If you are not currently a member of Sam’s Club, now may be a good time for a trial membership.  Between now and June 7, 2009, sign up for a Sam’s Club trial membership for $15 and enjoy membership benefits until Labor Day.

My wife and I are already Sam’s Club members, and shop there roughly once a month to stock up on a few things.  You have to be a little careful when shopping at wholesale clubs – you can wind up spending a lot more money on things you don’t necessarily need.  I’ve been known to buy the occasional box of 100 hot and spicy frozen chicken wings – not a very frugal purchase.  Still, if you have some restraint, you can find a few great deals over grocery chains.

Five Best Things to Buy at Sam’s Club

Gasoline.  A lot of people forget about Sam’s Club when it comes time to fill up their tank.  In our area, Sam’s consistently beats the price of most of other gas stations.  We try to take advantage by planning our monthly shopping trip around time to fill up.

Digital Photo Prints.  Upload digital 4×6 prints over the Web and have them printed at your local Sam’s Club for about $0.13 a copy.  Considering the cost of photo paper and ink, this is not a bad deal for printing a handful of your favorite vacation photos!

Furniture.  We bought our current mattress at Sam’s Club a couple years ago, and have been eying a kitchen table set (ours badly needs replacing).  When our “furniture” sinking fund has enough we plan to shop Sam’s Club versus an expensive furniture store. One note, you do typically have to put the table legs, chair legs and backs on yourself, but a little sweat is worth the savings.

Tires. I always shop the prices at Sam’s Club before buying new tires. Unless I am looking for a specific brand, or a unique tire size (I’m usually not very picky), I can find a good deal at the local Sam’s Club automotive area.

Jewelry.  Sam’s frequently has excellent deals on jewelry, particularly if you are in the market for a ring.  Why pay jewelry store prices if you don’t have to?

Chances are, you can easily make back the $15 summer membership fee by Labor Day, particularly if you just happen to be in the market for a big purchase or would like to stock up before next fall.

Photo courtesy of Southernpixel

When I was a freshman in college I worked a variety of retail jobs at the local mall.  I worked at GNC Nutrition for a while, and then a shoe store, and then an athletic apparel store.  At all three jobs I had to report the local weather back to the home office at closing.

At the time, it didn’t really occur to me that there was a correlation between the weather and sales.  Now I realize that weather does in fact have an effect on spending, both on a personal level and on a larger regional level.  Weather impacts both shopping patterns and the types of products that we buy.

Of course, businesses are well aware of these pattens and that is why home improvement stores push things like generators, batteries and flashlights in South Florida during the peak of the hurricane season. Stores in the northeast might carry similar items to prepare for winter storms.

How Does Weather Affect Our Personal Shopping Habits?

Are you a die hard shopper – the kind that would brave the elements to catch a great sale, or risk life and limb to pick up an iPhone the day it comes out?  I suspect many of you are not, but you probably know someone that fits the description. It doesn’t take much to discourage me shopping because I generally hate to shop. I don’t like crowds, I don’t like lines, and I especially don’t like wandering the aisles while falling prey to every well-placed, eye-catching display promoting a new product.

I have noticed that stores seem a little less crowded on both particularly nice days, and particularly bad days.  Maybe most people reserve shopping for those ho-hum days.  You know, overcast with a threat of sprinkles and an almost bothersome cool breeze.

Maybe our shopping patterns have more to do with our overall mood rather than the weather, but since the weather impacts our mood I guess there is still a correlation.   I know some people who are absolutely morose if the sun isn’t shining.  Me? I actually prefer cool, rainy days (should have been born in Seattle).  And when people feel gloomy they often go shopping to lift their spirits.  When they are happy they go shopping to celebrate. And when they are bored they go shopping to give them something to do to hopefully make them happy.  All symptoms of being an emotional shopper.

Not sure where I’m going with all this, but it started as a random thought on a recent lunch break when I watched people scurrying into a Target store, dodging heavy raindrops all the way.  Those same people reappeared in a few minutes with a tiny bag and soaked clothes, and spent the next several minutes adjusting their hair in the rear-view mirror.

I couldn’t help but wonder what they had purchased, and why it couldn’t wait until after the severe thunderstorm rolled through that day.  Hey, at least they were stimulating the economy!  Meanwhile, I was camped out in my truck listening to Dave Ramsey and eating a sack lunch.  Just the way I like it.

My wife and I received a T.J. Maxx gift card this Christmas from someone appealing to our frugal side.  I admit, I haven’t been to a T.J. Maxx store in a long time, but thoroughly enjoyed browsing the aisles with my wife last Saturday.  One of the things that struck me was the number of name-brand items on sale at clearance prices.  Not fully understanding the store’s off-price strategy I was off to learn more.

Off-Price Retailers

First, a little history on the industry straight from the T.J. Maxx website:

Off-price retailing grew in the recession of the mid-’70s when consumers had limited discretionary income.  Consumers wanted to save money without sacrificing quality and fashion.  Shopping “off-price” provided the perfect solution.  Through the years, the off-price industry has continued to grow.  The recession of the early ’90s reinforced consumers’ value-oriented; mentality and heightened the demand for quality fashions at reasonable prices.

Sound familiar?  If the blurb on their website had not reference the recessionary times of the mid-’70s and early-’90s I would have though they were describing the consumer sentiment of today.  After all, many folks are hunting bargains without sacrificing quality.  To me, that is the mantra of the frugal shopper.

Our Finds

The hardest part of spending money with a gift card is trying to decide what to buy and stay within your budgeted amount.  Our gift card was for $25.00, which normally wouldn’t buy much, but as we shopped the items at our local T.J. Maxx store we were able to find three much-needed household items to toss in our shopping cart.

19-piece ultimate measuring set.  Just like the label says, this is the “ultimate measuring set.”  Up to now we’ve collected a mix-matched set of measuring spoons and cups of various sizes, colors and brands.  Now we have a complete, matching set and can retire our current measuring devices to back-up duty.

Shower curtain 3-pack.  My son loves to play “splash the parent” in the bath tub, so we’ve employed a plastic shower curtain liner for some time to protect us (and the bathroom floor). Unfortunately, these things tend to collect mildew pretty quickly, and there are only so many times you can clean with vinegar before they need replacing.

8-piece prep bowls with lids.  My wife enjoys watching the occasional cooking show, and is always envious of the little glass prep bowls everyone uses to separate their spices and various ingredients.  Well, now she has her own!  We have also discovered these are the perfect size for pouring up a little homemade honey mustard or similar sauce for dipping meats and veggies.

We took home all three items for just over $25.00 (the difference was less than a dollar). It felt good to pick up three things we needed, but had put off purchasing because of their expense, even in discount stores.  We didn’t even make it to the racks of discounted, name brand clothing, but plan to as the seasons change and the kids need spring and summer clothing.  From now on, we’ll check off-price retailers before stepping foot in a mall!

As most of you know, I don’t do a lot of shopping. But when I do, I like to get a bargain, and I usually find them online. I recently discovered a fun site that offers one item a day at a rock bottom price. Dillyeo.com appeals to me for a couple reasons.

Deals at dillyeo.com are typically some of the lowest prices anywhere on the internet.  I like that there is only one item per day, so I can’t visit the site and go nuts ordering fifteen things in one sitting.  If I like the deal of the day, I can order it.  If I am not interested, I pass.

Dillyeo.com offers a wide variety of products–everything from electronic gadgets, such as iPods, cameras, and GPS devices, to deals on clothing and household appliances.  Here’s a sampling of deals from the past several days:

Recent Dillyeos:

• 9 in 1 Sports Combo Kit For Nintendo Wii
• Hamilton Beach Wave Station 12 speed Blender
• Jockey – 3 Pack Tagless Crewneck T-shirts
• Advent 4″ Touch Screen Gps W/Mp3 & Fm Modulator
• Travel Concepts Destiny 6 Piece Luggage Set
• Soyo 22″ LCD HDTV
• Samsung S1070 10.2 Megapixel Digital Camera

If you have a little Christmas cash to spend I encourage you to check out dillyeo.com (after you save a good portion of that cash, first!).  I plan to bookmark the site myself in the hopes that I can catch a few good deals here and there.

Use coupon code dillyeo09 between now and January 11th to save 10% off any Dillyeo.com purchase!

What’s the deal of the day today?  Click Here to See!

There is plenty of career advice floating around the web offering tips for how to get a raise.  Ideas range from proving cost savings to your boss thanks to your efforts, or cross training in a particular specialization that makes you stand out from coworkers.  But what happens after you receive the raise?  If you are like most people the slight bump in your paycheck will be frittered away thanks to an equal bump in your lifestyle.  With 2009 right around the corner, hopefully at least a couple of you are expecting a raise at work.  Here are a few ways to make that raise really effective.

Put a freeze on your lifestyle, but not completely.  I like the idea of holding expenses after getting a raise and pocketing the entire amount into a savings account at ING Direct.  However, that isn’t very realistic.  Besides, you likely earned that raise through hard work, and should enjoy at least a portion of it.  I recommend increasing your savings contributions to various savings vehicles (see below) by about half of the amount of your new raise.  With the remaining half, go ahead and sign up for that Netflix account, or gym membership, or buy that new golf putter you’ve been eying.  Success with personal finances is about finding balance.

Where to save half of the new raise.  The first place to start is your 401(k) plan at work.  Chances are you are contributing a percentage of your income, so this boost in annual salary will automatically boost your 401(k) contributions.  Still, if you aren’t contributing through a match, I consider boosting another percentage point or two using proceeds from your new raise to obtain the match.

If you are already contributing enough to receive a match in your 401(k), consider adding the remaining 50% of your raise amount to a Roth IRA.  The earnings here grow tax-free, and you can withdraw your contributions any time without penalty.  If you have already maxed out IRA contributions for the current tax year then simply dump half that raise in your taxable savings account, such as a high yield online savings account or brokerage account.  The idea is to get the money out of your primary checking account, where it will just be frittered away in DVDs and extra stops at Starbucks (at least that’s where mine would probably go!).

Should I accept a raise, or a bonus? Some companies are offering bonuses in lieu of raises this year to lessen the increased salary budget for next year.  If given the option, take a raise over a bonus, even though the lump sum from a bonus looks appealing.  Raises are permanent (well, as permanent as anything in the job market can be these days).  Things like matching retirement funds, life insurance proceeds, etc. are based on your annual salary, and with some creative accounting companies are often able to avoid these increased expenses by offering year end bonuses instead of increasing your salary with a raise.