If you are like us, you frequently walk into a Walmart or Target and head straight for the clearance aisle. It can be such a tempting place- so many yellow stickers! So many great deals! But it is all too easy to buy just for the sake of a good deal. We’ve learned a lot over the past couple of years and are going to share some of that knowledge with you all. So let’s dive in!
DO use the clearance aisle and sale prices to stock up on things you would regularly be purchasing anyway! We’ve scored suntan lotion, makeup products & many other things we would be buying even if they were regular price by checking the clearance aisles.
DON’T buy something just because it is cheap if you have no use or purpose in mind for it. We always try to keep in mind what we would be using or saving the item for. Sometimes we misjudge and end up with something we didn’t use but most of the time we are pretty good about remembering this rule.
DO use clearance prices to stock up on toys that you can use for your own kids birthdays/holidays and save for birthday parties that pop up through the year. We each have a stash of these toys so when the kids get invited to a birthday we can just grab a toy and be good to go! And have saved a lot of money in the process.
DON’T leave the clearance stickers on. You don’t want the person receiving the gift to know you shopped clearance and it shows a lack of effort when you don’t bother removing the sticker. You’d be surprised at how often we see stickers left on.
DO make sure that you are buying toys and gifts that are actually desirable (and not just grabbing because they are cheap). We use the rule that if our kids wouldn’t want it, someone else’s kid probably won’t either. DO your research before shopping. Check hashtags such as #walmartclearance before shopping to see what to look out for. It will save you time and effort in store.
DON’T rely on websites such as Brickseek to tell you what is or isn’t in stock at a particular store. They don’t always work and you have to be able to take a ride to a store to really see what is in stock.
DO use either the store scanner or the app on your phone to scan items while shopping. Many things will not be marked and even the clearance stickers sometimes show a higher price than the item actually is.We hope these tips are helpful if you are going to do a little bargain hunting! It can be a lot of fun but it is also a lot of work so you have to decide if saving the money is worth the time you put into it.
-Erica & Nikki
