Best Tip for Saving Money on Purchases

The best tip ever for saving money on just about any purchase is to plan ahead.

Planning ahead allows you to:

• determine what you really need vs. desire
• compare prices and versions of items
• find alternate ways to get the same or similar thing, like a little DIY
• save up for the item
• and get what you really want

Planning ahead almost always saves money when buying a home, a car, house and garden accoutrements, clothing, groceries, and vacations. 

We began shopping for our house about a year before we actually bought it. We looked at so many houses in so many neighborhoods. That extra year gave us the opportunity to determine the floor plan and size that would work best for our growing family. It also allowed us to save an additional $20,000 to put down, reducing our mortgage and eliminating the need to carry mortgage insurance.

Shopping for our current car followed a similar blueprint. Not only did we search for many months, but we were able to time our purchase to take advantage of the season when previous years' models are being cleared off the lots and the day of the month when dealers are most motivated to make a sale. While we didn't buy a new car, even buying a used car got us a deal because the newest models just arriving in showrooms made our 2-year old car appear to be 3 years older than those new ones. 

When we first married, my husband and I had practically no furniture. We banked the wedding gift money we received instead of going out and buying brand new furnishings. We borrowed furniture from relatives while we planned and shopped for secondhand and clearance pieces to supply our needs. When we didn't find a secondhand dining table that we liked, we looked to kit furniture. By being willing to assemble and finish a table and set of chairs ourselves, we saved our newly married selves a couple hundred dollars. We also were the lucky recipients of many relatives' cast-offs. Some of these hand-me-downs were in decent shape. Others we accepted knowing that we would refinish them. We now have several nice items that once looked really shabby, all because we could see potential. Still, this took time. It would be a couple of years before we could fill an apartment with basic furniture of our own.

Planning ahead for clothing can also be lucrative. Shopping end-of-season clearance sales on clothes can save so much money. I'm especially thinking about buying jackets and coats. You can get a stellar deal buying a winter coat in April to be worn beginning the next November.

We all know that making a list and planning for what you need at the grocery store is a great way to save money. By planning ahead, you don't overbuy and risk some food spoiling. Plus you can shop the different stores in an area to find the best deal. I laugh when I think of my husband's and my first year of grocery shopping together. We typically went shopping after work, before dinner, without a list, and just wandered the aisles trying to find food we'd want to eat for the next week. Our grocery purchases looked so haphazard. Half way through the week I'd need to go back to the store to buy those things we forgot or didn't plan for. It's amazing to think that I was such a poor planner in those early months.

With vacations, the exception to planning ahead as a money-saver is when a consolidator, such as Priceline or Orbitz can net you a cheap hotel room or airfare at the last minute. The rest of the time, it's almost always less expensive to purchase vacation components long in advance. Doing so allows you to take advantage of limited super saver deals and gets you exactly what you want.

You know what made me think about all of this today? Earlier I transplanted my fall marigold seedlings into larger pots. There were 15 plants in all. These will be the flowers that I plant into even larger pots in late August when I'm feeling a little autumnal and wanting some fall colors on the porch and patio. I started these flowers from seeds earlier this spring with the plan to spotlight them in fall. By planning ahead, I got the flowers and colors that I desired and saved a bundle over buying individual pots of flowering plants from the nursery. If I give the marigolds good care these next two months, I should have enough plants for 6 to 8 large pots of flowers for pennies, mere pennies.

What are some other areas of spending that you think planning ahead can save substantial money? What exceptions to this "rule" can you think of?