How many steps will you take to save money?

[disneysteve]

People have different levels of tolerance for going out of their way to save money. Some people are happy to clip coupons, track sales, shop at multiple stores, manage reward programs, etc. Other people will look for a sale but that's about it. Where do you fall on the spectrum?

What prompted this question is that for the first time in many years, we will be buying annual passes to Disney World this fall. Since that is about a $1,400 purchase, I started researching how I could save some money in the process. I know how to get discounted regular Disney passes but APs are harder since only Disney sells them, not the ticket discounters that I usually deal with.

Enter the disboards discussion forums. There are folks there who really could have their own TLC reality show along the lines of the extreme couponing show but for theme park passes. They have such involved methods for saving that basically involve buying a series of discounted gift cards online and from Target to ultimately save 10% or more on their passes, which is a nice deal.

I'm not going to go quite that crazy but I did come up with a relatively straightforward way to save 5% so about $70. Not bad. Worth the hassle in my opinion. That'll cover a few meals for my wife and I when we're on vacation.

[BuckyBadger]

That's a good question - and one (for me at least) without a overall answer.

If I'm buying something online I will always google "so-and-so coupon code" before placing my order. I've saved quite a bit just doing that.

I don't clip coupons. In general they're not for stuff we buy. But we do wait to buy certain things until they're on sale. We don't ever pay full price for a 12 pack of soda - we wait for the 4 for $12 or 3 for $10 type deals.

We go to Costco, but we absolutely love everything they sell, so that's not a sacrifice.

However, if we're out of something, or were at the regular grocery store ans want something that we know is cheaper at Costco, we'll still often buy it.

So I guess I can say that we're not willing to spend a lot of time to save money - our time is too valuable for us. Googling for discounts is pretty much it I suppose.

Big purchases are different. My husband spends days making sure we get the best deals on cars and large electronics purchases, and I spend a lot of time getting the best prices for vacations and travel.

but every day stuff I'm not breaking my back to save a few bucks here and there.

[Fishindude77]

So long as price is close, I go ahead and buy without complaining. Having run a business for many years, I understand you can't always be lowest price and they need to make a buck.

There are a few things I refuse to pay for. Good example the other day I needed about 5 gallons of paint so naturally went to the Sherwin Williams store. Cheapest interior latex they had in there was something like $35 per gallon. Drove down the street to the lumber yard and bought an alternate brand of the same stuff for $25 per gallon.

I do take advantage of gas discounts at places like Sams, use an AARP card at motels, sometimes get a motel through Priceline and save, got a vendor discount on last new car we purchased, etc. Not one for using coupons, etc.

[scfr]

In the specific case you mention, I would take the extra steps to save 10% or more vs. saving 5%. Doing some online shopping & at Target (there is one very close to us) isn't a hardship. It's not like hacking my way through a jungle with a machete. Saving another $70+ is significant in my book.

[disneysteve]

I don't clip coupons. In general they're not for stuff we buy.

Not one for using coupons, etc.

It's funny that quite a few people here have said that. I say it all the time. Coupons are issued primarily for name brand items, convenience items, new products to get you to try them, etc. We don't use a lot of coupons because we don't buy a lot of that stuff.

We do occasionally get store coupons from Target and Wegmans for their store brand items and we do use those coupons since those are items that we buy. Just yesterday I got a coupon for Wegmans orange juice. I'll use that next week.

The online discount codes are great. I've posted about those before.

The other thing I really like is buying discounted gift cards online, which I'm going to do as part of the savings for the Disney passes.

[BuckyBadger]

...Wegmans...

Mmmm... Wegmans...



(I miss Wegmans.)

[ua_guy]

Minimal to moderate tolerance here for the money-saving hustle... Here's some things I can think of, off the top of my head:

1. NO - signing up for a store credit card to save 15% unless it's a sizeable (say $2k, a mattress) purchase.

2. YES - signing up for a member/rewards card at a grocery store to collect discount and fuel reward points.

3. NO - Any kind of unsolicited coupon I wasn't looking for.

4. YES - If someone (like my folks) are going across state lines to Oregon where there is no sales tax, I may try to arrange with them to complete a large purchase for me (ex. $1500 computer, etc) to save almost 10% --if I am prepared to buy.

5. YES - Mail-In Rebates. Those jerks are gonna give me my $20 back on contact lens purchases even if it means tearing UPC's off boxes, sending notarized copies of there receipt and eye exam billing statement, prescriptions, etc.

6. NO - Amazon add-on purchases. Low prices on some items that are "add-on" to larger orders just makes me buy more stuff I don't need.

7. NO - Same with Amazon subscription products, except for razors. Simply calendaring a reminder to check inventory of "x" is ultimately cheaper and easier.

8. NO - Saving money buying car oil that's on sale. If it doesn't carry the manufacturer certification required to maintain warranty coverage, it's not worth it.

9. NO - Two-fer food deals. Most of the time I simply don't need that much food, or it's not what I wanted in the first place.

10. YES - checking for online discount codes before completing online purchases.

[Like2Plan]

I have pondered this question for a while.
The gift card discount via Target is one that I have thought about also, but I have never acted on it. I don't like gift cards now as much as I used to. One reason is I misplaced a $50.00 GC. (It turned up about a year later. ) I am still looking for a GC that has $11.00 left on it. So, my fear is that I will lose a GC. Just one and it would make all that work for nothing.

There is a bank that recently opened up near us and offered $250.00 for new customers. I didn't act on that one because I am trying to simplify my life--I just closed 2 long standing bank accounts we had because we don't need them. Still, $250 is a lot of money...

[scfr]

I have pondered this question for a while.
The gift card discount via Target is one that I have thought about also, but I have never acted on it. I don't like gift cards now as much as I used to. One reason is I misplaced a $50.00 GC. (It turned up about a year later. ) I am still looking for a GC that has $11.00 left on it. So, my fear is that I will lose a GC. Just one and it would make all that work for nothing.

I learned from experience how to handle this. Do you have a place where you keep "small, must under no circumstances lose, need to be hidden, but don't access often enough to remember where they are" items? Put the gift cards there. Since I started using that system, I haven't misplaced any gift cards. They are with my passport, safety deposit box key, funny little tag with a number from the car dealer (I think it's in case we lose our remote keys), neighbor's house key, voter registration card, emergency cash, and foreign currency that DH uses once or twice a year when he travels back to his home country.

[MonkeyMama]

It just depends. With age and money we spend less time and hassle. When I had $0 to my name I clipped every coupon and it helped immensely.

In most cases we do a google/coupon search when making any purchase. We just saved 5% on airfare because I stumbled across a random link. I don't buy anything online without searching coupon codes.

I wouldn't get a haircut or an oil change without a coupon. We always buy gas with coupons. We always keep restaurant coupons on hand. But it's not anything I'd say I put any time or effort into. If I see a coupon I might use I set it aside. Before we spend money we do a quick coupon check. WE don't do any grocery or household coupons because that just gets more difficult. I'd quantify us as "one thing at a time" couponers. If I am going out for one thing then I will take a coupon. If I am doing a $100 grocery run then that is far beyond me. Simply home cooking our meals and shopping at a reasonable grocery store keeps our food costs very low, so I don't know if I have a lot of motivation to work a lot harder to save a few more pennies.

P.S. I'd never shop at a place like Michaels or Kohls without printing out coupons first. They always have coupons online.

[phantom]

For me, it really depends on how much I'm planning on spending, how much time I have, and whether not I'm in the mood.

For groceries, I used to clip a lot of coupons and my husband would spend time going through the ads to see when stuff we bought would be on sale where. But, since having a kid, we don't like spending what little time we have to ourselves optimizing our grocery shopping. We'll use coupons when they land in our laps, and hit the sales when it's convenient, but we miss a lot more savings opportunities than we used to. I do find myself using apps like ibotta a lot though.

The last time I really went all out to save on a purchase was when I decided to get a MacBook Pro a couple of months back. I bought a refurbished one that was a couple years old. It's hard to say exactly how much I saved by getting an older refurbished model instead of a new computer. But, after I had my computer picked out, I bought gift cards at the grocery store where I got extra cash back on my credit card and a bunch of free gas. Between the extra cash back and the free gas, I saved about 15%. It was totally worth the extra effort, and I have fun with things like figuring out whether it's better to buy gift cards online or at the grocery store.

[disneysteve]

We always buy gas with coupons..

Where do you get coupons for gas? I've never seen that. Maybe it isn't a thing in NJ.

[disneysteve]

I don't like gift cards now as much as I used to.

That's funny. I like them a lot more than I used to. I didn't like them years ago when they used to expire. Now that they don't, it's much better. Also, now that I know about buying them at a discount, I'm all over that. I used discounted cards to buy my running shoes (Dick's), our refrigerator (Lowe's), a computer printer (Best Buy), everything and anything (Target), sewing supplies (Jo-Ann), home repair stuff (Home Depot) etc. It's great getting as much as 18% off our purchases just by buying cards.

I always have a stack of cards on my dresser. Never an issue with them getting lost. My wife carries the Target and Jo-Ann cards with her as she goes there regularly.

[MonkeyMama]

Where do you get coupons for gas? I've never seen that. Maybe it isn't a thing in NJ.

Our grocery store has a gas station. Instead of having to give them all our personal info and carry a card (like some stores), they just print coupons on our grocery receipts (which you can scan at the pump).

[snafu]

I enjoy the challenge of the money saving hustle. With sales repetitive, I created a chart and if practical I will delay a major purchase to take advantage of sale pricing. Earlier this month I inventoried home office supplies, pitched non functioning items, took old electronics to recycle, boxed items not used or needed in the last two years to GW drop off and listed items needed and available during 'back to school sales.' I believe I've saved about 20%. Checking on-line for discount codes is quick and easy. Like others, I rarely see coupons for items I buy so only worth a quick glance.

In my experience, meal planning resolves lots of issues and I figure I reduce our food/restaurant spending by close to 30% by focusing on loss leaders, skipping processed convenience foods, relying on more frozen vegetables and cooking from scratch. Since eating at home is so much less than meals at restaurants, we host friends to celebratory Sunday dinners. With 4 major grocery chain stores on our usual route, it's easy to stop to stock-up on specials.

'Gas buddy' is on my Desktop and while Costco is almost always in the top 5, the outlet is too far away to be my 'go to' supplier. Oddly we have an outlet that discounts gas on certain days nearby. As a result of once sharing my car with two teenaged boys, I'd trained myself to stop and fill on my way home so that I could insist they do likewise. I'm using a CC that offers 2% - 5% cash back on gas so I'm hoping the figures reward me by years end.

I fI were planning to buy a new-to-me car, I'd get serious in September or after a big snow storm in late February.

DH wants a larger TV and agrees to wait for the sales around Christmas.