EL PASO – Buying the staples we need and the things we want has become a bit of an art in the weak economy following the Great Recession and folks are applying many different strategies to stretch their dollars as far as possible.
The effort to acquire the supplies needed to live a decent life has become harder in the last few years. The essentials are more expensive than ever and luxuries are ridiculously expensive. Sometimes, though, there is a very fine line between what people need and what they want.
In order to maintain a normal existence in our consumer society, people must be able to buy their basic needs and incomes have not kept up with the cost of goods. Advertising is a factor that plays a major role in what and how people buy.
Consumers are applying numerous strategies. Many use the Internet to cope with the cost of things, from on-line memberships with particular retailers to collecting discount coupons.
Sassil Ayala uses the “match your price” strategy to buy groceries and save money. (Selene Soria/Borderzine.com)
Sassil Ayala, a mother or three, said she has applied some of these strategies to her shopping. She uses online registration with different retailers to receive early notification of special sales and she gets discount coupons. She said that when it comes to clothing she does not buy anything at retail price. Instead, she waits to be notified when items go on special. She notices that now a lot of stores offer online registration providing similar bargains to customers.
She also uses the “match your price” strategy to buy groceries. Several stores in this area such as Albertson’s and Wal-Mart offer this option. She also takes advantage of the lower prices at similar stores across the border in Juarez. For example, she shops at Sam’s Club there.
She said that it is hard to stick to the list of things that she wants to buy when she goes to certain stores such as Wal-Mart. “I don’t know what that store has, but there is something that makes people buy more than what they need,” she said. “Maybe it is part of marketing.”
Another area resident, Ana Diaz, said that one of her main strategies to save money is to stick to a shopping list with only the things that she knows that she needs. Before writing the shopping list, she makes a weekly menu and buys only the items necessary for each meal. Another way that she saves money is to buy prepared food. When her husband is out of town, she will buy prepared dishes for herself and her daughter instead of cooking.
Diaz said she eats before going grocery shopping to avoid temptation. When she goes to restaurants she usually takes the leftovers home and with that prepares another meal. Sometimes she takes only the cash that will be spent in order to stick to that amount.
Ana Diaz tries to stick to a shopping list to save money. (Selene Soria/Borderzine.com)
She likes to do her main grocery shopping at Wal-Mart, using the flyers and coupons to look for specials and usually buys generic items instead of brand name products. Diaz likes to buy tortillas and meat from the Vista. Sam’s is another option for cleaning products. She prefers Walgreens for cosmetics and one of the things that she likes about this store is the preferred customer card. Clients accumulate points and get rewards for subsequent purchases.
When it comes to items that she wants such as clothing, Diaz likes to buy multi-purpose style clothes and make different combinations with accessories according to the event. She said, “It is difficult to stick to buying just the necessary, so I avoid going to the mall and I just go to the stores when I need something.”
For those who are in charge of providing staples for their families, needs and wants appear to be merging into one thing. It is common to hear people taking care of the bills and then dealing with the necessary things to maintain a household. Advertising makes shopping especially difficult when the budget is tight.
Advertising and marketing are two forces that drive people to work harder to acquire the basics. In order to maintain a healthy economy people must consume, but at the same time people must be careful not to overspend.
