Some great money-saving tips from our favourite thrifter, Bargain Hunting Momma:
Being
a smart shopper is a philosophy that you can apply to all aspects of
your life and it isn’t hard to do…The thing to remember is that it is
YOUR hard-earned money and people are always happy to take it from you
so being smart about how decide to spend it is the key to living life
large on less!
Taking
the extra time to do your homework will make you a happier consumer,
keep you on budget and perhaps allow you to enjoy a few more trips than
you thought with all the savings you will enjoy! Check out my Hot Deals and Family Fun Listing regularly since I list these deals for you and save you the time. Happy Savings!
DAY TRIPPING FOR LESS!
Summer
time involves lots of day trips and visits to cool attractions so
before I head out anywhere, doing some advance research will almost
always save me money. With a family of five, I am always looking to save
a little cash wherever possible as anything times 5 really adds up and
even saving a few dollars off each admission can equal great savings.
FINDING THE DEALS
GOOGLE & ONLINE SEARCH
A
simple Google search like “discounts or coupons for XXXX” is all you
need to do and you will be surprised at how many hits you will get. One
tip is to be sure to type in the current year as there will be lots of
old ones that come up too and if nothing comes up, modify your search
using the words “deal”, “savings” or hot deals”. Sometimes I have to
dig a few pages deep but I can almost guarantee you that some kind of
savings will be uncovered.
WEBSITE DEALS
Another
easy way to find savings is to go to the company’s website and look for
a Hot Deals, Coupons or Specials tab which may reveal special
promotions happening. Most places have at least one day a week where
admission is discounted so once you find
out when these offers are, you can plan your trip around them. Simple
planning like this can save you a ton of money.
DAILY DEAL SITES
Take
advantage of daily deal sites for other big
savings. Groupon, Kijiji Daily Deal, WagJagand many others often offer
wicked savings on attractions so keep an eye out and try something new.
Try searching the city you are planning to visit as well since you don’t
always get to see all the deals from your account. Just be careful to
read the fine print on restrictions and expiry dates.
CAA MEMBERSHIP DISCOUNTS
If
you have a CAA membership, they often offer a 10% or 20% savings at the
gate which adds up when you multiply it by the number of guests in your
party. Other cards offer discounts too so don’t forget about these easy
ways to save.
JOIN the Bargain Hunting Momma FACEBOOK PAGE
If
you live in the Kitchener-Waterloo area or Southern Ontario, you should
join my Facebook Group called Bargain Hunting Momma to ongoing savings.
This is an active community of smart shopper ladies (and a few men) who
love to share their passion for saving with
others. The deals come fast and furious so get ready for lots of
updates and members can join in the fun. And of course, it’s FREE!
ENJOY YOUR SAVINGS!
The
money you save can either be left in your wallet or applied to other
purchases that come up throughout the day, like snacks, meals, arcade
games, souveniers or other little extras that ALWAYS come up and might
otherwise have put you over budget.
The
thing I like best is that by saving at the gate, I feel less pressure
to stay all day to get my money’s worth since I haven’t invested as much
cash in the day. So when the kids get bored or want to leave earlier
than planned, I am less likely to get stressed about leaving early since
I haven’t invested my life savings in the outing.
SUCCESS STORIES
WATER PARK DEAL
I
recently took advantage of a local water park’s Anniversary Deal which
offered admission to it’s park for the super low price of $5.20 each on
that day only. I knew it was coming (they do it every year) and I
planned ahead to go on that day. There were 7 of us (3 adults and 4
kids) and it only cost us $41.00 + for a full day of fun which would
have normally cost $176.00! I saved a ridiculous $135 and quite frankly,
wouldn’t have gone for full
price as it was just too expensive. This is a perfect example of some
advance planning saved me big bucks.
WEEKLY SAVINGS
Many
places offer a discounted admission once a week at a certain time,
usually an off peak time. Plan to go then and you can enjoy serious
savings. Most movie theatres offers a Tuesday deal for around $5 each so
I can take my entire family for about $25 -$30 versus breaking the bank
at about $45- $50. Trust me! You will feel much better about the money
you spent and your wallet will be happier too!
How do you save? Share your tips!
Happy
Saving!
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