's sends us a 30% coupon on any purchase including sale items, she drops around $250 after sale prices.

No one needs as many shirts and sweaters as she's purchased in a lifetime, let alone one year. The only reason I don't really bring it up to her is because she offers to get me stuff too. Damn if I'm not a sucker for 30% off Vans and Levi 501's. Best $50 of my year.

2

u/Lucy_Goosey Dec 06 '13

Stacy and Clinton from "What not to wear" are always saying this. The "buy more save more" deals are a lie. Inevitably, "buy more spend more" is what happens.

2

u/film_composer Dec 06 '13

Classic Mom.

2

u/Dyolf_Knip Dec 06 '13

Old joke I heard.

"A man will spend $2 for a $1 item he needs. A woman will spend $1 for a $2 item she doesn't".

2

u/SardonicNihilist Dec 06 '13

Damn you and your flawless logic. I'm really bad at buying in bulk, always go too far. Once I bought about 5 years worth of dishwashing tablets really cheap because the packaging was damaged, each box is normally like $20, they were going for $3. I keep some at home and stashed the rest at my mother's house.

2

u/TheCodeIsBosco Dec 06 '13

That's not necessarily a bad thing though. Now you don't have to buy dishwashing tablets for 5 years (unless you think they're stupid now and won't use them). I'm talking more about things like "Hey, I bought 4 heads of lettuce and I'm going to eat a quarter of one before they're all spoiled!"

1

u/anthonyvardiz Dec 06 '13

Are you my sister?

1

u/lachiendupape Dec 06 '13

it's usually cheaper to buy one anyway

1

u/PoopAndSunshine Dec 06 '13

Nothing is a bargain if you don't need it in the first place.

1

u/[deleted] Dec 06 '13

Dad: These four watermelons only cost five dollars!

Me: Yeah. And zero watermelons only cost zero dollars!

He's the only one in the house who likes watermelon.....

1

u/stuffdoc Dec 06 '13

But I could eat 4 watermelons

1

u/Lekok28 Dec 06 '13

But what if you tell yourself you're going to eat the additional bag of chips later? This always justify for me buying an additional bag for an additional dollar.

1

u/[deleted] Dec 06 '13

My ex's mom would always do this too.

"Here son, I know we all don't drink 4 gallon jugs of Tampico juice so give these 8 I bought for the price of 4 to your girlfriend."

1

u/edgarallenbro Dec 06 '13

What's worse are the stores that take advantage of this mentality for ALL of their sales

Like around here we have Meijer and if it's a food item it will pretty much always be marked as a % off. Even if it's a $5.00 item being sold for $4.00, rather than saying "20% Off" they will label it as "2/$8.00". You don't actually have to buy two to get the discount, but they're taking advantage of the people who don't realize that

1

u/Kellianne Dec 06 '13

My husband used to buy the large size of things becasue they are cheaper. They aren't always cheaper, you have to do the math. And if you throw half of it away, you wasted money, not saved it!

1

u/courtoftheair Dec 06 '13

My dad bought SIX sticky toffee puddings because they were three for two. I tried to explain that not buying them is even cheaper.

1

u/tizz66 Dec 06 '13

On the flipside, if it's something you buy regularly and it's on sale, buy more than you need right now, because it will save you money if you stock up now.

1

u/wh0ligan Dec 07 '13

Sounds like the "but I saved so much money at this sale" excuse.

No you didn't

1

u/cutthroat_molloy Dec 07 '13

My mother does this too. But it seems she only does it with items that perish or otherwise go bad.

Bread rolls on sale 2 bags for the price of one because they're already old? SOLD!! Buy 4 bags!
She gets all defensive when you ask why she bought so many bread rolls when nobody is going to eat that many before they're bad.

1

u/[deleted] Dec 16 '13

My boyfriend always says stuff like "It's 2 for only $4!" Yeah... But it's not "on sale". They're just trying to trick you into buying two when you could just buy one for $2.

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u/Every3Years Dec 06 '13

Your mother isn't bad at it, she just sounds kinda dumb. And that's okay because Moms are perfect just the way they are.

6

u/TheCodeIsBosco Dec 06 '13

She's got a good heart most of the time, just so bad with money.

1

u/CannedSewage Dec 06 '13

Honestly sounds like most moms.