Penny Pinchers

Real Simple’s ways to saveYes, some personality types are naturally gifted at penny pinching, and they LOVE it too. So Real Simple’s suggestions will be spot on for the Classics and Funs, while it will be some work for the other types, but these days, it might be work youre willing and able to do.

One of Real Simple’s suggestions for being a penny pincher is to do advance research using DealCatcher.com and PriceGrabber.com. I wasn’t sold on DealCatcher.com. It seemed like a random collection of coupons for things I don’t need. You can search by category on the site but that’s it. If coupons are what you want, CouponCabin.com has ’em by categories AND subcategories (coupons, sales/clearances, expiring soon). So for the natural penny pinchers (Classics, Funs & Organic Structures) on a mission to save $$, check out CouponCabin.com. It takes major time to research and print out coupons before every outing to spend money but we’re the ones most inclined to do it.

Now, for everyone else (and overly busy Classics, Funs, Organic Structures), PriceGrabber.com is where you can do actual research (and it’s part of the Experian network of online companies, the freecreditreport.com people). It pulls up online price offerings by category, product and then compares across multiple online outlets including, what shipping is etc. If you’re in the market for a phone or a TV, it’ll allow you to order it online for the best price or spend the time to go to the retail store and barter them down.

The best barterers tend to be Classic Structures, Funs and Smarts. So, this site will simply give more juice to your A-game in the brick & mortar world. For Organics and Classic Freedoms, this website will give you the ammunition you’ve always wanted/needed to become amazing barterers.

And for those of you who would NEVER contemplate cutting a coupon (Organic Freedoms, Smarts and every personality type when they’re too busy), remember the following key basic tips that I cobbled together from Real Simple’s site that are good for ALL: Not everything is cheaper at wholesale clubs. They almost always have the best prices on paper products and meat. Grocery stores are the best place to get produce at the right price (with the exception of Whole Paycheck, aka Whole Foods) and then get your personal care products at the Targets of the world. And if you want to compare price between items, remember to use the UNIT price, not retail.

Finally, I’m tagging on a disclaimer to my whole thesis about natural penny pinchers being Classics & Funs …  my best friend (an Organic Freedom) with four kids in Indiana claimed she could make dinner for 6 people for under $10 and I was downright floored as I can’t seem to do that for two people! BUT I think that’s just the difference between the unreality that is living in overpriced Manhattan and the reality of the real world. And, Katie (an Organic Freedom) says there is a real big difference between a NATURAL penny pincher and one who is FORCED to out of the necessity of the financial reality of FOUR kids. All personality types can pinch pennies, but not all of us love it.  And that’s the key.