UNITED STATES—Shopping, it is not the easiest thing to do especially when you are on a limited budget. With that said, the more I age the wiser I become to things and tactics that transpire as a consumer. I needed to purchase some supplies and items for a home improvement project that I was working on, and I will be honest I haven’t been to a home improvement store in a while.

In particular, I was in need of new blinds, cleaning supplies, a new shower head and other amenities to spiffy up the bathroom. I was easily looking to spend $100 or more. Upon entering the establishment, I immediately see a massive display with some cleaning supplies like paper towel on sale for $0.98. Yes, I haven’t purchased a roll of paper towel that cheap in months. To be honest you can’t even get a roll of paper towel at the Dollar Tree for under $1.50.

With that said I’m walking through this massive store looking for house blinds and the various sizes, prices and styles. I was easily thinking I might spend $50 bucks for two boxes, lucky me I got them for about $35. It wasn’t an actual sale, but the more I walked through the establishment the realization hit me. There is a lot of items on sale and I started to think why? Well it is summer so that would make sense, but then it dawned on me: it was Memorial Day Weekend and retailers were doing what they could to lure in the consumer. However, you truly have to be aware of the lure because a lot of the times it can be a gimmick. The large display, the big signs of the price-busting deals. Just look a bit closer and you will see the regular price. Now compare that regular price with the current sale price. Are you saving more than 50 percent off the product? Is it a quarter or a few cents saved in your pocket? That may not be the deal you expect so be attuned to that.

I have started to realize the retailers REALLY decide to give a consumer a bang for their buck around big holidays, not so much on the weekends as so many people tend to expect. Grocery stores and club warehouses tend to lure you in days or the week before the big holiday. Why? They know consumers is going to spend money no matter what so the notion of getting an actual deal, is not an actual deal. Electronics, clothing and shoe stores that is another story.

I needed to refresh my closet as the summer heat was starting to kick into gear and I didn’t have many options. My closet was packed with winter clothing, so I headed to my local outlet and I was surprised with some of the deals. Most of the stores were offering big discounts. Granted some of those discounts were on items that may be out of season, but look at me, I could care less. If I can save 70 percent, and another 20 to 30 percent on clearance clothing sign me up. The goal for me was to get the biggest bang for my buck America.

I had been looking for weeks, to find the perfect T-shirt to match my sweatpants I recently purchased that are like an off-gray. I couldn’t find a shirt anywhere. I step into the Puma Outlet and voila I find the shirt and it was under $8. Do you know how happy that made me?!  I could not express that into words. The deals sometimes come when you actually expect them to come.

The big holiday sales like, President’s Day, Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, Labor Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and let’s not forget Columbus Day. When you get into November and December, somewhat, but not as much it truly is hit or miss because the retailers know people are going to shop for the Christmas holiday. So if you plan your budget carefully, you can nab some great deals whether it’s for yourself, someone else or your home, the more you save the better it is in the long run.

Written By Davy Jones