What's the Dealio?

Max and I own lots of things that we can't afford. No, we don't have credit card debt, Max is just really good at finding deals. Me, not so much. I kind of get overwhelmed when I walk into stores like Nordstrom Rack. I finally just give up and leave with nothing. Max, on the other hand, is seriously a master at the art of discount shopping. I'm trying to learn from him. Here are some things I've picked up so far:

1. Think outside the box

Literally. Our high-end movie projector was purchased from Fry's Electronics with no box (or remote control, or cables for that matter). It was just by itself on a random shelf. Normally I would walk right by something like that, but not my husband who immediately swooped it up. He thinks the projector was most likely used as one of their in-store demos. All hooked up and mounted in our theatre, you'd never know the difference.

2. The Internet is your friend

Pretty much anything you see in a store can be purchased online for cheaper. This is doubly true for anything computer/technology related (adaptors, chargers, cables, etc.). Some places to peruse: woot.com (which features one deal every day and is where our kitchen T.V. is from), dealextreme.com (I'm a fan of the $2 iPhone covers), and monoprice.com (we used this site for our T.V. mount in the den).

3. Be patient

If you wait long enough, something you really want is bound to show up for the price you want to pay on either Ebay or Craigslist. Max has been wanting a compound miter saw for months and just last week he saw a posting on Craigslist for the exact saw at half the retail price (plus sawhorse and laser attachment). It was listed by a man who had bought it for his shop at his second home. The man sold the home and no longer needed the saw - which had never been used! Seriously - the laser was still in the packaging. Score for us!

4. Stay patient

We waited for three months for the bank to approve the price on our short sold house (our best deal to date!).

Happy Shopping!