Is That Your Lowe's-est Price?

It has been several years since my last post. In that time, Aimee and I purchased a house, sold it and have moved to another area where we have again purchased a house. Naturally, just as an insect is attracted to a bug-zapper, the homeowner is attracted to the home improvement store. When we owned our first home (the one we just sold), we spent about every weekend at Lowe’s. It was so bad, that we were on a first name basis with several of the employees there.

As we would explore the aisles of Lowe’s looking for parts or items we needed in order to complete our projects, we would wonder past several clearance areas within the store (During the warmer months, there is also an outdoor power equipment clearance section in front of the store as well). At one point, we noticed that a $300.00 wine refrigerator was marked on clearance (pictured below:)

Paid 33% of retail

This item was placed on clearance because there was a newer model on the shelf, so nothing was wrong with it. Over the next several months, we kept an eye on this item as its price continued to decline, $249.99 to $225.00. After about six months, Aimee and I decided to see if the employees in the appliance section would be willing to haggle. We settled on a max price we were willing to pay so we wouldn’t become emotionally attached during the negotiation.

I told the employee that I knew the product had been in the appliance clearance area for several months, and asked if they would be willing to accept a lower price. He indicated that they would, so I threw out a figure of $75.00. Honestly, I had (and still have) no idea what their policy is on how little they can accept on a clearance item, but I figured it was a good jumping off point. Naturally, the employee told me he couldn’t go that low, but could part with the appliance for $100.00. Aimee and I found that price agreeable and agree to purchase it for that price. A part of me still wonders if he could have sold it for less than $100.00 if I would have negotiated more aggressively, but in the big picture we paid 1/3 of retail price for the item.

In some instances, it is possible to save even more on the purchase price o f a negotiated item. Lowe’s sends 10% off coupons from time to time. While those coupons will exclude some clearance appliances, they do not exclude all clearance items in their store. Additionally, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention their additional 5% off savings by using their credit card.

Unfortunately, I didn’t always know that Lowe’s would haggle on clearance items. When we purchased our first house, I needed a lawn mower and found a Troy Bilt mower in that outdoor clearance section I mentioned earlier. The mower had been returned, but the repair tag stated that there wasn’t any problem with it. For maintenance purposes, they had cleaned out the carburetor. The normal retail price was $1,399.00 and the clearance price was $900.00 (the price I paid). If I would have known about the ability to further negotiate the price, I wonder how much more I could have saved…. Oh well.

As I mentioned above, since our last post in 2015, Aimee and I purchased our first house and have recently sold it. There are tons of money saving ideas we employed while living there that I hope to share in the coming months.

Happy Saving everyone!

Dillard's Clearance Center - Deals! Deals! Deals!

Each year on our annual Christmas pilgrimage to my in-law's/parent's houses, Aimee and I always make a stop at the Dillard's Clearance Center in High Point, NC. The Dillard's Clearance Center is a repository for all the clothes Dillard's cannot sell in their regular stores. The selection is immense (see below)

This is just the a small section of the men's section. The woman's section is twice as big. The center occupies one floor of the former regular Dillard's store in the Oak Hollow Mall. There isn't much left in this mall these days. The JCPenney's, Sears, and Belk's are all gone. Most of the inside stores have disappeared as well (although there is still a Victoria's Secret and a Bath and Body Works). 

The day we visited the Dillard's Clearance Center, they were offering 50% off of the original discount. Each section of items normally has a regular discounted price, (normally 50% or greater) then a special discount on top of that. 

When we enter the store, I normally visit the men's dress shirts first. All of the dress shirts are in excellent shape, and are of high quality. These shirts normally retail around $80.00. With the discounts, I was able to obtain five shirts for $11.00 and some change (an 86.25% discount). Additionally, I found a $60.00 tie for $6.00 (90% discount). Aimee purchased a $104.00 pair of designer pants for $18.00 and a designer dress for around $20.00. All in all, we purchased $552.00 in clothes for $103.00 (81.3% discount). In previous years, we have been able to obtain even better deals. In December of 2013, we purchased $890.00 worth of clothes for $150.00 (83% discount).

In addition to these items, they also offer great prices on many items. I fear that if we still lived in that area, we would spend a little too much time in that store looking for deals. 

If you have a penny pinching tip or suggestion, please feel free to email me at PennyPinchingPaul@gmail.com.

Happy Saving!

-Paul

Brooks Brothers on the Cheap

If you are like me, you dream of the day that you can walk into a Brooks Brothers store and feel okay purchasing one of their clothing items without it killing your budget. $100.00 for a dress shirt, are you kidding me? What, are there strands of gold weaved in or something? While I am sure their shirts are nice and are of higher quality compared to most dress shirts, my intoxication level would need to be off the charts in order to make a purchase at one of their regular or factory outlet stores.

Recently, while driving back from our vacation to Charleston (yes, Charleston sounds like an expensive vacation, but it isn't. I'll tell you more about that in another post), we decided to take a detour off I-95 to Garland, NC. I have heard several people mention that Brooks Brothers has a factory outlet store in Garland where everything is much cheaper than the regular store and factory outlet stores you see at Tanger/Prime Outlets. Garland is honestly in the middle-of-nowhere. Living in Eastern, NC I thought I understood middle-of-nowhere, but it wasn't until we arrived in Garland that I truly understood where the middle-of-nowhere was. By the way, below is a map of Garland.

 Fayetteville or Wilmington may be the closest city to Garland. When you start hearing banjos, you know you are close (only kidding).

Evidently, Brooks Brothers has a shirt factory in Garland, NC which makes the small town the perfect place for the company to sell items that may not pass completely for Brooks Brothers' quality. When you arrive at the store, you will be looking at two small retail spaces (below):

Of two spaces that the outlet occupies, the right side is the men's side, and the left side is mainly women's (with some men's). As you enter the store, you will immediately see a tie rack directly in front of you.

The ties are probably one of the best deals in the store. When I visited, they had $1 black ties near the counter and the other colors front and center. Brooks Brothers ties normally sell for around $80. The three ties I purchased were $17.99 each. The store also has a selection of dress shirts, suits, and pants. Being a size 38 short, the selection of suits in my size was very limited. For most average height men, they had a decent selection. The dress shirts were decently priced. Most ranged from $15 - $25 per shirt. Remember, because this is the island of misfit Brooks Brothers clothes, some of the shirts may not be of quality high enough to purchase. They have a $10 rack of shirts of which most I found too low of quality to purchase. The shirts had a small hole in them or some part of the shirt was frayed.

Make sure you try on everything you purchase at the store. All sales are final. Another tip, take some time to study and learn their sizing colors. They no longer type the word "fitted" or "tailored fit" on a fitted shirt. They use a different color tag. They also have one set of colors for their regular stores and another set of colors for their factor outlet stores. Since they carry clothes from both the regular and factory stores, it can get real confusing real quick. It is important to have patience while browsing. I spent over two hours in the small store sifting and re-sifting through their selection.

All in all, it was a good trip to the store. My total take was three ties and two shirts. I plan to return at some point to re-browse their selection.

If you have a tip or suggestion, please feel free to email me at PennyPinchingPaul@gmail.com

Happy Saving!

-Paul

What's In Your Lunchbox?

It's 12:30pm on a Thursday, and you are hungry for lunch. What do you do? Do you travel home to eat leftovers? Do you quickly stop by your favorite fast food restaurant for a bite to eat? Do you go out with friends to a restaurant? Or, do you go to the refrigerator where you work and grab your lunchbox?

For the majority of my working career (as well as my time in grade school), I have been an avid fan of bringing my own lunch. Lunch prices at local restaurants continue to increase. It seems that a decent lunch meal at a local sandwich shop can cost $7.00 or more depending what you get, not to mention a tip if you sit at the restaurant to eat the meal. For the last four years, I have basically eaten the same meal for lunch each day; A peanut butter sandwich, small salad, and an apple. Over time, I found ways to save on some of these items as I would purchase them. Recently, I asked myself, how much does my daily lunch indulgence cost me? Putting pen to paper, this is what I found out.

Exhibit A - Lunch Table

As mentioned in a previous post, the bread I buy is Nature's Own from the Dollar Tree. Sometimes, there are sales on the other items as well. Over time, I have tweaked this lunch arrangement somewhat. Recently, I have moved to green leaf lettuce over romaine as green leaf tends to last a few days longer. I have also found that lettuce seems to last longer if purchased from a Food Lion and not WalMart. Most WalMart employees will tell you that they get their lettuce from the same place as Food Lion, and while that may be true, the WalMart lettuce is handled more frequently given the number of shoppers they have. I believe this constant handling of the lettuce probably causes it to go bad sooner. 

Most of the other items on the lunch table show the normal everyday price for that item. At times, I'll find a coupon for dressing or peanut butter and will stock up on a few, but most of the time, I'll pay the normal price for the item. 

Some may be asking, "What kind of salad is just lettuce and dressing?". I must admit from time to time, I will add another vegetable to the salad, but not always. It generally depends what is in the refrigerator and what must be eaten sooner to prevent spoiling. Sometimes the vegetables will add variety.

Also, some might wonder, "Where is the jelly?". When I first started eating this lunch, we really couldn't afford jelly and since it doesn't add much nutritional value (if you buy the normal concord grape) I decided to forgo having it on my sandwich.  

Given the low price of $1.16/day, one might imagine the amount of savings compared to going out to eat each day. In one year, assuming it is $6.00 to go out to lunch, this meal will save you around $1,200. Even if you just bring your lunch two days a week, you will still save over $500.00 in a year. 

Most  understand that it is cheaper to bring their lunch but complain that they do not have the time to prep everything needed for the meal. I'll admit that it does take discipline. I make the majority of my lunches for the week on Sunday night and Wednesday night. 

If you have a tip or suggestion, please feel free to email me at PennyPinchingPaul@gmail.com

Happy Saving!

-Paul

Cable vs. Satellite.... How About Neither!

Cable and satellite providers are constantly quarreling over who is the best and is therefore more deserving of your hard earned dollar. If you visit DirecTV's website, they claim that they are number one is satellite TV and "beat cable". If you visit Time Warner Cable's website they tell you you can "Enjoy Better".

So, which is better?

...How about NONE OF THE ABOVE!!

About twenty months ago, we were moving to Elizabeth City. We were in a two-year contract with DirecTV (one which we voluntarily but regrettably signed). We informed DirecTV that we were moving and they visited the new town-home to determine the best satellite location to transfer the service. Since our landlord would not allow us to place a dish on the roof, we could only have the dish on a pole. Unfortunately (well actually fortunately), given the positioning of the trees in the backyard, we did not have a clear view of the southern sky. DirecTV allowed us out of our contract without penalty since we had no logistical way of continuing service from our new residence.

As we started taking a look at our local cable option, we started to weigh the benefits of having some form of upgraded television. I enjoyed watching ESPN, Comedy Central, and USA; and my wife enjoyed Oxygen and HGTV. Other than those channels we were not particularly interested in other shows on TV. (Ok there was one or two shows on A&E that we were interested in, but that was really about it). We started to look at the cost of us enjoying these television shows. We saw the range was between $60 and $80 each month for cable alone. There were bundling options available (triple play, etc), but seriously who has a house phone anymore and even those were starting around $100.00. My wife and I made the conscious decision to go without cable or satellite for a few months to see if we could survive without our favorite shows.

We purchased an indoor/outdoor antenna and continued our Netflix subscription (which at the time was only $7.99). After the first six months, we realized we were really not missing much. Most of the TV shows we enjoyed would pop up on Netflix (albeit sometimes six to eight months after they aired), and the antenna received okay reception (like four channels). Given where we live, we are right on the cusp of reception limits. Most TV stations are around 35 - 40 miles away. On a cloudy day we can receive seven or eight channels, but we only expect to receive four or five normally. While our selection is fairly limited, it is sufficient for our needs. We find ourselves watching tons of PBS, which contrary to by belief as a kid, isn't all that bad. One TV show in particular, North Carolina Weekend, has become a favorite Saturday morning show for Aimee and me.

Getting rid of satellite/cable for twenty months and netting out the cost of Netflix and the antenna has saved us around $1,389.



Yea, that's big money! "Franklin, Grant, and Jackson!"

Just as equally important, not having the upgraded TV options has allowed my wife and I to focus our spending on other, more useful items.

Getting rid of satellite and cable has become a somewhat popular trend recently. There are other alternatives that we are not taking advantage of currently. Hulu plus allows you to watch more current TV shows and Chromecast/Apple TV/Roku provide other options as well.

If you have a money saving story regarding television, and would like to share, please feel free to post a comment. Also if you have a savings idea you would like to share please email pennypinchingpaul@gmail.com.

Happy Saving!

-Paul

Shave and a Haircut.... For Free!!!!

In the movie, "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" there is a scene where Judge Doom (the villain played by Christopher Lloyd) is attempting to catch Roger. In order to locate Roger, Judge Doom taps the famous rhythm to Shave and a Haircut. He goes from wall to wall tapping the same rhythm "tap....tap tap tap... tap.." As cartoons cannot resist finishing the phrase, eventually Roger bursts out through the wall from the area he was hiding and yells, "two bits". (Click HERE to watch the scene)

Unfortunately, a haircut costs much more today than "two bits" (which would have been equal to 25 cents). Several years ago, I became tired of paying for haircuts. While I always appreciated the work of the barber or hair stylist, I disliked having to make the time to physically go barber shop, and spending the funds to have it cut. Unfortunately my hair grows about as fast as a Chia pet on miracle grow, so there was no possible way to skip a month and save money that way. The cheapest cut I could find averaged around $12.00 plus tip. There are certainly some hair cutting specials that are much cheaper than this, but I decided to leave the world of organized hair cutting and employ my own barber. Ever since February of 2010, my wife has taken on the task of cutting my hair each month. We purchased a set of Wahl clippers for about $25.00 with multiple accessories (similar to those seen below).

She watched several YouTube videos to learn a variety of cutting methods (there are literally hundreds of tutorials out there). When she first began cutting my hair, I kept my hairstyle fairly simple with no need to use the hand clippers that came with the set. As her cutting skill advanced, so did my desired hair cut. Assuming an average of $12 per cut and netting out the cost of the clippers, we have saved around $635.00 since she started cutting my hair 55 months ago.

If you have a suggestion for a savings tip, please email me at PennyPinchingPaul@gmail.com

Happy Saving!

-Paul

Serious Cereal Savings

My food of choice for breakfast is (and has always been) cereal. I am generally not very picky as to the brand or type although my favorite is Frosted Flakes. Since I eat cereal almost every morning, we tend to go through quite a bit of it. Walking down the aisle at your local Walmart or grocery store, you'll see an endless selection of brands and types. There are the name brands offered by General Mills, Kellogg's, and Post as well as store brands. Store brand cereal does not bother me.

In 2011 I first noticed while shopping at Walmart that pricing of their cereals were constantly changing. I began not paying attention to the actual price I was paying, but rather the price per ounce. After several years of watching the price per ounce, it seemed that most cereals averaged a little over 20 cents per ounce. The Walmart brands were lower, but still ranged between 13 and 19 cents per ounce. There were a few cereals (mainly the Walmart brand of Frosted Flakes and Honey Bunches of Oats w/ Almonds) that were less than 12 cents per ounce. Those were generally the cereals I would purchase.

When Aimee and I moved to Elizabeth City in December of 2012, we discovered Ollie's. We had always heard about the store, but never ventured into the discount retailer until we moved. Among many of the other cheap items they had for sale, we found Ollie's generally sold cereal on the cheap. At first, we were apprehensive and wondered about the quality of the cereal (expiration date, staleness, etc.) but nevertheless gave it a try. None of the cereals we purchased were out of date, nor did they taste stale. When doing the math, many times we were purchasing cereal between 8 and 10 cents per ounce, and some of these were name brands! At one point in 2013, Malt-O-Meal (the cereal in a bag people) had a campaign to put some of their cereals in a box in order to try to raise awareness for their bagged cereals. They figured that if people tried their cereals in boxes, maybe they would switch to the bag and effectively "bag the box". I'm not sure if their campaign worked, but they had quite a few leftover boxes of cereal on closeout at Ollie's. These cereals were priced around 8 cents per ounce and included their off brand of Captain Crunch w/ Berries, Frosted Flakes, and Apple Jacks. On one occasion in early 2014, we were able to pick up a box that contained two bags of Frosted Flakes at 5 cents an ounce.

One might wonder, what the difference is in a few cents per ounce. Assuming I consume around 2 ounces of cereal each day six days a week and another ounce once a week as a dessert, my annual cereal consumption is 676 ounces. Conservatively, if am saving around 7 cents per ounce (most of the time it is more than that) my annual savings is $47.32. Some might balk and say that is not much, but in my Toyota Corolla, that is a tank and a half of gas (600 miles worth).

I have often times wondered the potential savings of purchasing in bulk from Sam's Club or Costco. Unfortunately, I do not own a membership so I cannot analyze whether or not the bulk savings is equivalent to that of Ollie's.

If you know of a way to save on cereal or have a suggestion for a savings tip, please email me at PennyPinchingPaul@gmail.com.

Happy Saving!

-Paul