the air

Being a college student, it’s hard for me to purchase some of the things I crave for. Over the past few years, I have learned how to buy some of the things I want at more reasonable prices than I could have ever imagined. In fact, it is not at all difficult to buy what you want as a smart shopper. All it takes is a little patience and some homework. My outline for buying effectively is below.

Know the difference between want and need

One of the first things I had to learn, in order to control my spending urges, was to learn the difference between want and need. A want is simply a desire or craving for something. For example, you may want to buy a car, want some food, or want to watch a movie. A need, alternatively, is something required or a want out of necessity. For example, you need food to survive, you need to have shelter, and so on. It should come as no surprise that a want can easily become a need and a need could become a want. A few weeks ago, I wanted to buy a larger USB flash drive because my project files were becoming too large for my old one. However, one day, I absolutely needed a larger USB drive because my old one was unable to handle my workload. Hence, that want or desire for a new USB drive quickly evolved into a need. Antithetically, I needed to buy a laptop for myself in order to stay mobile. However, after carefully evaluating my needs, I realized that a laptop would serve as more of a luxury item since a desktop could offer me more power for less and I had continuous access to computer labs on campus. Hence, I could store my work online and still remain mobile during the school year.

Determine what you want/need

Once you know what you want to get or need to get, try narrowing down your choices. Since the success of online commerce, it has becoming frustrating to determine what product or service is best suited for you. In many cases, you can find hundreds of competing products and easily become confused as to which is best for you. Hence, you should do your research and find out what product(s) you want to get. For example, when I was looking for a digital camera, I knew I only wanted one that was not more than $450 and had a large pixel count. Why? I needed and still need to print large size digital pictures. After my initial research, I determined that my ideal camera would either be a Sony or Canon. At this point, I knew I did not have to look at Nikon, Fuji, Olympus, or any other brand. Knowing what you want/need can quickly relieve some stress and frustration and helps you gain some traction in your road to making a smarter purchase.

Shop around both online and offline

I’m sure many of us already realize that buying online can be extremely cost-effective. At many e-commerce retailers (e.g. Amazon), you can even get free shipping, assuming you are not in a hurry to receive your product. However, I bet some of you did not realize that occasionally, you can buy at brick-and-mortar stores and pay the same amount or just a few dollars more due to taxes. For example, this 2GB PNY USB drive is $29.99 at my local Staples store and the cheapest online, using PriceGrabber, is $24.99 plus shipping and handling. In fact, using PriceGrabber’s BottomLinePrice feature, which includes tax and shipping & handling, the same USB drive is $29.99 with free shipping. In a way, if I wanted this drive, I could spend a couple dollars more in taxes and obtain the drive immediately without having to wait a few days. The point I am trying to make is that just because the concept of buying online could save you money, it may not always be; in fact, you may be able to get a better deal at your local store.

Patience is the key

Regardless of what you want or where you want to buy it from, it may be to your advantage to be patient and wait for the best deal. Generally, I tend to buy everything while it is on sale or on clearance. The reasons why should be extremely obvious. I have no intention of paying full price for anything if I can wait a couple of extra days and save bundles. Most people make the mistake of buying whatever they want/need immediately. Although stores have price match guarantees, how many of you really bother to check up on prices after your purchase. When I wanted to buy my Logitech MX Revolution mouse, I waited for two and a half weeks before buying. In fact, I bought my mouse for only $30 after all applicable rebates and incentives. The mouse retailed for $99.99 and came with a $20 instant rebate and a $30 mail-in rebate (easy rebate from Staples). The best part is that Staples sent me a free $20 reward coupon for being a loyal customer. If you do the math, I obtained the mouse for a relative bargain considering that on PriceGrabber, the lowest price (including shipping and handling) is about $80. As such, waiting for a couple of weeks, I saved almost $70 and got exactly what I wanted.

As a rule of thumb, I have always followed an old saying, “if you want to buy something, wait at least one week and see how you feel about it.” I read this saying in some old magazine when I was a kid and it totally changed my point of view since. Nowadays, whenever I want to buy something, I always wait at least one week before making the purchase; unless of course I find an extremely good bargain that is hard to pass up. Remember, you too can have exactly what you want at a great price if you are willing to be patient and spend some time doing some homework on it. I do not consider myself a frugal person, but I do proclaim myself as a smart shopper. What tips might you have for smart shoppers or those looking for bargains?

As a side-note, the following websites are a great place to start your price-research for various products/services:

• PriceGrabber
• Slickdeals
• FatWallet
• DealTaker

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