Posted by In 2025 it is getting more difficult to find ways to save money. I just came back from the grocery store and spent $144 for 36 items. That is an average of $4 for every item I put in the cart. I knew it would be close to $140 because I created a shopping list online before setting foot in the store. Digital coupons are only available for a few of the items I need, but I can usually find 4 or 5 that are useable. This time I used 5 coupons and saved $5.40. My rewards card only saved $2.00. The most expensive item was cat chow which costs $14 for a 6.3 Lb. bag. That only lasts 4 or 5 weeks with two hungry cats in the house.
The store we usually shop at likes to do the buy 5 items and get a dollar off each promotion. I don’t care for that promo because it forces you to buy things you don’t need. Another promo I don’t like is when you have to buy a certain number of the product to get the sale price. I guess that’s the reason they have promos; to try and get you to buy more than you need. I found a receipt from 16 months ago that had a similar total. But the number of items purchased was 44. The average price per item back then was $3.28. The most expensive item was a 3 Lb. package of ground chuck for $9.84. The “special price” hamburger went from $2.99 to $3.99 per Lb. That is a 33% increase since last year.
Back to the topic of saving money. I find myself buying fewer and fewer things from Amazon. I often shop on their website to find the items I need and then go to Ebay to buy them. This happened recently with a faucet that I needed to replace in the laundry room. I found the one I wanted on Amazon for $56, then I went to Ebay and found the same item from a seller located in the US and paid $40 with free shipping. This doesn’t work every time. Sometimes you have to settle for a used or open box item, and you can’t delay your purchase for more than a day or two, or the item may not be available. But, for the amount of money you can save, it is worth it to check Ebay. Always buy from a seller with 98% or higher positive feedback and you should be fine.