cutting cost by cutting shopping

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A few weeks ago, I posted about shopping less to save money. This has turned out remarkably well for me. Although I can't say how much I've saved (Who knows what I would have bought!), I know that not going to Wal-Mart has certainly saved me a lot of time. And, since I've been saving up my list of things to get on my once-a-month trip, I find that there are some things that I really don't "need" once I get to the store.

One of the bonuses of shopping less is that I have an opportunity to shop around and see if I can find a better deal, or see if there's a similar product that suits my needs more. Last week, I made the effort to visit a city-wide yard sale day at a nearby town. I took my shopping list of things I was looking for, and was able to save quite a few dollars, compared to buying new. I didn't end up doing lots of extra driving, either, since it was a small town, and I used the newspaper to guide me to sales with items that fit my interest.

One thing that I've realized is that I'm learning to not "settle" for something that's not what I really need. For instances, the me of 6 months ago would have run straight to wal-mart to get a resistance band for an exercise program I'm currently working through. I would have found that they didn't have exactly the thing I was looking for, but because I 'had' to get something, I would have purchased a band that actually was not what I needed. I would have ended up being dis-satisfied with my purchase. Instead, since I had to wait to go buy what I wanted, I made do with other exercises that didn't need a resistance band. I also found that since what I was substituting was working okay, I was only going to get the equipment that actually filled my needs (in this case, a 6 foot resistance band, which I still haven't purchased), instead of getting one that was too short.

So, essentially, immediate gratification, when it comes to shopping, is often less than gratifying. Might as well wait, save some money and time, and get what you really want!