Works for me Wednesday: Money Saving Tip

I have a confession to make. . . actually, more like a supernatural power if you will. . .

I have an uncanny ability to predict what is going to be on sale, a week before it actually is. No matter the item, big or small, I ALWAYS end up buying it the week prior, paying full price. Now, to those of you who have had similar experiences with this, it's hugely frustrating. Especially when you are trying desperately to stick to a tight budget, like we are.

The good news is that there is something you can do about it. Most stores have a policy in effect that allows you to bring in your receipt, if you've purchased the item within the last seven days, and they'll refund you the difference.

While this may seem like a huge task, it really isn't. It doesn't make more work for me what-so-ever. So, in a way it's like getting a paycheck for free.

Here's what I do:

1. Start with the Sunday paper, the weekly ads section.
2. Go through the ads as you normally would.
3. Places where you know you've been in the last week, pay extra attention to.
4. If you find an item just purchased, that is now on sale, make sure you pull that receipt. (for me, that's an easy part as they are usually still in my purse)
5. Work those stores into your weekly errand day.

I've found that most of the time, I don't even have to make any more stops than usual because the places where I shop the most, are the places this happens at the most, because there's just a bigger chance for it to happen. For me, that place is Target. In fact, with them, I've just made it a habit to go straight to the customer service desk each week and have them scan my receipts from the week before, just in case. They're always very nice about it, and best of all, it only takes a second.

The payoff is well worth it too. For instance, recently my husband and I were in a local office store purchasing new desks and other furniture for our home office. We paid full price for everything. The week after that, we went back to pick up an extra piece of furniture and noticed that the items were now all on clearance. The discount was huge. So, I got my receipt, brought it back to them, and got an instant bonus savings of $130. Well worth the few extra minutes it took.

Now, that works for me!

For more Works for me Wednesdays head on over to Rocks in my Dryer.