Monday’s MST: Research

I’ve been thinking of things that Ryan and I do that really save us money and I noticed myself researching the internet for the best deal on shirts the other day.  I realized we research so many things before we actually buy! 

RESEARCH RESEARCH RESEARCH!

Haha…a nerd researching!

This can save you lots of money.  Like I mentioned above, I needed 3 shirts for Beckham’s birthday coming up.  I wanted to personalize them, so my research was specific, but I, of course, wanted a good deal.  The first “deal” I found was three shirts for $80, NOT including shipping.  Umm, no!  So I dug a little deeper and found others for around $60, not including shipping.  The very next day, Zazzle sent me an email saying their shirts and cards were 50% for four more hours.  It’s like God was totally looking out for me…yes, with shirts!  I got two personalized adult shirts for $20, which was $26.93 total!!!  They didn’t have the baby shirt I wanted so this is where my research came in!  I posted on Facebook, asking for suggestions.  Facebook always comes through!  Found four great sites, including etsy, that carried that shirt.  A couple would personalize it and the other two did not.  I know someone who sews, so I looked at which would be cheaper, ordering it all personalized through one site or ordering the shirt and having my friend personalize it.  I ended up doing the latter.  Beckham’s shirt cost about $20.  So three shirts for $50!  And they’re super cute!  Can’t wait for you to see them!

I say all that to show that researching can save you lots of money.  My dad calls this SHOPPING!  He would always say, “shopping is looking, buying is buying!”  So shop around before you buy! 

Things that we research before we buy:
-Groceries (use ads)
-Trips (this takes days, even months to research comparing all the different sites)
-Electricity (compare companies and ask your friends)
-Baby things (ask your friends where the cheapest places to get things are)
-Books (I look at Amazon and usually end up buying at Half Price books)
-Cars (you know my philosophy on cars…dealerships should be sick of you by the time you’re done)
-Gas (check out all the pumps as you drive around town so the next time you fill up, you’ll remember which one most likely has the cheapest).  FYI, Walmart is $0.10 cheaper if you purchase with a gift card.  Just put money on a gift card based on your monthly budget for gas and use the card until it runs out. 
-Clothes (shop around)
-Groupons and Woot (will post about these later)

And the list goes on and on!  Probably 95% of our purchases have been researched or thought about before we buy!  The opposite of this – impulse buying!  You have to learn to be patient!

The internet can be your best friend when it comes to researching.  I google everything!  So the next time you buy, ask yourself if you know you got the best deal you could given your circumstances.