Money Saving Tips: Shopping trip edition

This weekend the kid and I took a trip to KC for an out of town weekend getaway.  I knew I would probably be shopping but I knew I didn’t want to go overboard.  Here are a few tips that worked for me to keep the weekend affordable. 

1. Take cash.  I went into the weekend with a certain amount of cash to spend and a piece of paper listing how much of the cash was allocated for food and for spending. 
2. Have an idea of what you are shopping for/need.  I knew I wanted a few new candles from Bath and Body works.  I also know how much of a weakness Victoria’s Secret/Pink is and just happened to have a $45 rewards card to take along.  I used a coupon for my candles and my rewards card to save at both stores.
3. Evaluate each item you contemplate purchasing with questions like “Do I actually have somewhere to put this?”  “Do I really want to have to dust this thing?”  “Do I LOVE it enough to spend X dollars on it?”  “Will it end up in my closet only to be in the donate pile in a year?”  Most of those questions were answered with a resounding no...or yes for the last question. 
4. Use your shopping partner to help you.  For example, I held up a shirt and said “Is this worth $15?”  The answer was usually no.  I was also the one offering up the same for her saying “You don’t need it” or “You have something just like that at home.” 
5. Make a mental note of something you are thinking of purchasing and come back to it later if you still want it.  The kid did this with something she wanted and she ended up making the trip back to the store to make the purchase after searching for similar items elsewhere.  I picked up a few things I liked, put it back, and forgot all about them.  So obviously it wasn’t anything I needed that badly!   

 

In the past I have used shopping trips/weekend trips as an excuse to go crazy with purchasing things.  This time was much different and it felt good to come home with only things I knew I had really wanted.  We even went to Target and walked out with NOTHING.  I hadn’t been to Target in six months.  To walk out with nothing was a huge deal.  Target is a big temptation for me.  I guess staying out of it for six months has gotten me used to not buying anything there.  I even talked myself out of a dollar item at the dollar spot.  Even a dollar item isn’t a good deal if you don’t really need it!