If you’re anything like me, snagging a bargain can make life feel luxurious. I’m a bit of a tightwad when it comes to buying things I think are too expensive. No one wants to waste their hard earned money on over-priced over-marketed cleaning supplies (like magic erasers!).
And sometimes (like in the case of magic erasers), the off-brand is just as good, if not better, than the name brand.
I’ve grown to begin to believe that the “name brand” is actually the brand with the most advertising money behind it, not necessarily the most money spent on quality production. And for this reason, I’m an avid review reader. I read through tens or hundreds of reviews before making some purchases, and I think I’ve found some of the best deals out there.
I’m going to let you in on my favorite bargains that have saved me hundreds (if not thousands) over the years.
Magic erasers. You might have already seen my post on magic erasers. But it definitely belongs on this list.
Robot vacuum. I recently purchased a robot vacuum, and I have to say, I’m crazy impressed. My house is infinitely cleaner and if I would have jumped for a Roomba with the same features as the iLife v3, I would have paid about three times as much.
HDMI cables. If you’ve ever walked into Best Buy looking for HDMI cables or speaker cables or phone chargers, you know they can quickly add up to way more than I’m willing to spend. This is where Amazon shines. Many third-party manufacturers offer every electronics cable under the sun for a fraction of the price you’ll find if you pick it up on a shelf at a store somewhere. And, if you have Amazon Prime
, you can get them delivered to your house tomorrow and still pay less than you would have at the store. The AmazonBasics line of cables has always impressed me, but just watch for good reviews on whatever item you purchase and you should be good.
Desk chair. I love making intentional purchases for my home that are functional and beautiful, but the thought of walking into a furniture store makes me crazy nervous because I know those sales people are going to have me shelling out big bucks with their sales pitches. So, I shop online (or in warehouse clubs like Costco and Sam’s) for much of my furniture. I have found some gorgeous desk chairs for a fraction of the cost of higher-end name brand office furniture.
Get a gorgeous desk chair that looks just like this for only $250!
Printer ink. If you have been buying printer ink at Wal-Mart or Target, you have been giving your money away. Hop over to Amazon to see if there is a third-party manufacturer that offers ink for your printer at a fraction of the cost. I can get 4 sets of ink for my printer for about $20. They work great, too! If I bought the name brand at a store, one set would be about $50. Now, I can print to my heart’s desire!
Air filters. Yes, I know it’s totally not a fun thing to buy, but you do need them, right? You can also find these on Amazon for a fraction of the price you’ll find at Home Depot, too! Allergen air filters MERV 10 or better can cost $20 each at the big orange! We got 6 month’s worth of air filters for $40 on Amazon. And it’s a MERV 11. Even better. Plus, the box came with a handy place to write down the date we changed it last. It’s the small things. <3
There you have it!
These are all my favorite bargain purchases on things that I use every day. I know just these purchases alone have saved me well over $200 a year on things I had to buy anyway.
Do you have any awesome deals you want to share with any other hard-working mama? Help a sister out!