Each month, NerdWallet suggests one wallet win to help you feel more confident about your money. This month’s topic is sale shopping with purpose. Fun, right? Notch a win in just 20 minutes, but act quickly because October sales are coming in hot.
Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days is Oct. 6-7, and you can expect a Prime Day-like sale with a fall twist. Target is also bringing the bargains over the same two days with Circle Deal Days. Not to be left out, Walmart is doing “deals and more” Oct. 5-11.
Be careful as you browse. A new NerdWallet survey found 3 in 5 Americans (60%) say they bought something expensive and later regretted it. Been there, done that.
Instead of browsing without a plan, I do a lap around my house to build my “needs list” beforehand. Do the same and you can shop October Prime Day with more purpose — and an early sense of pricing.
The rule: A deal only counts as a “Wallet Win” if you know you’d get the thing anyway.
One more: I only add to cart if it’s at least 30% off the typical price.
Come on down, let’s start in the basement.
Basement and stairwell
First stop: the furnace room. I open the flap on the HVAC and pull out a filter full of dust that’s definitely been in there for more than 90 days. I add a 2-pack of Filtrete 20-by-25-by-1 filters to my Amazon cart. At $22.99 at the time of writing, it might not go down that much, but I need it.
We don’t spend much time in our damp, dingy basement. Case in point: I walk through a spider web as I hurry out. It reminds me … we’re low on insect killer, so I’ll watch for a sale on it, too.
I go back up and pass the crookedly mounted smoke detector in the stairwell for the hundredth time. The previous owners mounted it with a loose nail, and it just hangs there. I’m finally going to replace it with a model that also monitors for carbon monoxide, and mount it right. I also need a pack of 9-volt batteries to keep the smoke alarms powered up.
Since Amazon, Target and Walmart sell just about everything, these sales are a great way to tackle a minor home project for less.
Home maintenance and safety needs:
- HVAC air filters, pack of two.
- Ortho Home Defense Insect Killer with spray wand.
- First Alert battery combination smoke and carbon monoxide alarm, pack of 3 — $122.90 on Amazon at the time of writing, so a deal will be welcomed.
- Amazon or Walmart brand 9-volt batteries (whichever is cheaper).
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Fridge and kitchen
I head to the kitchen and open the fridge. I check the date on the water filter and realize I’m good. I bought an off-brand two-pack not long ago.
Yours may be ready to swap out. Common guidance is to change it every six months. Prime Day-like sales are a great way to save on brand name filters from GE, LG and Whirlpool.
You know what else I need? Better food storage containers. I’m tired of jamming spaghetti-stained Tupperware into the full cabinet. Time to switch to a glass set.
Looking in another cabinet reminds me our cheap wooden cutting boards are warped. I check Amazon’s “best sellers.” There’s a set of thick bamboo boards from a brand called Astercook sitting at No. 3. It’s $39.99 at the time of writing, but Amazon’s price history tool shows a typical price of around $24. I tap “save for later.”
Kitchen staples to save in cart:
- Refrigerator water filter (if you’re due).
- A set of glass food storage containers — the popular Rubbermaid Brilliance glass containers are down to $59.99 (from $79.99) for an “Early Prime Big Deal.” I might actually buy those now.
- Astercook Deep Carbonized bamboo cutting board set.
Bathroom sink
I head up to the primary bathroom. I immediately see two frayed Philips Sonicare toothbrushes with a bunch of gunk in between.
I put a three-pack of C2 brush heads on the list and hope to find them for $25 or less. Also, if Gillette Fusion5 razor blade refills are on sale, I’ll stock up. The 8-pack is $29.94 on Amazon right now. Ridiculous! It should be $22 bucks, tops.
I’m low on toothpaste, floss and sea salt hairspray, too. (Fellas, have you tried sea salt hairspray yet? Amazing.)
Shampoo, soap, body wash, loofahs and everything else you can jam into a shower caddy are fair game for good deals, too.
Bathroom buys:
- Replacement electric toothbrush heads.
- Gillette Fusion5 razor blade refills (8-pack).
- Toothpaste, floss, hairspray (ha!).
I’m done here and off to my favorite part of the house.
Garage and car
I could go to town adding garage stuff to my list, but most of it wouldn’t fit the “needs” criteria of my budget. What I could use is a fresh set of work gloves for leaf season.
We’re trying to keep our cars longer, so I find a Fram engine air filter and add to cart. I also need to stock up on the Febreze air fresheners that clip to the vent. (The previous owner of my pickup truck was a Marlboro man.)
Outdoor and auto ideas:
- Pack of work gloves.
- Fram engine air filters (and cabin air filters).
- Febreze car air freshener vent clip (4-pack).
My budget probably won’t allow me to buy all this stuff at once. So let’s say I go for just the smoke alarms, cutting boards, electric toothbrush heads and razor blade refills. My total for those at today’s prices is around $225 before tax. Knock off 30% — my sale savings threshold — and a 20-minute house lap could net me just under $68 in savings.
More tips for shopping October sales
October sales are the appetizer before the Black Friday main course — a chance to outfit the home for fall and get ahead on holiday shopping.
Amazon, Target and Walmart are all in, with deals expected on everything from home decor to Halloween costumes and pantry staples.
Whatever you buy, make sure you’re getting at least 30% off to make it worth it. Download a price-tracking browser extension to check the true value of deals.
And if you think I’m leaning too heavily into my “needs” list, know I’m not an animal. If we find the Barbie Dreamhouse for less than $185, we’ll buy it for our 6-year-old and save it for Christmas. It’s the only thing she wants.
My 8-year-old won’t stop talking about 3D printers, so I’ll be searching for deals on Bambu Lab printers as well.
Wins over regrets
I spent $719 (that was the discounted price) on a Sonos soundbar during a previous Prime Big Deal Days sale. It was not in the budget.
I learned from that. Now I lead with needs and let the relatively small per-item savings add up — $5 off the shampoo I like, $3 off a box of Larabars. One year, I scored $10 off my go-to pair of arch support insoles.
Take 20 minutes to cruise your house. Find real savings with zero regrets.
If you’re following along with us on this monthly financial challenge, start by testing out the tips we shared today. We’ll be back again next month to learn how to give holiday gifts for less. And if you missed last month’s edition, take a look back at how to slash your utility bill.
