HOW TO BARGAIN SHOP FOR STUFF

How to buy a home.

Best prices are pre-construction and also the best installment terms for the initial down-payment … but you have to find a place to stay while it’s getting built

Location means access to major roads or public transit stops … amenities will follow where major roads and transit goes

Don’t be intimidated to work with contractors to update a bargain especially if its worst state is a “blank slate” and not run down.

Like where you will live, the view, the people, the sky, the lake, the parks, the shopping … you have to like it emotionally. If you like it emotionally you will be invested in the neighbourhood with like minded neighbours

If the city promises to redevelop a neighbourhood, go to the municipal website and look up future planning documents, they have artist illustrations of the finished vision as part of presentations to municipal officials

The inside was a blank slate, the surrounding property was resort style. A true bargain.

When to buy “things”

Consumer Report Magazine has a list of the months and when merchandise are on sale. For example automobiles in the spring and fall, clothes at the end of each season. Other stuff too like refrigerators, outdoor supplies, electronics etc.http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/2013/08/best-time-to-buy-things/index.htm

Tips for Fashion

Check for the clearance rack, if a store or location has one.

Sometimes, early adopter fashion that becomes next years mainstream trend are on clearance racks when they first come out. You would only know if you care.

Sometimes different locations will rotate regular items on the clearance rack, like at different H&M stores.

Know your style and what gaps you need to fill before you shop. Don’t go hunting without a target in mind.

You only need one luxe looking item to set off an outfit with mostly mundane basic labels

Hunt at outlets if it is convenient or possible. Not tourist outlet malls per se, but where department stores dump their old stuff (Sears Outlet at Dixie Mall, Holt Renfrew Outlet and Harry Rosen Outlet).

Look for lower price alternatives at the same store. Oddly you may like that styling more. Like two black jeans at Guess with a 50% difference, one is more dressy and one is more trendy. Or two floral dresses, one in cotton and one in an artificial blend.

Furnishings

The best buys are at places like Leon’s clearance room where you may have to fix the leg of a designer sofa set with carpenter’s glue and a metal bracket but the set costs $100 from $1000. Or the tear in the leather is at the back of the sofa. They go fast though.

Selecting furnishings is very forgiving if you shop in your style (Modern, Contemporary, Craftsman, Traditional) and to your colour scheme. The idea is a coherent look, not crazy tiny detailing that has to match some magazine object.

Upholstering is an expensive option that is for little flouishes else you can buy an entirely new piece for less if you wait for sales.

Check online classifieds like Kijiji.ca, some people sell perfectly wonderful items when they move out of province perhaps. You have to rent your own van though. But my dining table with chairs was $90 in the style I wanted.

Think about your service plans honestly

Wind Mobility offers unlimited talk, text and data for a low fixed rate but the coverage area is roughly just in town. That’s the give and take.

Small internet resellers offer a fixed annual unlimited plan with an internet phone service that is low priced but more do-it-yourself in getting your own modem and most minor trouble-shooting.

Are your favourite shows on high-end cable dials or mostly basic network stations that are free over the air with rabbit ears in HD.

Oil changes on your car are a must whenever you are scheduled to go. I also never skip brake service when recommended to me and any other thing but I go by the owner’s manual not the service department’s packages.

This is meplus.google.com/+AnhTuPhucDerrickHoangCanadaThis presentation © All rights reserved 2014 by Anh Tu Phuc Hoang