15 guides
Smart shopping guides
Plain-English guides to judging deals and buying well. We never post deals or coupons, and we don't earn affiliate or cashback fees.
Judge the deal
Real discounts, unit prices, cost per use and fake "was" prices.
- Is it really a deal? Three questions
Would you buy it anyway? Is the price really low? Will you use it?
- Unit prices: the fair way to compare
Price per ounce, per count or per load.
- Cost per use
A $90 coat worn 100 times beats a $30 coat worn twice.
- "Was" prices and fake discounts
A big percentage off a made-up price isn't a saving.
Time it well
Price books, price tracking, sale patterns and stockpiling.
- Keep a price book
Know what you usually pay, and spot real sales instantly.
- Price tracking for bigger purchases
Wait, watch, then buy at a genuinely good price.
- Seasonal sale patterns
Many things go on sale around the same time each year.
- Stockpiling: when it saves, when it doesn't
Buying ahead only saves money if you use it all.
Save without overbuying
Coupons, price matching and refurbished.
- Coupons without overbuying
A coupon for something you didn't need saves nothing.
- Price matching and price adjustments
Policies vary. Know them for the stores you use most.
- Open-box and refurbished: worth it?
Often a good saving, if the warranty and return policy are solid.
Protect your money
Returns, extended warranties, BNPL and fake shops.
- Return policies: read them before you buy
There's no general federal right to return a purchase.
- Extended warranties: usually skip them
Check what you already have first.
- "Pay in 4" at checkout
It makes prices look smaller. They aren't.
- Fake shopping sites and too-good deals
Huge discounts on a site you've never heard of are a red flag.