When mega-retailer Target decided that they needed to know what was inside shopper’s bellies, they really meant inside, even trying to find out when female shoppers were pregnant:

“We knew that if we could identify them in their second trimester, there’s a good chance we could capture them for years,” Pole told me. “As soon as we get them buying diapers from us, they’re going to start buying everything else too. If you’re rushing through the store, looking for bottles, and you pass orange juice, you’ll grab a carton. Oh, and there’s that new DVD I want. Soon, you’ll be buying cereal and paper towels from us, and keep coming back.”

Merchants have learned that shoppers have predictable shopping patterns, they tend to do the same thing time and again. So the key is to get them to break out of the pattern, to try something new. And knowing who you are helps Target target you.

Experiments on rats showed that animals do a lot of thinking trying to figure out how to get to something they really want.  But the next time they went to that same place, they didn’t need to do a lot of thinking, because their pattern had already been established.

Retailers and consumer products companies have learned from those poor rats.  They now use rat patterns to try and figure out people patterns. That means they really study the heck out of us. Proctor and Gamble’s clever marketing strategy for Febreze was figured out by watching how normal consumers cleaned their houses:

Cleaning has its own habit loops that already exist. In one video, when a woman walked into a dirty room (cue), she started sweeping and picking up toys (routine), then she examined the room and smiled when she was done (reward). In another, a woman scowled at her unmade bed (cue), proceeded to straighten the blankets and comforter (routine) and then sighed as she ran her hands over the freshly plumped pillows (reward). P.& G. had been trying to create a whole new habit with Febreze, but what they really needed to do was piggyback on habit loops that were already in place. The marketers needed to position Febreze as something that came at the end of the cleaning ritual, the reward, rather than as a whole new cleaning routine.

Marketers now look at all the personal data they can get their hands on to see when your patterns are likely to change.  They know where you live, what credit cards you carry, how much you make, and much much more about their customers.  And they use it all to target you at these ‘change points’:

Consumers going through major life events often don’t notice, or care, that their shopping habits have shifted, but retailers notice, and they care quite a bit. At those unique moments, Andreasen wrote, customers are “vulnerable to intervention by marketers.” In other words, a precisely timed advertisement, sent to a recent divorcee or new homebuyer, can change someone’s shopping patterns for years.

So next time you’re in a big box store, don’t be surprised if the coupons that print out when you check out seem eerily related to some recent life event.

Because they know.  All. About. You.

Many companies will offer discounts to seniors, match competitors pricing, or even give an introductory low rate to new customers.

Even if you’re not a senior, it still pays to call around. According to the NY Times, an Arizona man found that his current insurance company was more than willing to cut the price of his auto insurance in half! And it only took one call to find this out.

Insurance companies have many different rate plans.  Nearly all will give you discounts if you insure both your home and autos with the same company. They are also aware of what their competitors are charging. This can benefit you if you first call or go online to check other company’s rate quotes.

Two other areas where you can easily save money are phone and cable TV service. Companies that offer ‘bundle’ plans that combine phone service, Internet service, and cable TV, will often give substantial discounts for people to sign up with them.  They may also give you a lower introductory rate for an initial period when you sign up for a new service.

Before you call your current phone or cable company, be sure to check what their competitors are offering. Your existing provider may offer to match a competitor’s rates in order to keep you as a customer.

Other Ways To Save

If you own a home, mortgage rates are down below 4%, something that hasn’t happened in a long time.  Refinancing now would allow you to lower your monthly payments or take needed cash out for repairs or consolidating other bills.  Mr. Cheap was able to drop his interest rate by 2 points and go from a 30 year mortgage to a 15 year one, all without increasing his monthly payment.

If you switch to a 15 year mortgage, the total amount you pay in interest over the life of the loan drops dramatically. In addition, we now pay our mortgage twice a month instead of monthly.  By making half your mortgage payment every two weeks, you may be able to cut an extra month off your loan each year.  This means you will repay the loan early, saving even more in interest fees.

• Go to Walmart and Pickup that Big screen TV, Today
• Start Cooking some yummy Stuff, get Recipes @ Cookmethis.com, Hungry Girl or the Food Channel
• Stop off @ Market Basket, Aldi, BJs, Sams, Trader Joe’s, or you favorite store for ingredients, snacks or premade party platters
• Pre-order your Takeout,  Your Favorite Chinese, Pizza or better yet Ribs, how about That KFC $11 bucket or Wings,
• Get the Libations. Remember Connecticut no Sunday Liquor Sales.  Trader Joe’s  Two Buck Chuck Wine, is maybe Three Bucks now, but still CHEAP.
• Set up  the 2nd TV with  movies for the kids. Send the non-football-obsessed Spouse on a Shopping Spree or to the Movies
• Get The Family Room Ready, Set Up the Buffet Table, Extra chairs… Extra Trash Receptacles, and recycling bins
• Set The DVR to record, it may be  memorable!

You have the outline. First Shop Game Day Top-Brand Electronics at Blowout Prices at Walmart.com! Pickup the big folding table for your buffet of snacks and party foods there too.

Make the Grocery List of the important foods, Chips, Dips, Salsa, Taco shells, salad fixins, Frozen or fresh-made- heat-n-eat Pizza.

Gourmet the way you want to go? Head over to Trader Joe’s freezer aisle for a Rack of Lamb, Swordfish for the Grill or Lots of gourmet cheeses and Crackers. They have the best snacks. Gourmet on the Cheap.

#2 cheapster, is going to set up those pulled pork sliders, and a taco bar from cookmethis.com, Go Pats, Go Giants!

Got my Football Jersey from Fanbuzz. New York Giants Sweatshirts and Tom Brady Jerseys

  Christmas Tree Shops Valentine Ad features 50 % off Brand Name cards and 50% Winter Clearance on selected Items. Always a great deal, view the add for funky new household furnishings. Gardening seeds make there  debut this week! time to start the garden!

But, does anybody actually spend $5 for these stupid things?

If so, please post in the comments.

Mr. Cheap has the sads after viewing this site.

For some  going to the Super Bowl XLVI at  the Lucas Oil Stadium location, in Indianapolis will be a challenge. The Ticket prices for the super bowl are into into the thousands and travel, to &  from, and staying during. Southwest.com  gives the best pricing out of  the Boston area, BUT most flights are gone for Saturday-Monday.  Stretching from Thursday to Tuesday gets you better flight options. Manchester & TF Green in RI, improves the options.

The Best pricing for a flight from Boston are Leave Friday to  Return Tuesday, otherwise they start a $1000 plus, for Saturday-Monday.

Giants Fans can travel to the superbowl for a bit less Saturday to Monday form JFK. There are still a few available on Southwest out of Laguardia. Friday-Tuesday are the bargain under $500.

Add a hotel room with the savings from the  4 day flight planning. Motel 6 was the lowest. Shortening the trip to 2 days  bumps the average day price up, but there are rooms available.

The Superbowl XLVI game kicks off on Sunday, February 5th at 6:25pm EST on NBC and for the first time ever you have the option watch the Super Bowl from an online stream.

You may want to pull up the PC stream, or Buy a Big Screen TV,GEAR UP FOR THE GAME! Discounts on HDTVs and More at Buy.com! Get your favorite takeout, maybe some Chinese, or whip up some pulled pork sandwiches, a serve yourself  Buffet Taco bar, yum! That KFC $11 bucket and the 50 cent wing  promo is still going on.

A yummy extra Super, Superbowl XLVI sandwich platter, Chicken Salad, Black & Blue Steak Sliders, Ham & Variety cheeses. My mouth is watering.

So…we give you the Victoria Beckham Shopper, made of leather and canvas, although it’s probably free-range organic leather and artisan canvas.  That giant sucking sound you hear is the $1,850 this stylish accessory will hoover out of your bank account.

Or if you are practical (ie: non-snobby), you can just give some money to your local PBS station and get a cool and functional tote bag that shows you care about your community in a way that Victoria Beckham buyers will never ever understand.

Oh, snap!

The response was stupendous.  This is a great opportunity at 50% off  Valentine Cards, the pricing automatically changes.  #2 just ordered Custom cards for $1.57 each.  The 50 % off sale  is thru 1/31.

American Greetings also has a 99 cent sale. Use Code AGVAL99 thru 2/6, this is super cheap, even the custom photo cards are 99 cents as well as free shipping, it’s amazing!

For a superior gift,  How-about a Shutterfly.com Photo Album.

Nothing beats a custom book, at this price everyone in the family can have one!

x

The G-Free Diet: A Gluten-Free Survival Guide.

This is the last week to enter to win an autographed copy of Elisabeth’s new gluten-free cookbook “Deliciously G-Free”. Visit the “Deliciously G-Free Giveaway” tab on our Facebook page to enter . Be sure to share this with your friends on Facebook and be entered to win a free box of NoGii No Gluten High Protein Bars!

Free is cheap!

For a better method to find transportation on the Cheap to and from Super Bowl XLVI, you can search for a Limousine service at Limos.com.  Safe and guaranteed