How to Outsmart Those Sneaky Retailers

No matter how much money you have in your wallet, it's always good to know how to outsmart retailers and get the best products for the lowest prices without breaking your piggy bank and avoiding manipulation from the salesperson.

1. Before you go shopping for the items you want, check out the product reviews and keep in mind, sometimes the most expensive item is not necessarily the best. A study showed that most of the time store brand items are the same if not better than brand name and 60% cheaper too!
2. Type smart and use founts like Arial and Calibri, you'll spend 27% less pages per ink than Times New Roman, Tahoma, Franklin Gothic Medium and Verdena. Also set draft quality as default on Word, it won't print as dark, but it gets the job done and uses less ink.
3. Before shopping, get in the habit of selling old products before you buy new ones. You can sell anything on craigslist.com, sell old electronics to gazelle.com for quick cash. You can get paid via check, Pay Pal, or an amazon.com gift card. Sell your used books at chegg.com where you can earn $10 or more for books, $40 for a textbook and you get paid with a Visa gift card. You can also go to your nearest used book store, like The Almost Perfect Book Store, and sell books there for 10-15% back off the retail price. You can also buy products there for a fraction of their retail price.
4. Make your own coffee and tea. Buying your drinks at café's is about $2 everyday, or $520 a year you could save by making your own.
5. Don't let dates mislead you. According to the Department of Agriculture, dates such as; "sell by," "use by," or "best by" aren't food safety dates, they're just specifications for peak of taste and nutrition. In the 1930s Consumer Reports found out that most Americans would rely on these dates to tell them when their food would go bad, so supermarkets decided to put their own dating system on food to make more money. When it comes to telling when your food goes bad, rely on the way it looks, color and the way it smells.
6. Forget high costs for a gym membership and get fit for less with apps like GymBuddy ($2.99), Hundred Pushups ($2.99), iHeartRate ($2.99), iMapMyRide/iMapMyRun (free), Fitness Builder ($9.99) and iTreadmill ($0.99). Another option is group classes they're a lot cheaper and you don't need a gym membership to take them. It's a fun thing to do with friends and way meet new people.
7. Ok, so I know this sounds cheesy, but when it comes to planning ideas to do with your friends, use your imagination. Even in hard times people still manage to have and learn that expensive fun was not the only fun. Do stuff like going hiking, game nights, have a picnic, volunteer somewhere and have a good time with it, have a garage sale or a movie night at home and try cooking something with your friends that you've never made before! It's kind of an excuse to be creative and find ways to have fun that money can't buy you.
8. Stop paying for bottled water! A dollar a bottle is way overpriced, just fill up a bottle with filter water. It's a fact that filtration is better quality than bottle water and a 1/10th the cost. Plus it's convenient!
9. Save your change! Every time you get change put it into a jar. Every year I do this, I have close to $200. Every penny really does count.
10. So I know this is tough, especially for me, but before you go shopping, make a list of everything you need and stick to it! This way you won't find yourself splurging on stuff you don't need.

Nicole Bales, How to Outsmart those Sneaky Retailers, Yahoo Contributor