If you’re reading this and wondering how I find great garage sale deals, you’re not alone. I know plenty of people who think that wading through the rubbish at garage sales completely ruins the experience for them. They don’t know how to find the deals that make garage sale shopping worthwhile. I can help with that, though.

Shop early. Truthfully, I’m a morning person, so it’s easy for me to say that you should get up and out of the house early. You really can find the best merchandise by being one of the first people at a sale. Your early arrival allows you to have your pick of everything available.

Know what you’re willing to pay. Finding an item at a garage sale doesn’t mean that it’s a good deal. You can try to make an offer for the item, but be willing to walk away if the seller can’t meet your needs. You can always stop by later in the day to see if the seller is more willing to make a deal.

Take a measuring tape with you. If you purchase something at a great price, bring it home to your house, and find that it doesn’t fit in the door, your purchase wasn’t a bargain. You can avoid this situation, however, by carrying a measuring tape with you when you’re garage sale shopping.

Look for multi-family sales. Sometimes you can get lucky and find a great deal at a small garage sale. The odds of finding the item you need at a price you like go up dramatically if you visit large sales with items from multiple families. Sales at churches and community centers are a wonderful place to start. Neighborhood garage sales are a strong alternative to multi-family sales, as well.

Can you guess where I will be tomorrow morning?

Content provided by Not Made Of Money: Tips for Finding Garage Sale Deals

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Although stocking up on office supplies during the back to school sales is something I have been doing for years now, it completely slipped my mind to actually write a post about it. I was pleasantly surprised when readers of this blog took the time to comment and email reminding me that these back to school sales are not just for the kids! Thanks to Andre at Offers.com and David at YourFinances101 for the money saving reminder!

Content provided by Not Made Of Money: Back To School Sales – Not Just for The Kids

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You can see that’s a lot of food for $50. Here’s what I did to get these savings.

I headed on over to AFullCup.com to the forum area and went to the Super Target forums to find the current Target deals. I am always amazed at the deals I can find simply by reading the forums. Many of these deals I wouldn’t have known about otherwise. Then I went to the Target shopping list and checked the items I wanted. The list provides the sale price as well as any coupon matchups (where to find them, etc.) I also went to the Target coupon generator and printed out Target store coupons.

My next step was to visit the Publix forums. Publix is one of the main grocery stores I shop at on a regular basis. I find them to be slightly higher priced than Albertson’s or Winn Dixie. However, when I combine their weekly Buy One Get One Free sale with coupons, I find they are much cheaper than any of the other stores in my area. I don’t have any of the discount grocery stores around me and wish there were more options for shopping (especially like Kroger). However, the forum at AFullCup.com makes it very easy for me to maximize my savings because it provides me with ad previews for the coming week at Publix along with the coupon match ups. Again, I checked the forum for the deals, used the Publix shopping list, and printed off my coupons.

For the actual shopping trip, I headed to Super Target first. I purchased the Nabisco grahams crackers (on sale and combined with Target coupon), Kraft EZ Mac-N-Cheese (on sale and with Target coupon), and the 10 pound bag of potatoes. Total price was around $11.50 (including tax).

Next I went to Publix where I purchased the Cheerios (BOGO + manufacturer coupon), Mueller’s Penne and Spaghetti noodles (BOGO), Kelloggs Rice Crispies (on sale + coupon), Mott’s Apple Juice (BOGO + coupon), Sargento shredded cheese (BOGO + coupon), Ruffles Chips (BOGO), Pillsbury flour, and 5 packs of the chicken breast which were on sale at $1.99 per pound. Total at Publix was $38.37 for a grand total at both stores of $49.87.

AFullCup.com makes it easy to save at the grocery store. You just head on over to the forums for the stores you shop at, find your deals, get your coupons, print your lists, and score the deals. How simple is that?

So are you up for a challenge? How far can you stretch your money by using the resources and coupons from AFullCup.com? Please leave a comment below sharing your strategy and how much you were able to save. If you blog, please leave your link in Mr. Linky below detailing your grocery savings.

Content provided by Not Made Of Money: $50 Grocery Challenge From AFullCup.com

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What if you can’t find a trick for the specific thing you’re shopping for? Does that mean you can’t get a good deal? Of course it doesn’t! There are many ways to make sure you get a good deal on any time of purchase. Today, I’ve put together a few of my favorite “generic” tips to help you get the most out of every shopping venture.

Be patient. Impulsive shopping is the enemy of getting a good deal. I can’t count how many times I’ve been shopping the clearance racks of a store and fallen in love with something that wasn’t on sale. Did I cave and pay full price for it? No, I waited until it was on sale later and bought it.

Shop around. Prices vary a lot from store to store. You might see a sweater at a department store like Macy’s $50. On the other hand, you might see the same sweater at a discount store like TJ Maxx for $30. It’s always worth your time to check out a few other stores to see if you’re getting the best deal you could. The only cost will be a little of your time.

Negotiate. Don’t assume that the price you see on the sign at the store is necessarily the price you have to pay. The seller might accept competitor coupons. You might be able to purchase a floor model for a reduced price. I’ve even gotten local stores to match internet pricing a time, or too. Just explain to the salesperson that you need a little better price and see if there’s anything he can do to help him.

Consider buying used. There is almost nothing that can’t be purchased in a re-sale environment. You can buy clothes at a thrift store or on eBay. You can buy furniture or a car through Craig’s list. Odds are that if you can find a slightly used version of the item you’re shopping for you will also find a better price for your item.

Content provided by Not Made Of Money: Find Great Deals – No Matter What You’re Shopping For

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Although the point of dining out is always to have a nice time and enjoy a good meal, the treat doesn’t require us to forego all concerns about sticking to our budget. We still need to stretch our food dollars as much as possible. So, we’ve learned to look for ways to make dining out cheaper. My favorite is to visit restaurants that allow the kids to eat for free.

You do this, right? You find places that you can take the family where you won’t be charged for the kids. Zoos, movie theatres, and even theme parks often have a floor on the age of children that they charge for. Why shouldn’t you expect to find the same type of discounts on restaurants? If this is news to you, I can help you find these kid-friendly restaurants.

MyKidsEatFree.Com – I love visiting this site (and a few others like it) to look for new places to add to my list of restaurants where the kids can eat for free. At this site, you simply select your city and state from drop-down fields and you get access to restaurants in your city that have special children’s programs. You can even specify what day you’d like to eat out to make sure that the program is open for your special occasion.

Other Parents – Many of these special kids offers at restaurants aren’t really publicized. The best way to find out about them is to talk to other parents. Ask people in your church, at work, or even at your kids’ school.

Vacation Brochures – Sometimes restaurants will advertise their kids eat free programs in travel brochures in the hope of attracting visiting families to their establishment. Pick up brochures about your hometown to find specials in your neck of the woods. If you’re planning a vacation, don’t forget to look for specials in your destination city, too.

Frugal Family Forums – Many different forums give moms and other family members the opportunity to share their favorite frugal schemes with others. Check out the “Freebies” section in your favorite forum or type “kids eat free” into the forum’s search engine.

About.Com – When in doubt, simply typing “kids eat free” and your city’s name into About.com’s search engine will undoubtedly reveal a few of these types of specials in your neck of the woods. Just be sure to call and confirm that the program is still available before you visit them. The articles at About.com aren’t always recently updated.

Content provided by Not Made Of Money: Finding Places Where Kids Eat Free – Five Resources

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