Why oh why do we refuse to save money!

I have to say that nothing frustrates me more than when I am sitting down and talking with someone who is an "impulse shopper" and we are talking about finances, or money and I hear about how bad the economy is and how it is so hard to stretch a buck these days!

So I start asking the questions.

1. Do you walk into the brick and mortar or do you shop online?
2. Do you do price comparisons?
3. Do you look at user reviews when you are shopping?
4. Do you use coupon codes when shopping online?
5. Do you subscribe to merchants txt coupons like JCPenny's has for their customers

And on, and on, and on..... And what I figured out is that for impulse shoppers, none of that matters. They see it, they want it, they get it. No savings, no discounts, just the fleeting satisfaction of knowing that they bought what they wanted and in a few weeks the credit card statement will come and they will be like, uh oh.

Moral of that story, if you want to save money, DON'T IMPULSE SHOP! Ok, off the soapbox and onto tips and tricks.

Ok, if you use these tips and tricks, you will not only save money, but you will be able to have the satisfaction of knowing that you got the best deal possible.

Like brick and mortar?

Well this tip is for you. Alot of brick and mortar these days will send out discount codes on the fly via SMS to your phone. Example: JCPenney sends codes. All you have to do is text 527-365 from your phone and then reply and you will start getting amazing coupon codes to your phone. Or you can go to their website and sign up for mobile alerts here. When you go to the store, you show them the discount code from your phone, and save big. The point is that if you look around on Google, you will find that alot of the big retailers are using SMS to get you coupons. All you have to do is sign up. Another example is Macy's, you can get signed up for mobile deals by going here.

Online or Brick and Mortar: RESEARCH RESEARCH RESEARCH!

Ok, just because you got a great coupon doesn't mean that you got a great deal. Let's say somebody has a coupon for the latest (Insert whatever) and they are giving a $2.00 off coupon for it. Now you may think that's a great deal, but what if someone else has the same item and the normal price is under what the first guy had it for. You have to do your research and find out who has the best price out there. Even if you are going to shop in the actual store, a little internet research before hand never hurts. Here is a great example, I have personally been in Best Buy, gone online in their store and found out that the Best Buy website had the item for up to 20% cheaper than price they had on the shelf. Yea really..... I also have been in a store and used the Amazon app on my phone to scan the bar-code on an item to do a real time price comparison. If you are at home, and online, use the model number of an item and type it into Google. If you are shopping electronics, use sites like Cnet.com to do price comparisons for you. The bottom line here is that if you don't get the best deal, then it's pretty much your fault.

So you found the best price! That's Great! Well, maybe not. This is where you have to dig a little bit deeper. You need to find ratings and reviews for the merchant. Listen, this is why Ebay is so successful. Reason? Better ratings online = quality merchant = satisfaction. This is what we want right? We don't just want to buy something from someone because they have the lowest price, we want to make sure that they also have great customer service, great quality, and super attitude. Order from the guy with no rating, or the worst rating, but the best price, and you may be in for some headache. Don't sacrifice an extra couple of bucks in savings to go with an unrated, or low rated merchant. Let the impulse shopper buy from them.

Want to be smart and save even more online? Then use MyCoupons.com and take advantage of their Double Deals. They just revamped this program and it is awesome with a Capital A! Basically, after you have done everything just like I said up top, go and see if they have a discounted merchant gift code that you can use. If you find one make sure you grab it because their inventory goes quick. Once you buy the discounted gift code for the merchant that you want, couple it with a coupon code for that merchant. Go to the website and enter the coupon code, and then enter the 16 digit discount gift code and pin and your set. This is a way to save big money!

If you are able to absorb these things and use them on a consistent basis, then you will be assured to get the best deal possible, and keep more money in your pocket in the long run. Heck, use the money that you saved and take the wife on that cruise that you've been telling her about for the last 5 years.

PS: Do the same when you shop for the cruise. Don't end up on the Titanic, do your research!