Smart spending is about mindful spending — identifying techniques to make our money go further. Just as it is important to decide what to spend money on, it is equally important to spend wisely.

There are several areas in our lives where spending cannot be avoided — like food, clothing, home maintenance, travel, etc. Even in these areas, there are always ways to optimize our spending. In this article, we'll discover several tips and techniques.

Shopping

• Take advantage of sales around special days when prices drop significantly. Some stores even have weekly sales events where seasonal products are sold at a lower price to make them move faster. But beware: before buying, compare each price with the corresponding price in other stores — some businesses artificially inflate original prices just to make the sale prices look attractive.
• Take advantage of store loyalty discounts.
• Bulk buying: Substantial 'members only' discounts can be obtained when buying in large quantities. This is great for things that we anyway need to buy a lot of. Similarly, if you enjoy music/books/wine, etc., look for stores that offer 'members only' discounts if you buy a minimum number of items over a period (say, a year).
• This is another variation of bulk buying: there are businesses that allow multiple people to participate in a bulk purchase. This is good both for the buyer (they get something at a lower price), and for the business (they sell a lot of units). If the product being sold is definitely something we need, this is a good thing to try.
• Yet another 'bulk purchase' tip: several online shopping sites offer free shipping if the total purchase price is over a certain amount. So, instead of ordering items one at a time, we add them to a list and buy them all in one shot to save on shipping.
• Buy higher quality items that, though they cost a bit more, save more money over their lifetime, than cheap alternatives that last only for a fraction of the time.
• Comparison shop before plunking money into large or recurring expenses. A little time spent comparing different offerings could save us a good bit of money. Here's a list of some such areas:
  • Cable television, music/video streaming services
  • Phone plans
  • Internet plans
  • Health/auto/home insurance
  • Credit cards (look for differences in interest rate, annual fee, whether a cash back feature is available, whether spending translates to airline miles, etc.)
  • Bank accounts (check interest rate differences, minimum deposit requirements, monthly fee, etc.)
  • Medication prices

Membership Benefits

Often, membership in certain groups or communities can get us discounts at various other places:

• Student discounts: students can often buy software, computers, technical books, or register with online services at a substantial discount.
• Similarly, being a senior can get us a 'senior discount' at various businesses.
• Auto club memberships can provide us with discounts when renting cars or at tourist destinations.

Travel

We already saw some tips above that are relevant for travel-related expenses. In addition:

• Consider traveling during off-season, as tickets tend to cost less.
• But also, check peak season deals that airlines may offer to take advantage of more people traveling.
• Airline loyalty can help us accumulate miles which can then be translated into free trips.

Miscellaneous

• Plan and buy gifts throughout the year (when desirable gift items are on sale), instead of just during the holiday season when, due to demand, they could cost more.
• Similarly, buy holiday decorations after the holiday, when stores are desperate to get rid of them to create shelf-space for new products. These decorations can then be used for the next year.
• If you own a home, keep track of prevailing interest rates and consider refinancing the home loan if the interest rate drops significantly below your current loan's interest rate.
• Buy energy efficient appliances whenever available. These, even if a bit more expensive, could help lower our energy usage.
• Along the same lines, checking for heat, water, and electricity leaks at home can ensure that we aren't paying for wasted energy.
• If in the market for an automobile, consider those that provide better mileage. And when driving a vehicle, keep the tires well-inflated. Well-inflated tires reduce the friction between the tires and the road and result in better mileage.

Summary

With a little bit of forethought and planning, there are many ways to stretch our money to go further.