If it's not on sale, don't buy it
If you don鈥檛 need something, wait for a better price, Hamm writes.
In this Nov. 9, 2011, file photo, a tourist from Switzerland, looks at jewelry at a Michael Kors store while shopping at Dolphin Mall, in Miami. This week you can also snag a Michael Kors dress on deep discount.
Lynne Sladky/AP/File
I鈥檓 going to let you in on a little secret.
My son鈥檚 seventh birthday is coming up very soon. For most of the year, he has only asked for one thing 鈥� a Nintendo 3DS. As I鈥檝e mentioned before, he saved up his money for six months to buy a used Nintendo DS, but a friend of his has a 3DS and he鈥檚 really asked for nothing else for months and months.
So, several months ago, Sarah and I decided to give him one as his sole birthday gift, as it is a fairly expensive item. (He doesn鈥檛 know this yet, so if you know our son, don鈥檛 let him in on the secret.)聽
We didn鈥檛 just head out to the store to buy one. We waited patiently.
Over a period of six months, I watched for sales on the 3DS. I kept an eye on several internet sites and I reviewed the weekly flyers of big box retailers. My goal was simple 鈥� I was waiting on a sale that took at least 20% off of the new price of the item.
A few weeks ago, I hit the jackpot. We found a 3DS XL at about 35% off of retail, so we ordered it. It鈥檚 now sitting in a hidden place, waiting for his birthday.
The lesson here is simple:聽if you don鈥檛聽need聽something, wait for a better price.聽If you wait just a few months, you have a good chance of finding the item on sale, which puts money directly in your pocket.
Most of the time, I have a list of a few things that are in that gray area between 鈥渨ant鈥� and 鈥渘eed.鈥� A new blender. A replacement phone. A good digital SLR camera.
For each of those items, I鈥檝e already done extensive research and I know what I鈥檓 looking for in terms of both features and specific models. At this point, I鈥檓 pretty much ready to buy.
But I wait.
I don鈥檛聽need聽these things immediately. I can survive without them, but they would be useful to have even in the short term.
Instead, I watch the weekly store flyers. I keep a careful eye on internet deal websites, such as Amazon鈥檚 Daily Deal. I鈥檒l ask my friends on Facebook if they know of any deals on these items.
Usually, within a few months, I find a bargain. Usually, I鈥檓 looking for a sale that鈥檚 at least 20% off of the normal price. When I find it, I strike.
Patience directly saves me money. Often, it saves me quite a bit of money.
This post is part of a yearlong series called 鈥�365 Ways to Live Cheap (Revisited),鈥� in which I鈥檓 revisiting the entries from my book 鈥�365 Ways to Live Cheap,鈥� which is available聽at Amazon聽and at bookstores everywhere.聽