100 Frugal Tips in 100 Days: Tip # 40

Tip # 40 Do your research!

Before making any big purchases (or even "minor" purchases for that matter), do your research! It should only take you 15-20 minutes online to do a few searches and read some reviews. You can find reviews for just about anything online, from irons to trash cans to vacation destinations and hotels. Some common sites I uses are Amazon, Expedia, & TripAdvisor. Even Target & Walmart offer "comments" sections so you can see additional feedback before buying it.

If you have a little more time, go ahead and comparison shop at a few different stores (Lowes vs. Home Depot for home improvement, Best Buy vs. HH Gregg for electronics, Walmart vs. Target, etc, etc). Some stores even beat competitor pricing so be sure to ask about that too!