Are you a Savvy Shopper?

Proverbs 31:27 "She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness."

This is quite a broad subject as you can literally shop for anything nowadays! Question is - are you a Savvy Shopper? Clever, discerning, sensible, wise, and ingenious are just a few synonyms of the word "savvy" and I believe they all describe how you MUST be if you are to find a good deal.

I am a girly-girl all the way and LOVE to shop! However, I have literally saved my husband and I, hundreds, if not thousands of dollars by being willing to hunt for amazing bargains and good deals. I'm not saying this to pat myself on the back, but letting you know that I talk from experience. :-) I can easily look around my house and view items purchased for a steal of a deal, or things that I transformed into something that would work perfectly in our home. I personally view it as a "game" or "treasure hunting", as it is quite FUN and an incredibly rewarding experience knowing that you're saving money! I definitely view it as one of the MANY responsibilities of being a Biblical help -meet for my husband and keeper of our home.

Craigslist.org, Ebay.com, thrift stores, consignment shops, and garage sales, are some of the most popular places to find a good deal. I know that there are many people not too keen on acquiring things 2nd hand, but let me tell you that if you're willing to try it - you'll quickly find yourself addicted to it!

I have gone into thrift stores and found brand new Aldo shoes (made in Italy), name brand clothing -new with tags, high quality dinnerware in perfect condition, antiques, Pottery Barn drapes new in package, these are just to name a FEW! You just never know what you'll find and hence why I call it "Treasure Hunting". Many people think that you have to go daily to find these deals, but I can tell you that I rarely ever get to go once a week, much less once every two weeks!! It is hit & miss, but you just never know what you'll find. It's worth it, so try it!!

In addition, many blogs are great resources of "Do It Yourself" projects -they show you how to refinish that old piece of furniture to make it look amazing, and thereby saving you lots of money! Our friend, Julie, is quite the inspiration with this and we find ourselves often in awe of her many creative ideas. You can view her blog here. You will not be disappointed!

If you don't like to do either of the above mentioned savvy shopping tactics, then you can always try your hand at couponing. Now for me personally, this is not something that I do very often, but I have friends that are amazing at it! They actually get paid to shop! ;-) My friend, Rachael, is quite informative on this subject and has a blog that goes into much more detail. You can check out her blog, here.

Now if you just don't want to do any of the items listed above, then I believe you can STILL be a savvy shopper (just not AS good-ha!). I believe planning ahead is KEY. Planning requires thinking ahead and preparing accordingly, you will save yourself time, money and stress by doing this. A few ideas along this line are having a gift closet, and collecting nice items that you find on clearance and having them on hand for just the time you need them. Shopping throughout the year and acquiring items for Christmas (we will have a post about this very topic soon!). Stocking up on sale items at the grocery store that you can easily freeze or store in pantry. Canning homemade goods and giving them as gifts. Be creative and think of ways that you can plan ahead and save your family time and money - become a SAVVY SHOPPER!

The little things really do add up - I think everyone realizes this. However, as you save your family in the "little areas", it really will show and add up. Figure out the ways you can save money and pocket those pennies for the more important things in life. You'll be SO glad you did!!

What are some ways that YOU save your family money? We'd love to hear what you do to save those hard earned dollars! :-)



~Lauren