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Websites For The Frugal?
fwc writes "Like most people, I like being able to get the most benefit out of my money. In pursuit of this, I use several websites which help stretch my dollar even more. For instance, I have found smarterliving.com which I consult for good travel-related deals. I also use slickdeals.net and fatwallet to make sure I don't miss those almost-too-good-to-be-true deals. When looking for the best price on a specific item, I usually consult Froogle, Pricewatch, and Shopper.com. I also use a collection of online stores which sell stuff dirt cheap, such as newegg, PC Surplus Online, and of course half.com. Recently, I was looking for some tools at Harbor Freight's Website and a friend suggested that I might want to also look at Homier's. I was pleasantly suprised to find that they have some prices which are even lower than at any other site which I have found. This makes me wonder what other sites are out there I haven't found yet which are in the same category." I know techbargains has "saved" me money on some things I might not otherwise have bought. Where have you been best led?
The Frugal Living Tip File has some top notch advice. It disappeared from the net awhile back, but archive.org has a copy.
EVERYDAY IS CATURDAY
always check Reseller Ratings before buying...
--IronHelix
Come on guys, we're not all dirty rotten foreigners in need of a good invasion to teach us the worth of Yankee Imperialist Running Dog consumer products. We already buy all your shit so why not tell the guys in the online side of your companies to let us order from you lot directly?
Is it a credit card verification problem or what? I'd rather not wait the six(teen) extra weeks while the local marketing team work out what price point to put on these items.
I am a leaf on the wind
You should have met my father, I'd say he's far worse.
My father was one of those who when he'd buy a coupon book, he'd carefully note how much he saved to ensure he got his money's worth.
Help Brendan pay off his student loans
In no particular order:
In my experience, Amazon is almost ALWAYS the cheapest place to buy something, not because of their prices on items, but because of their free shipping on orders over $25.
Cloud City Digital: DVD Production at its cheapest/finest
...can be bought cheap, too. Go to Cheap Ass Gamer; it relies on different users posting the deals they have found, but it seems to be a very effective system. The availability of some deals depends on your area (and the brick & mortar stores you have access to).
I think Yahoo bought a lemon when they acqured Kelkoo... Or maybe they just have a damn good buisness plan for them...
Here's a site that'll give you advices on how to save big: clickey
"A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
...and you want MORE? I know you want the best for your money, but that's just greedy... :)
http://www.gotapex.com/
:-)
superior. they update every day with new deals, coupon codes, and much more. i check up every day when i get home
Ebay can be a good source for cheap stuff if you don't mind buying second-hand goods. I've bought a few things dirt-cheap on Ebay... sometimes you have to take a little gamble, but generally I haven't been disappointed often, not even with items sensitive to wear and improper handling such as model airplane engines.
;)
An added bonus for the environmentally-conscious: you're helping to save the planet by recycling
If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
I co-founded the ebay sniping website snipeswipe.com and I can say that our users routinely win ebay items very cheaply.
Unfortunately, due to ebay's no-spidering rules, we can't search out for sweet deals on ebay.
You can also spend your time on ebay searching for "Labtops"
He posts a ton of stuff daily, and seems to aggregate what's on some of the other sites and combines it with coupon codes, etc. link
"Want in one hand and spit in the other and see which one fills up first." - My Dad
There is a local am radio talk show host that is nationally sydicated that you might have hear of. His name is Clark Howard http://www.clarkhoward.com/. He has pretty good advice and some links to some sites that might not already be added to the posts.
Think that's bad?
Well, you know those soap chips that are left over when you're almost finished using a bar of soap? My father saves them, and then compresses them into a new bar of soap when he's saved up enough of them.
How's that for frugal/cheap?
A.K.A. SurplusComputers
Old rack mount systems, SCSI drives, motherboards, and a lot of cheapo tools.
For Canadians, Red Flag Deals is a great site. Coupons, links to online deals, freebies, and forums.
Must agree. Tigerdirect is my shopping place of choice when I build new units. Unfortunately I've also dealt with their returns process several times. I can't complain about it. Their sales, support and return staff are all good and implement good policy. Better than most. Fair prices on almost everything too.
Who is this that even the wind and the waves obey Him? Surely this computer must submit also!
NEVER EVER BUY FROM TIGERDIRECT
These guys screw up big time, constantly have credit cards stolen, etc etc etc
Just google for night-mare like stores
Sunny Dubey
CD-Wow for your CDs.
Ebuyer for your computer kit.
Holborn Books for your computer books.
Click Ink for your generic ink cartridges.
Cahoot for your banking.
Ebay. No explanation needed!
Netto to check out what deals they've got on. Shortcut to Netto's offers.
it's not thriftiness, it's Money Optimization! The game is to maximize the amount of money still remaining in your wallet after each purchasing excercise.
$cat
I've purchased several item from TD with no problem and my rebates went through without a hitch. -However- they have a terrible reputation for denying rebates, hiding rebate information, and otherwise abusing rebates.
If you find something at TigerDirect and you can get it out the door at a bargain price by all means go for it, but it it requires a rebate be warned, you may have trouble.
-dameron
Goto Dealmac.com for the best deals on Mac-related deals.
Stop spending your money and pay off debts and invest. Think of your (financial) future for once!
www.fool.com
A great place to get a good pirce on power tools, but their handtools both mechanical and woodworking are of horrible quality.
:/
Cheap woodworking tools lead to serious injuries. And mechanical tools lead to broken knuckles. You get what you pay for and then you pay some more to Blue Cross Blue Sheild
Mack, Snapon and Craftsman really can't be beat, you get durability, quality and Sears will replace about any tool even if it's from doing something stupid with em.
Check out Red Flag Deals for a nice selection of rebates, coupons and specials from Canadian dealers. The site covers all sorts of merchandise, but seems to be predominantly geared towards geek-analia.
Talk about a blinding glimpse of the perfectly obvious
Yeah, pretty good prices, but they are also theiving criminals who have a horrible return policy (puts frys to shame) and tend to "lose" rebates.
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Deep Discount DVD is usually the least expensive place to buy DVDs from. I will say their customer service is really slow so hope your order goes through without any problems. They offer free shipping (US and everything so they're usually cheaper than Amazon too. I've placed several orders with them and have had good luck so far.
While their selection can be a tad on the small side when considering the great internet at large... their prices kick major woo-ha's.
I recently managed to get a replacement vid card for my laptop for 10$. It was a bit of a deal. Granted the part wasn't tested and sold as-is working pull.... but all in all it worked out well for me.
I check them often... I hope you guys don't drive up the prices. Oh wait... pc surplus bad.. don't shop there... ever... please dont!
Kidding, I hope they do well.
"You should always go to other people's funerals; otherwise, they won't come to yours." -- Yogi Berra
I would recommend Clark Howard's site. Clark Howard has a nationally syndicated radio show and has written several fantastic books on smart financial principles. He is very well known here in the Atlanta area and his life story is very interested. He made his first million on an average salary by saving and investing for the long term (of course he makes a lot more now on his radio gig and his books).
His site contains an abundance of information on anything subject you can think of. Hey, he's pretty cool technology-wise...he even uses Vonage!
Don't forget geeks.com The website isn't that pretty, but sometimes you can find a pretty sweet deal on computer stuff.
Learn something new.
Dressing well can REALLY help your career, a well dressed idiot will make more money in the long run than a poorly dressed average man. I consider my clothes, hair, smell and all of that to be an investment, it's a good way to get an edge in the compeditive IT industry, and it works VERY well.
One thing I have found about frugality - it can be penny wise and pound foolish.
If I spend 2 hours comparing deals, checking competitors, and surfing sites to track down $50 savings on a gadget, did I gain anything? I could have spent that 2 hours with my family, working on consulting gigs, and doing other household chores. It is called the opportunity cost of time in economics. It didn't cost $0.00 to track down that $50 - there was a cost.
I guess it depends on where you are in life. As a college student, I clipped coupons, and comparison shopped to get the best deal. Now with 2 jobs, and 3 kids, I think a few bucks here and there is worth a little more time with my family.
Well, you know those soap chips that are left over when you're almost finished using a bar of soap? My father saves them, and then compresses them into a new bar of soap when he's saved up enough of them.
OK, I don't know if this marks me as cheap or just a geek, but my process for dealing with soap "slivers" is to stick them on the new bar. I really don't see what the point would be in saving a lot of slivers, but when you have one old one and one new one they stick together without much effort, since the wet soap kind of acts like its own glue. Future lathering wears down the old sliver, and eventually the new bar becomes a sliver and the process repeats. Hopefully your father finds this new algorithm useful. :-)
The bargain forum on DVDTalk.com is the best for finding the best prices on new releases, price cuts on DVDs, and finding out the circular prices about 5 days ahead of the newspapers.
Amazon.ca is the best for newly released box sets and other deals. Even with the exchange rate, there have been some outstanding deals. Babylon 5 Season 3,4 and 5 for $USD40, Scarface Gift Set for $USD25 are some recent deals I've gotten. Even with international shipping, it still blows any other prices away.
Amazon.com sometimes has a temporary price cut, and DVDTalk.com is usually one of the first places to find out about it. Recently, they had the Dick Van Dyke Show Season One for $19.99, and it sold out within about 20 minutes after being posted to DVDTalk.
FatWallet is great for finding other deals. Friday Amazon sales are usually posted there Thursday night. And for those with the time to do grocery coupons, FW is THE place to find the best deals. My weekly grocery bills have dropped from $150 to less than $50.
No boom today. Boom tomorrow. There's always a boom tomorrow. - Cmdr. Susan Ivanova
I like it.
Gives some good hints on how to avoid a scam.
Explains how the car dealers make money, and how you can save some.
If you don't understand how they make money off you, then you can't tell if they're ripping you off. If you know what is going on, you have a chance.
I hear there's this website called DealMeIn.net that's really good!
I heard a good quote a while back... don't remember who said it though.
"In America, its what you save, not how much you spend."
I find this to be very true, especially at warehouse discounters such as Costco, Sam's Club, etc. Many in this country are easily duped by clever marketing schemes and pricing.
100% Insightful
B.G. Micro is sort of like All Electronics in that they carry a ton of surplus electronic junk, download both catalogs and enjoy! Also try American Science and Surplus for a wider variety of tech stuff, toys, labware, and millitary goods.
I've been using for a while now. When a site pulls a coupon code or something, Ben usually updates the listing, and the discussions following each posting are a helpful way to share results. "I had to put in a California ZIP code to view the item, but then I was able to order it shipped to my Michigan address." or "Make sure the CompUSA is within 4 miles of the Best Buy or they won't honor the pricematch. Get a friendly CSR and you should be golden!"
I've stopped using Pricewatch, their listings have become crammed with keyword spam and are all but useless. The "price including shipping" column was a good idea, but the quality of the listings has been terrible lately.
Most slashdotters seem to hold an incorrect meaning for the word "frugal" true (and indeed, so does the majority of society).
Frugality isn't so much about only buying the cheapest thing, it's about not buying things in the first place. It's using the wisdom to know what you do and do not really need. Buying 2 liter bottles of cola because 20 oz bottles are more expensive isn't frugal, that's economics. Frugality would be not buying the soda in the first place, because you don't need it and water is freely available (and better for you, to boot).
~/ssh slashdot.org ssh: connect to host slashdot.org port 22: too many beers
Buy from your neighbors - it's cheaper, there's no shipping, quicker service, and a lot less hassle.
We're building a website to help you connect with your neighbors and buy their stuff. It's basically a yard sale that is always going on. Our goal is to let you sign up and have stuff for sale in less than 5 minutes, without asking for intrusive personal information. You can also just browse around to see what your neighbors are giving away for free and/or selling.
Check us out at http://www.frimp.net