WISE BUYING

[Music] all of us want to get the most for our money but there is much to learn as sandra could tell you i guess it really started one afternoon after school the new skirt i bought last month was just back from being cleaned oh what happened to it shouldn't happen to a dish rag must be poor material have to return it let's see i got it at that super value store downtown i bought this one at the same time i got two for less than mom usually pays for one for me but it looks as if threads are pulling on this one already maybe i ought to take both skirts back to the store and complain well mom and i agreed it's my responsibility now to buy my own clothes on a regular allowance i need skirts and i can't wear these well on saturday i got my next closing allowance and i set out to do some shopping and return the two skirts at the bus stop i ran into jane rust you know she seems to have lots of clothes always looks well dressed for any occasion is that you sandy there [Music] well what's the matter i'm never gonna buy anything at that store again they wouldn't make good on these skirts and mom i'm never gonna buy anything cheap again either oh mom how do you like my new shoes they're the most expensive i could find this month's alarms just pays for one shoe so i'll have to own next month's allowance for the other one they're very nice but [Music] i walked all the way home mom are expensive shoes supposed to hurt your feet the high price doesn't necessarily make them good they were so pretty i couldn't resist them and i needed shoes and it looks to me as though you still need shoes for school mother i think i should have more money more money for my closing allowance i saw jane russ today she's always so nicely dressed i wish i had as much to spend on clothes as she does why i bet she spends twice as much as i do we often assume that other persons and other families have more and better things than we do because they have more money to spend and we're often wrong jane's clothing allowance is the same as sandy's whatever we have to spend we can get more for it we can raise our standard of living if we plan the spending of our money and buy wisely golly i buy something cheap and it's not a bargain i buy the most expensive and i still can't get my money's worth there either how do people do it get their money's worth well you might ask uncle john how he does this you know he's a purchasing agent he pays to buy wisely i'm beginning to think and pay anyone to buy wisely i think i'll go and see uncle john and that was my second shopping trip and uncle john the shoes were so expensive i had to promise my next month's allowance for the other shoe so when i start buying again i want to know how to get more for my money well sandy i'm asked about that sort of thing every week from some of our department supervisors here and i say the way to get more for your money is to plan your spending in relation to your budget when is the money available and when do you need this thing you know to help me put across my points around here i had some of these little cards made up and when is the first of the four better buying questions when do you buy where do you buy how do you buy and what kind do you buy dollar can i ever remember all that oh sure you can take that first question when as i said you should buy when you really need it and when your budget will provide the money you might also think about seasonal price changes you see prices fluctuate according to seasonal supply and demand men's clothes are usually cheaper in the summer especially winter clothes prices of fresh fruits and vegetables vary according to the growing season you see fresh fruits and vegetables are highest in the spring the same time of year that canned goods are at their lowest but uncle john how does special sales affect those charts sometimes bargains seem irresistible well when a store clears odd lots or lowers its prices for some reason you may find a bargain something you need at a good price so i can be a better buyer if i consider when do i buy let's see seasonal variations and special sales after you consider your needs in relation to your budget oh yes the budget all right where do you buy where do you buy means choosing your source of supplies so you get the most for your money look over here a moment this fan display has helped me explain what i mean store a sells this fan for 16.95 store b sells the same fan for 14.85 well not necessarily store b is cash and carry that's all in store a many services are available the privilege of charge accounts and credit the privilege of phone and mail order and free delivery and the ability to choose from many makes and models and a policy of exchange without question yes well when they're available you may use these services or you may not that's your privilege but the store usually charges the same price to those who do use them and into those who don't that's right and so the prices are often higher at store a to cover the cost of those extra services of course there are exceptions many of them but the point is to know what you're getting for your money to help you choose where you buy well what do you know it's already time to go home but what about how to buy well come on we'll stop at the grocery store on our way home and we'll talk some more about how you buy at the store our discussion started with a cake we were talking about the size of a unit to buy for example this one pound cake cost 50 cents and this three pound cake sells for only one dollar the larger unit is the better buy unless part of it becomes stale before we get around to eating it so you buy to suit your quantity needs remembering that it usually costs less to make things in larger units this principle applies to most products by the largest unit you need which you can conveniently use and buy as many as you can at one time things are usually cheaper by the dozen if you have all that money relate your needs to your budget and buy as many of the largest units as you can pay for store and use that's how to buy as for the fourth question what kind do you buy i explain that it's mostly a matter of getting product information from various sources they're usually a great many products to choose from and it makes sense that the wise buyer can find better values in some than in others some people buy by trademark it usually represents a standard of quality which over a period of time you come to know if your experience has been good with that brand you buy it again some people get a lot of information by reading the product labels when they're specific reading the labels of different grades and brands can help you choose the least expensive that suits your needs that's what kind to buy so that was sandy's first real lesson in how to be a better buyer a couple of months later i had paid for that other shoe of that expensive pair and jane and i were helping each other remember those principles of wise buying and i knew uncle john would be proud of me i was paying attention to when my budget allowed those shoes i needed for school and to what kind i knew the brand and the shoes were well made and to where the store had the services i need and i paid attention to how and i knew i was improving in my wise mind because this time i had bought two shoes for less than i had paid before for just one well i think sandy's discovered there's another way than just more money and that is to make better use of the money you have [Music] you