Shopping Hacks for the Best Bargain Hauls

Life is expensive these days. There is no other way to say it. Everyone has raised their prices, even McDonald’s. A cup of coffee that used to run $1 has doubled in price — or more. And that Netflix subscription you've been keeping for all the new "Love Is Blind" episodes jumped from $13.99 five years ago to $17.99.

The point is: It all adds up. Let’s face it, while prices on goods and services have increased at a considerable rate, your income most likely has not grown following the same curve. So while an innocent $1 increase seems like nothing, when it’s happening to every single thing you buy on the regular it becomes something.  

But fear not. The world may be more expensive now, but you’ve also got a lot more tools at your disposal to afford it. Here are our tried-and-true hacks for shopping like a true bargain hunter:  

1. Price match like it’s your job 

Let me tell you a little story. Recently, I was at Walmart shopping for a kid’s toy after verifying it was in stock online. But the price I saw in store was significantly higher than the one online (a $20 difference). I read the fine print on the website listing and realized it said “online price only.” But I decided to try and price match it anyway, and the cashier didn’t even blink an eye — immediately reduced the in-store price to match. Moral of the story? Never be afraid to ask for a price match.

Retailers that have price matching

Here is a list of the retailers you can easily price match with:  

• Target: Matches prices on its own website; you can request a match up to 14 days after purchase. 
• Walmart: They may adjust if Walmart.com has a lower price, but you must ask at checkout. 
• Best Buy: Matches Amazon (if sold/shipped by Amazon), and other big sites; they also match their own website and will honor price drops within the return window. 
• Home Depot / Lowe’s: Match competitor prices for in-stock identical items. 

Tips for price matching:  

• Make sure it’s the identical item. For example, if you see a sale on a 12-pack of toilet paper rolls in a flyer, don’t go into the store nearest you asking to price match with a 16-pack of toilet paper rolls instead.  

• Speaking of flyers, install the free Flipp app to look up local flyers online whenever you need to. It’s a great tool for finding deals at local stores (especially useful for groceries and essentials) and using those deals to price match at your preferred store!  

2. Shop out of season  

It’s simple economics: The higher the demand, the higher the price. Don’t wait to buy your kids’ winter gear until the first snow falls. If you can’t find it in store in the summer, head online or, even better, Facebook marketplace and buy it second-hand while no one else is demanding it, giving you a better chance to negotiate a lower price. Same goes for seasonal decorations – Halloween, Christmas, Easter – and even patio furniture. Wait until the season is over to find the barbecues and chairs on clearance. 

3. Don’t fall for online 'sales'  

We covered this briefly for Amazon’s last Prime Day, but sometimes during a sales event (like back to school, Black Friday, or any other branded event), the “sale” price that you see for an item may just be its regular price, but with a “sale” sticker slapped on. Some retailers will even increase the price in the weeks leading up to a sale, to then drop it down to its regular price and pass it off as a sale. Shady, we know.  

So, to make sure that the item you found for sale online is legitimate, use tools readily at your disposal, like browser extensions that will check an item's price history or see if it’s available somewhere else for less. There’s Honey (also useful for finding real-time coupons), and PriceBlink. For Amazon specifically, Keepa or CamelCamelCamel are great tools for verifying the validity of the discount or “lowest price” claim.  

Some other helpful tips include stacking rewards by joining loyalty programs (check out which ones even give away free stuff), and using a credit card with cash-back benefits to make every card swipe work for you.

At the end of the day, even as everything else gets more expensive, your budget doesn’t have to suffer because of it. Use all the tools at your disposal, ask for price matching or discounts, and get rid of unnecessary bills where you can – whether that’s a premium subscription you don’t use, or a phone service you can find for free instead (hello TextNow!) You can still make your money work for you, no matter how much or little that may be.