Have you noticed more sales where you must buy X number of products to get a sale price?  If you buy more or less than that number, you pay a higher price. This is a sales tactic that retailers use to help increase their profit margins. They are lowering the price, but making up for the sales price in volume.  This creates an opportunity for the savvy shopper. You buy more products and spend more money upfront, but save more overall.  This shopping technique is called Spaving.

So what is spaving? Spave is a word that is blending from “spend and saving”. So the more you buy, the more you save. You will spend more money in the short term, but save more money in the long run. Let’s say you normally buy your cereal for $1.50 a box after sale and coupons.  This week you can buy it for $.88, but have to buy 10 boxes.  If you buy 10 boxes this week, you will have spent $7.30 more than you normally would for cereal.  However, you will save $6.20 over the course of 10 boxes.

Spaving can be very beneficial, however, there are some pitfalls to spaving. Don’t find yourself spending more money than necessary. To be a smart spaver, follow these tips:

1. The number one secret to spaving is to only spave on items you would have purchased anyway. If your family doesn’t eat much cheese and you have to buy 5 packs of cheese to get the discount price, it isn’t the best purchase.  Spave on the items that you frequently buy and  necessities. Great spaving items include: toilet paper, tissues and diapers.
2. Don’t confuse “accumulating money” saving and “reducing expenses” saving money. If the amount of money not spent vs. the amount of money you are keeping your pocket becomes your objective, you have loss the benefit of spaving. If you go to the mall to buy a pair of shoes that cost $50.00 and you buy two pairs of $50.00 shoes for $75.00, you can say you saved $25.00. However, if you didn’t need 2 pairs of shoes to begin with, you overspent your budget. You didn’t really save in the sense of accumulating money. Be very careful not to confuse these two.
3. Check to see if you can get the products for the same price with sales and coupons. Sometimes you can get the same price when the items are on sale with a coupon. If you don’t need large quantities, you may find the price isn’t as attractive as it seems.
4. Don’t spave on perishable items that you won’t use before they expire. It is very tempting to buy perishable items when they are inexpensive. If you can’t use it and can’t freeze it, don’t buy it. It is better to pay a few cents more for the item to have to waste it.
5. Use a coupon – Get the most bang for your buck with these sales by using a coupon. Just because it is already cheap doesn’t mean you can’t make it cheaper!
6. Don’t blow your budget to spave – You can end up spending significantly more upfront to spave. Adjust your budget accordingly, either buy less of something else or temporarily increase it to cover the cost of the spave items.
7. Use spaving to help build a stockpile – These sales can be a perfect opportunity to build your stockpile.  It will allow you to buy these items less frequently and still build your pantry stock.

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