The best money advice I ever got
Some years ago, I was in the car with my mom on a visit home. My mom was driving, and I remember she turned to me at one point and gave me the absolute, best financial advice I have ever gotten from anyone, anywhere, at any time.
“This is America. Full price is for suckers.”
I have come back to those eight words time and time and time again, basically every time I make a purchase or spend money.
One reason my mother’s words resonated so much with me was because my mother was not born or raised in this country. I’ll just say she was born in Latin America and leave it at that (I’m still figuring out how much personal/identifiable information to share here), but I will say that, like many Latin American countries, her home country has seen some economic turmoil over the course of her lifetime. So when she’s implying a contrast with other countries, she knows what she’s talking about.
But I’ve also come back to her words because, well, they’re true! I’m sure I’ll be coming back to write more about her advice some more on this blog, if only because they’ve been such a big influence on me and my approach to my finances. For now, though, I wanted to lay out one important factor in my mom’s sage advice.
My husband already knows that if I tell him I’m buying full price, call the cops because there is no way I am okay! I constantly check prices for things I like, things I need, things I do want, things I might want, things I might even contemplate wanting at some point. Why? So I can know what full price even is. I get a baseline for prices so that I know how much things actually, really truly sell for. You can’t rely on what stores call their regular or full price or what the manufacturer’s suggested retail price is; unless people ever pay those prices, they are useless. Many’s the time I’ve seen stores or sites advertise a “sale”, only to realize that they’re actually charging more than they did the week before. Or those stores that have perpetual so-called sales off their so-called regular prices — so often, in fact, that an item never actually goes on the rack with that “regular price.” To be able to recognize a deal, you also have to know what isn’t a deal.
I cross-check prices not just within stores but among them, as well. Many times items are either the same or virtually the same across different stores. If you want the best value, brand loyalty doesn’t really pay. And with online shopping, stores that were once thought of as merely regional don’t have to be. I check the prices for new items, I check the prices for used items, I check the prices all over the place.
One fact that might surprise you: Thrift stores are not necessarily the cheapest options. In fact, if you stack enough deals — cashback sites, coupon codes, free shipping, sales, other discounts, rewards programs — you can absolutely get new items for cheaper than used sometimes. Again, this is part of doing your homework ahead of time so that you don’t assume you know what a good price is. Just because it’s a thrift store doesn’t mean it’s the thriftiest option. (But then again, it might be!)
And don’t be afraid to ask around, either. Personally, I love sharing deals with people, obviously, and lots of other people do, as well. Know what’s possible for the things you buy — how low can prices actually go? Is something a deal? Or a fantastic deal? Like, the kind you will gleefully brag about to everyone? (Or am I the only one who wants to sing her deals from the rooftops?) Is there a way to get things even cheaper than cheap? Because this is America, so… probably, yeah.
