Frugal Family: Comparison Shopping

Comparison shopping is a skill that the vast majority of people utilize when making big purchases such as jewelry, airline tickets, or a new car. Prospective travelers typically search several airlines’ prices or utilize websites that compare the rates for them.  Walking into an automobile dealership and paying the list price for a new set of wheels is simply not done. Instead, most buyers do research beforehand, gathering quotes from competitors and familiarizing themselves with the costs of options. Going into the negotiation process, this knowledge arms them to come away with great deals as well as shiny cars.

Thrifty shoppers can save a great deal by applying comparison shopping principles to their everyday purchases. Whether buying a gallon of milk or paying to have a shirt laundered, multiplying the amount saved by the weekly number of “units” consumed by 52 yields significant yearly savings.

Here are some examples of best values available to those of us who live in Acton.

Gasoline

It’s hard to be motivated to check gas prices when they are all so high.  However, assuming a person fills up a 25-gallon tank each week, saving ten cents per gallon equals $130 per year. (I’d venture to say most of us use more gas than that).

There is no need to drive around town looking for posted prices at the pumps; consulting www.GasBuddy.com and entering one’s zip code makes that unnecessary. The site lists local gas stations’ current prices. Bursaw on Rt. 2A is the logical choice for those of us who pay cash at the pumps; as a rule, they have the lowest prices.  Runners up today are Acton Gas (Rt. 2A and Main Street) and Mobil (Rt. 2A/119).

Dry Cleaning

There are many local choices for those of us who utilize dry cleaning and shirt laundry services.  The least expensive of these options is Affordable Cleaners, which is located at 340 Great Road in Acton, in the CVS plaza. Everyday prices are $1.49 per laundered shirt on a hanger and $3.99 for each pair of dry-cleaned pants. Competitors typically charge $2 or more per shirt and $6 or more for pants.  Assuming a family drops off 3 shirts and 3 pairs of pants per week to be washed, Affordable is $400 cheaper per year. Periodically Affordable Cleaners issues coupons which reduce the prices to 99 cents for shirts and $2.99 for pants, adding to the savings.

Haircuts

Our family goes to three different places for haircuts. My husband sticks with his barber in West Concord, preferring the services of someone who knows how to cut his hair to his liking over less expensive stylists. My son, perennially “buzzed,” walks to from school once every six weeks with our discount card in hand. I go to , which is not the least expensive  nearby option. However, that’s where Amber can be found, and I am willing to pay for the person who gets my hair color perfect every time. The surprise? My teenaged girls go to Moodz as well. Other salons we’ve tried charge us “adult” prices (averaging $45) for the girls’ haircuts.  Moodz has a $30 “Teen Cut” price!

Milk

Grocery stores are probably the biggest sellers of milk. But I rarely buy it there. Why? The cheapest milk prices are at convenient stores. This may sound surprising, as most items are prices higher at these handy locations. But Tedechi’s on Great Road has a contract with Garelick Farms which enables them to sell gallons of 1% milk for $2.79 each. The 7-Eleven in West Concord is advertising $2.69 for the same product.  Our family consumes an average of three gallons of milk per week.  Assuming we pay $1 per gallon less than supermarket milk prices, we save $150 over the course of a year.

Wine

Our family hosts Thanksgiving, Christmas and various celebrations at other times in the year. We serve wine with these celebratory dinners.  Since wine keeps well, my husband and I typically purchase it by the case. Both and the offer volume discounts on mixed bottles of non-sale wines: 10% off 6, 15% off 12, and 20% off 24. (Colonial also reduces the price of 36 bottles by 25%.) Not everyone buys wine, but for those who do, advance purchases are the most cost-effective strategy.

Have you done local comparison shopping lately? Share your great deals with us!