I began my training at a very young age. But not for any sport or even dancing, I was trained as a thrifty shopper before I could walk. Now you must be thinking, "What's so difficult about shopping? You pick something out and pay? Right?" So wrong! So much goes into shopping that most people never think of!
Rule #1: Never pay full price! Sales are God's gift to a shopper and used right it's possible to save more than you spend. I have a saying, "If it's not half off it's not on sale." Also, don't go into a sale blindly! Make sure what you are buying says clearance and isn't just in the clearance section. Nothing is worse than thinking that adorable new scarf you thought was sixty precent off and it turns out to be full price!
Rule #2: Shopping carts are your best friends! They store your items until you are ready to pay, hold your children so they don't get lost, and make you move at much faster pace. But the best use of a shopping cart is as a battering ram! Use it to block off other shoppers from the area you are in or to push a slower shopper out of the way. You haven't lived until you've experienced a cart joust!
Rule #3: It doesn't matter who saw it first as long as your the first to get your hands on it! This rule tends to apply to big shopping days like Black Friday and the day after Christmas. These shopping holidays become a sporting event to the best shoppers. Days start at four a.m. and last until about three p.m. You do not take these days lightly, an unexperienced shopper can be seriously injured in a shopping mob. This means you take care of yourself, get your hands on what you want, and get out!
Follow these rules and you to can learn to shop like a pro! That is when you have money... and if your like me... you won't.
