Comments on: Money Saving Tips For Shopping

By: 100 Personal Finance Posts Every College Student Needs to Read - Career Overview

100 Personal Finance Posts Every College Student Needs to Read - Career Overview — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 03:10:57 +0000

[...] Money Saving Tips for Shopping: From buying kids sizes to using your student or business discount, these tips will add up. [...]

By: Ken

Ken — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 17:20:56 +0000

Children's consignment sales are great ways to save on clothes

By: belleinthenorth

belleinthenorth — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 03:15:31 +0000

You have to be careful with outlet malls. I've been to one and, yes, most of the stores have good deals but most of them do not. A Gucci store should not be in an outlet mall if you're still charging $300 for a handbag.

By: Brochure Printing

Brochure Printing — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 02:52:37 +0000

For number two, I think its a case to case basis. If this wont put your employee friend in trouble and if he/she offered you to use his/her privilege discount then I do not see any reason why we should hesitate. Of course the classic coupon and discount hunting is still one of the best tip to save more money.

By: jayme

jayme — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 03:44:42 +0000

the student discount one is a HUGE one, you would be suprised how many places have student discounts, including clothing stores and drug stores.

Also, another thing that can be helpful is use your place of work. i can explain this by example. When i used to work in the mall i had access to all sorts of discounts. not only did i not have to pay tax on my lunch food from the food court, but i would get as much as 20 percent off at stores that i didn't even work at. If you work in an area with a high concentration of stores, you should let them know you work in that area. You may be given a lovely discount

By: WellHeeled

WellHeeled — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 01:44:34 +0000

Hi Shoe LaLa – I'm sorry you didn't find this guest post helpful. I went back and added some clarifying editor's remarks, especially about the sales tax issue as I do not want to encourage anyone to break the law (or go against their conscience!). By the way, I worked for the Gap several years back so maybe policies have changed, but I know I bought a lot of things for my friends using my 6-a-month friend discount and it was perfectly legitimate and encouraged by management. Thanks for your thoughts and for keeping me on my toes!

By: Mr Credit Card

Mr Credit Card — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 21:42:05 +0000

the use of student id was actually encouraged by the salesperson and suggested to me!

By: Shoe LaLa

Shoe LaLa — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 18:51:37 +0000

I agree with the comments that some of these "tips" are unethical. 1) Sales tax, if everyone did that then states that doe have sales taxes would seriously loose out of revenue. 2) I have worked for 4 retail stores in my career and at all of them using your discount for a friend was against policy and grounds for termination. 3) Aslo take issue with using a "student discount" if you are not truly a student. Stores may stop offering such perks if abuse of said discount becomes rampant. Usually have great stuff on your blog; those post not so much.

By: not smart

not smart — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 19:56:39 +0000

Not only are some of these items unethical, the first one is downright illegal if you aren't reporting that purchase and paying the sales tax when you file your state income tax return. Now, not many people are honest enough to actually do that when they file their return, but I don't think I'd intentionally avoid paying sales tax on a major purchase and then crow about it on an internet blog…

By: WellHeeled

WellHeeled — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 19:38:24 +0000

I didn't know that about Washington.. that's pretty cool.

By: WellHeeled

WellHeeled — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 19:37:35 +0000

I did the same when I lived in NYC for a month … there's no tax on clothes under $100.

By: WellHeeled

WellHeeled — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 19:30:59 +0000

Hey Laura – when I worked in retail we could use our employee discounts for ourselves and for friends & family. We’d just get different levels of discount (50% off for me, 30% off for others). As I replied to an earlier comment, I assume that’s what Mr. Credit Card is referring to. But maybe many stores don’t offer that? Just based on my experience, when I read Mr. CC’s tip my first thought wasn’t that he’s asking his friends to do something against the rules.

By: Laura

Laura — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 16:32:27 +0000

I definitely buy in kids sizes if I can!

I was curious, Ms. Wellheeled, what you thought about having people use their employee discount for you. I know in most stores employees are not allowed to share it and can get in trouble if caught. Just curious on your thoughts!

By: Friday Links - Canadian Finance Blog

Friday Links - Canadian Finance Blog — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 16:07:29 +0000

[...] Well-Heeled Blog has some money saving tips for shopping. [...]

By: Frugillionaire

Frugillionaire — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 15:00:10 +0000

Another tip: question if you really need to buy NEW. Consider shopping Craigslist, eBay, or a secondhand store instead; in many cases, you'll find what you need at a fraction of the retail price.

By: paranoidasteroid

paranoidasteroid — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:02:12 +0000

I used to use the sales tax tip all the time when I lived in CA. Pennsylvania has no sales tax on clothes, so whenever I visited my parents, I'd go crazy with shopping. The tax rate in CA was nearly 10% at that point, so it really did add up! I do the same thing when I shop online – if I don't need the item right away, I have it shipped to PA and get it when I visit my parents.

By: me in millions

me in millions — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 04:48:00 +0000

I def buy clothes in the kids section… the joys of being tiny! But the last time I went outlet shopping, I was horrified by the quality of the items. Yes, it has a good label, but it usually isn't the same quality as the non-outlet version.

By: Christina

Christina — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 14:55:02 +0000

I usually buy kids t-shirt since I'm petite and it really saves me a lot … the rest I have to take your advice for that. For sure it will also work for me. I just didn't figured out that yet until I read your blog. Sweet.