If the average price of a gallon of tap water is $1.50, and the faucet is dripping 2.85 gallons per day, wouldn't that be $4.28 dollars in water every day? And over $1,500 worth of water in a year?
Yes, I only shop when things are on sale or if I have coupons. You can save so much money by watching sales and searching for coupons. My husband and I work too hard for our money to pay full price and the amount of money you can save by being careful and diligent is amazing.
I do comparison shop, I make my menu based on the grocery ads, but there are times that I find something I absolutely love and I will buy it full price. I must admit that those times are few and far between, but they do happen. We just save up the money for it before we buy it!
I don't go shopping until there is something I actually need. Once I need something I search for the best price at the time. I may miss out on the best price overall for that specific item, but by not shopping in general I feel that I save money overall.
I do my best to buy only on sale, or with a coupon, but sometimes life just doesn't work out that way. If I have to buy full-price, I'll go to the store where I know the item is cheapest.
I really, really search for items on sale. I make my menu based on the ads from the grocery stores, we comparison shop for things, but when and if there is something we want and absolutely love, we do buy it full price if necessary. Those things are few and far between though. :)
"The average price of a gallon of tap water in the US is $1.50. I found several sources for that, including Answers.com, Fairfax Water, and LeakBird. So 1,041 U.S. gallons = $1.56."
I think you meant meant the average price for 1000 gallons tap water is $1.50
Generally, I don't buy anything new until I have explored the used market for that item. However, I will purchase new items under certain conditions, usually related to a favorable combination of durability, quality, and price relative to a used item. (Even my dogs are rescue -- "used" -- dogs )
If I am buying new goods, I always explore the sale item or the discontinued / floor model item first, especially if I can combine it with a coupon. I got two chairs from World Market for a third less than the price of one new one that way. If no sale / discontinued item fits my needs, I will see if I can make do with what I have for a while longer. Sometimes I can't, and then I will *carefully* buy new. For example, I just replaced my 2003-vintage computer with a new model -- a discontinued one on sale. Purchasing that fitted my needs and was less than building it from scratch, and it meant that I could continue to connect to my university network to do my faculty advising and administrative work, something that had become impossible with my old setup after my university upgraded its systems.
I will also buy new if my research shows that the new item costs less (in one way or another) than the used item. For example, when I bought my car in 2009 after my ancient Subaru died a spectacular death (even the repair shop told me they didn't want to take my money to attempt repairs!), I was flabbergasted to find that I could buy a new Toyota Corolla for LESS than a used Corolla with 20K miles on it. As I plan, barring catastrophe, to drive and maintain my car until it dies, lower mileage and lower total price made up for depreciation.
I usually only buy on sale, unless there is something that I need right away or is totally worth it. Plus, there are some things that rarely go on sale, or never go on sale more than 20-30%. It's all about how much it's worth to me. An item could be 80% off, but if I don't want it, I'm better off buying something full price that I'll use or wear every week.
Great article. Maybe double check your units or calculations. Did you maybe mean to say that a gallon in the US usually costs 1.50 cents not dollars? I imagine that's the problem, however that would still end up costing more than $1.56. It would be $15.60 then.
I almost always buy on sale. I do a cost comparison so that I know who has the best price and wait for a sale. I do a lot of shopping second hand though. It is very hard to buy something new when I know that I will be able to find it used.
If I am buying new I usually wait until something is on sale but I do cost comparisons between several stores to know which has the best price first. Then I wait for a sale. I do buy a lot of merchandise second hand though. So I save a lot of money that way. I have a hard time buying something new when I know that I can eventually find it used.
I could not agree more with this concept! For years, I was really, really frugal with myself (but not with my kids or my husband). I would not think twice about buying an ice cream for my son from the overpriced truck on 91st Street, but I would often talk myself out of the little under-$10 pick-me-ups (like an afternoon cappuccino) that would have lifted my spirits and rejuvenated me to be more productive. Now I realize that small indulgences give me the energy to things that save more money than the price of a frothy yummy drink at Starbucks. When I am feeling happy and energized, I spend the time to look for bargains on everything from kids' clothes to airfare. And I make dinner instead of ordering in. When I am feeling "fried," I notice that I waste money out of pure exhaustion.
75% of what I buy is on sale. Most clothing I buy used, and I generally buy food on sale. Shoes are a different story. I'm a big girl and my job requires a lot of standing so I tend to buy really high quality shoes, even if they aren't on sale.
My Dad always told me that once your feet and knees are ruined you can never get them back, and I try to heed that advice.
Great article. Maybe double check your units or calculations. Did you maybe mean to say that a gallon in the US usually costs 1.50 cents not dollars? I imagine that's the problem, however that would still end up costing more than $1.56. It would be $15.60 then.
Mostly I only buy on sale - but I might buy limited quantities of certain things when they're not at a great price - the true staples for my family that can't be stocked up on too much are milk, yogurt, fresh produce.
We don't necessarily buy only on sale. As long as what we are looking to purchase is within our budget we don't always look for the sales. There are some places we never buy without a coupon and then we almost always double up if there is a sale on necessities providing we stay within budget.
We've noticed food prices rise and it gets harder to stay within budget, but so far all we've had to do is put back some of the extras. We went over budget on gas last month and this month took some of the money that would be allocated for restaurants to gas. We haven't hit the point that we are waiting for sales for everything, but it may be in the near future.
Although not everything that I buy is on sale, I do my best to not pay full price. Especially on items like buying my kids seasonal clothing I usually wait until I can find it on sale or at a resale shop. Even in my regular Target shopping trips I start by scouring the clearance endcaps to see if I can find any of my shopping list there first.
I try to buy things when they are on sale, but sometimes it just doesn't work out that way. We'll end up needing something that just isn't on sale that week, so I'll buy it at the normal price.
If the average price of a gallon of tap water is $1.50, and the faucet is dripping 2.85 gallons per day, wouldn't that be $4.28 dollars in water every day? And over $1,500 worth of water in a year?
Yes, I only shop when things are on sale or if I have coupons. You can save so much money by watching sales and searching for coupons. My husband and I work too hard for our money to pay full price and the amount of money you can save by being careful and diligent is amazing.
I do comparison shop, I make my menu based on the grocery ads, but there are times that I find something I absolutely love and I will buy it full price. I must admit that those times are few and far between, but they do happen. We just save up the money for it before we buy it!
I don't go shopping until there is something I actually need. Once I need something I search for the best price at the time. I may miss out on the best price overall for that specific item, but by not shopping in general I feel that I save money overall.
I do my best to buy only on sale, or with a coupon, but sometimes life just doesn't work out that way. If I have to buy full-price, I'll go to the store where I know the item is cheapest.
I really, really search for items on sale. I make my menu based on the ads from the grocery stores, we comparison shop for things, but when and if there is something we want and absolutely love, we do buy it full price if necessary. Those things are few and far between though. :)
i try to buy on sale, but sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and buy something at full price.
"The average price of a gallon of tap water in the US is $1.50. I found several sources for that, including Answers.com, Fairfax Water, and LeakBird. So 1,041 U.S. gallons = $1.56."
I think you meant meant the average price for 1000 gallons tap water is $1.50
For the most part yes. I try to find everything on sale.
Generally, I don't buy anything new until I have explored the used market for that item. However, I will purchase new items under certain conditions, usually related to a favorable combination of durability, quality, and price relative to a used item. (Even my dogs are rescue -- "used" -- dogs )
If I am buying new goods, I always explore the sale item or the discontinued / floor model item first, especially if I can combine it with a coupon. I got two chairs from World Market for a third less than the price of one new one that way. If no sale / discontinued item fits my needs, I will see if I can make do with what I have for a while longer. Sometimes I can't, and then I will *carefully* buy new. For example, I just replaced my 2003-vintage computer with a new model -- a discontinued one on sale. Purchasing that fitted my needs and was less than building it from scratch, and it meant that I could continue to connect to my university network to do my faculty advising and administrative work, something that had become impossible with my old setup after my university upgraded its systems.
I will also buy new if my research shows that the new item costs less (in one way or another) than the used item. For example, when I bought my car in 2009 after my ancient Subaru died a spectacular death (even the repair shop told me they didn't want to take my money to attempt repairs!), I was flabbergasted to find that I could buy a new Toyota Corolla for LESS than a used Corolla with 20K miles on it. As I plan, barring catastrophe, to drive and maintain my car until it dies, lower mileage and lower total price made up for depreciation.
Methinks the author needs to recheck the math used in this article, since 1.50 * 1041 is definitely not 1.56 :)
I usually only buy on sale, unless there is something that I need right away or is totally worth it. Plus, there are some things that rarely go on sale, or never go on sale more than 20-30%. It's all about how much it's worth to me. An item could be 80% off, but if I don't want it, I'm better off buying something full price that I'll use or wear every week.
Great article. Maybe double check your units or calculations. Did you maybe mean to say that a gallon in the US usually costs 1.50 cents not dollars? I imagine that's the problem, however that would still end up costing more than $1.56. It would be $15.60 then.
I almost always buy on sale. I do a cost comparison so that I know who has the best price and wait for a sale. I do a lot of shopping second hand though. It is very hard to buy something new when I know that I will be able to find it used.
If I am buying new I usually wait until something is on sale but I do cost comparisons between several stores to know which has the best price first. Then I wait for a sale. I do buy a lot of merchandise second hand though. So I save a lot of money that way. I have a hard time buying something new when I know that I can eventually find it used.
$1.50 x 1041 gallons = $1561.50
I could not agree more with this concept! For years, I was really, really frugal with myself (but not with my kids or my husband). I would not think twice about buying an ice cream for my son from the overpriced truck on 91st Street, but I would often talk myself out of the little under-$10 pick-me-ups (like an afternoon cappuccino) that would have lifted my spirits and rejuvenated me to be more productive. Now I realize that small indulgences give me the energy to things that save more money than the price of a frothy yummy drink at Starbucks. When I am feeling happy and energized, I spend the time to look for bargains on everything from kids' clothes to airfare. And I make dinner instead of ordering in. When I am feeling "fried," I notice that I waste money out of pure exhaustion.
1,041 U.S. gallons/year * $1.50/gallon = $1561.50/year...am I missing something?
75% of what I buy is on sale. Most clothing I buy used, and I generally buy food on sale. Shoes are a different story. I'm a big girl and my job requires a lot of standing so I tend to buy really high quality shoes, even if they aren't on sale.
My Dad always told me that once your feet and knees are ruined you can never get them back, and I try to heed that advice.
Great article. Maybe double check your units or calculations. Did you maybe mean to say that a gallon in the US usually costs 1.50 cents not dollars? I imagine that's the problem, however that would still end up costing more than $1.56. It would be $15.60 then.
Mostly I only buy on sale - but I might buy limited quantities of certain things when they're not at a great price - the true staples for my family that can't be stocked up on too much are milk, yogurt, fresh produce.
We don't necessarily buy only on sale. As long as what we are looking to purchase is within our budget we don't always look for the sales. There are some places we never buy without a coupon and then we almost always double up if there is a sale on necessities providing we stay within budget.
We've noticed food prices rise and it gets harder to stay within budget, but so far all we've had to do is put back some of the extras. We went over budget on gas last month and this month took some of the money that would be allocated for restaurants to gas. We haven't hit the point that we are waiting for sales for everything, but it may be in the near future.
I don't buy exclusively on sale, but do try to lean in that direction.
Although not everything that I buy is on sale, I do my best to not pay full price. Especially on items like buying my kids seasonal clothing I usually wait until I can find it on sale or at a resale shop. Even in my regular Target shopping trips I start by scouring the clearance endcaps to see if I can find any of my shopping list there first.
I try to buy things when they are on sale, but sometimes it just doesn't work out that way. We'll end up needing something that just isn't on sale that week, so I'll buy it at the normal price.