Shopping Mistakes Everyone Makes Without Realising

NEGLECTING PRICE ADJUSTMENT BENEFITS

If your most-purchased items always seem to go on sale a few weeks after you buy them, you could be spending much more than you should and eating up your spending budget faster than you think.

What to do: Check your credit card benefits to see if you automatically qualify for price adjustments. Some retailers also offer a price match guarantee or price adjustment policy where you can get a refund for the difference when you provide proof of a sales price elsewhere within a certain time frame.

 

NOT FOLLOWING RETAILERS ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Ignoring Facebook and Twitter updates means you could miss out on coupon codes or links to special offers. Newsletters for first-time shoppers might include a one-time discount.

What to do: “If you are not inclined to go out of your way to research deals before you shop, follow your favorite retailers on social media so you can see what sales they are having before you go to the store,” she said. “Additionally, sometimes they will post special sales and offers exclusively for their followers. After the holiday season, you can unfollow the accounts and unsubscribe from their newsletters to cut back on spam to your feed and inbox.”

 

IGNORING STORE FLYERS

To help you save money on groceries, grocery stores have dozens of in-store specials every week and usually print them up in a flyer that sits near the entrance. You can also find store flyers in the weekly newspaper or inserted into weekly local circulars. It’s easy to miss these if you aren’t paying attention.

What to do: Get into the habit of going through weekly flyers in the newspaper or circulars so you know what’s on sale and when. You might also find digital versions of the flyers on your grocery stores’ websites or access them through the stores’ apps.