The prices of food and household items are experiencing small but steady price increases, putting a dent in the wallets of American consumers. Buyers search for bargains wherever they can and discover them in the unlikeliest places. Searching for smart savings, an online community of frugal shoppers offered their perspectives on how to save money by buying items with little to no advertising, and their responses can help save you money on your next shopping trip.
1. Pet Medications
Pet medications from a veterinarian’s office are often available at farming supply stores that sell livestock products. Not only is this medication of the same quality or identical to what vets sell, but it’s at a much lower price. Not all pet medicines are available over the counter, but many are. Why pay $50 for a medicine when it’s available for $10 or less?
2. Generic Medications
Depending on their insured status, patients have to pay the whole cost or a copay when prescribed name-brand medications. Even with health coverage, there’s no guarantee the insurance company will cover the cost of the drug, which can run into thousands of dollars. The generic alternative to name-brand medication is just as effective but costs much less.
3. Chip Clips
Chip clips keep opened bags of potato chips from getting stale too quickly. Some models of chip clips can be inexpensive, but they’re not very durable, and the better-quality ones tend to cost more. This is a manageable expense to avoid easily by using clips already around the house: binder clips or large paper clips, which work effectively to keep the bags sealed.
4. Tee Shirts
For some odd reason, men’s plain tee shirts of all colors and sizes sell for far less than tee shirts for women. There’s little to no discernible difference between them regarding their quality. So why do women’s tees cost so much more? It’s cheaper to buy tee shirts for guys. They’re the ultimate unisex item, so why pay more if you don’t have to?
5. Special Diet Foods
Many special diet foods, such as those marketed as diabetic-friendly, keto, naturally gluten-free, or diet, are often in their own separate store sections and are usually more expensive. But if you look in the aisles with regular foods, you may find these special diet items at lower prices. It may take a little extra searching, but those items are there.
6. Nautical Toilets
Boats or recreational vehicle (RV) owners know the value of having a well-functioning toilet system. However, there is a substantial difference in the price between two kinds of toilets that serve the same purpose. Nautical or marine toilets used in boats can be more than twice the cost of RV toilets, which are just as efficient, if not more.
7. Acne Patches
The small spot bandages used to treat acne work well but can be costly for a single package. A more economical option is hydrocolloid bandages, which work on certain types of acne. These significantly larger patches can be cut into smaller pieces, offering users significant savings for the same results. A simple price comparison between the two products demonstrates that.
8. Pet Heating Mats
Heating pads used for pain or extra warmth during a cold winter’s night can be more expensive than you realize until you have to buy one and get a sticker shock. A cheaper alternative is in the pet care aisle of your favorite big box store. Pet heating pads cost less than those sold for human use and function similarly.
9. Reusable Makeup Remover Clothes
These cloths are made from microfiber material, are cut relatively small, and have a rather hefty price tag per cloth. A cheaper and equally usable alternative is regular-sized microfiber cloths, which sell in bulk, or microfiber washcloths. Both are washable, reusable, and cost less per cloth. There’s nothing special about the reusable makeup remover cloths except the price tag.
10. Mineral Oil
Mineral oil and baby oil are nearly the same product. When mineral oil is sold as a beauty product, the price is many times more than what a larger quantity of baby oil costs, and there may be some difference in the product’s scent. Still, paying exponentially more for mineral oil in the cosmetics aisle seems like a waste of money than you would spend on baby oil.
Source: Reddit.
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