Recently, I embarked on a quest. Instead of getting ideas from other personal finance bloggers, I wanted to get the opinions of average people on the topic of frugality. I started asking friends and coworkers one simple question: what is your favorite way of saving money? When I asked ER, his response was taking advantage of two for one deals.
When something goes on sale for buy one, get one free, he always buys two. Why not, the second one is free and he’s going to use it eventually.
Buy one, get one free deals (also known as BOGO) are just one of the many “buy one, get one” types of deals. Another common one is buy one, get one half off. And then there are all sorts of funky BOGO deals.
At my local convenience store, they sale Powerade for $1.79/bottle. Both sizes are the same price, which is a little odd. But there is a permanent sale. Buy one for $1.79 or buy two for $2.22. If you are already buying one, the second only costs 43 cents! I usually drink water at work (as much as 5 quarts in the summer!), but sometimes I like to change it up and get a Powerade Zero. Like ER, I always buy two, because then tomorrow’s drink is costing me less than half a buck.
BOGO sales have been around forever, but Payless Shoes seems to have made them popular. I can see why. A second pair of shoes for free? Even as ambivalent as I am about clothing, I can get into a deal like that. Maybe dress shoes and new sandals? Cross-trainers and a tennis shoe?
Yes, there is some danger to this. The “second one free” is always going to be the one of lesser price. So if you were planning on a $30 pair of shoes and you decide to pick up a second pair that are $50, you are spending $20 more than you were planning. Or maybe a sale encourages you to shop when you weren’t going to in the first place. An important thing to always remember: a great price on something you don’t need is a bad deal.
For more posts from the Saving Money Series, check out https://www.edwardantrobus.com/saving-money-series
Do you shop BOGO deals?Are there any permanent sales where you shop?
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