Everyone loves a bargain! There’s something exciting about buying what you need and want, but saving money while you buy is even more exciting! Businesses know this, and they use a lot of creative ways to attract customers who want to save money. Stores know that if they want to sell something to make room for newer stuff, they should have a sale. The older items are “on sale!” Department stores have one-day-only sales and doorbusters. Grocery stores put coupons in the local newspaper or online, or they send them through the mail. (This is junk mail we can use!) Coupons can save a lot of cash. For example, if a store has a certain item on sale, you get it at a reduced price. If you also have a coupon for that item, you get the sale price, plus the extra money off. Woo, hoo! Time for a vacation with all that extra moolah! But you need to read the coupons carefully. They usually have an expiration date, and they may only be good for certain sizes or flavors of a product. Some of these sales are so great that everyone wants to take advantage of the savings. When this happens, a store may run out of an item. Aaackkk!!! But it’s not bad news. Stores don’t want unhappy customers, so if something is sold out, they’ll offer a rain check.
Stores and food companies aren’t the only ones who want to attract customers with bargains. Lots of appliance and electronics manufacturers will offer rebates on big ticket items. With this plan, you pay the full price, but if you mail in lots of forms and receipts, you’ll get some money back. It’s nice to save the money, but sometimes rebates can be a hassle. You need to follow the instructions exactly and send in a special form or enter it online. If you lose a receipt, or if you send in the wrong number from the box, you won’t get your money back. But if you do follow all the directions, and you mail everything in by the deadline, the manufacturer will send you a check for the rebate amount. The upside of a rebate is that it’s always nice to get money in the mail with all of those bills, bills, bills!
LIA: Hey, how do you like my new shoes?
JAE: They’re awesome! Where did you get them?
LIA: I got them at Shoe City. They’re having a great sale. It’s BOGO.
JAE: Who’s Bogo?
LIA: Ha! BOGO isn’t a person! It’s a really cool sale. You buy one get one. In other words, if you buy one pair of shoes, you get one pair free!
JAE: Wow, that’s a steal! I think Shoe City is at the strip mall in town, and I have a 15% off coupon for the pizza store there.
LIA: Let’s go shopping!
JAE: And let’s eat!
| Tip 3 |
Sometimes a group of sale items says “as marked.” This means that the discount has already been taken. Other times you will get the discount when you pay for the item at the register. Be sure to read the signs. |
| Tip 4 |
The price on the ticket is not the exact final price. In most states, you’ll need to add sales tax to the total. Each state has a different rule on this: Delaware has no-tax shopping; New Jersey has no tax on clothing. See you in Delaware! |
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bargain: a very good price
big ticket item: a very expensive item
coupon: a form offering money off the price of certain items
deadline: last day something will be accepted
doorbusters: special huge sales on certain items to attract a lot of shoppers
expiration date: the date a coupon must be used by, or it won’t be accepted
manufacturer: maker of something
on sale: at a special low price
rain check: a form that allows you to get the special price when the item becomes available again
rebate: money back after you have purchased something
receipt: the form that says how much you paid for something and when you bought it
run out: use up; have no more left
steal: a great price; often the cost is less than the item is actually worth
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