pegkerr | Dec. 6th, 2005

This tip came in on my regular e-mail from The Dollar Stretcher:

I've been doing this for a while but did not realize it was a secret to some. I can only vouch for this trick at Wal-Mart, but other discount stores may do the same. When you place an item on layaway and find out later that the price had been "rolled back" or marked down, they do an automatic price adjustment when you pay the item off.

Simple enough...but this got me thinking. All clothing items go on sale sooner or later. And, we all know the bathing suits and shorts are put on the racks while snow is still on the ground. Go try on your new spring and summer wardrobe as soon as they put them on the racks. Put your items on layaway with only 10% down. Pay on it as often as you like but don't pay the whole balance until the latest date allowed (usually 3 months).

You will be amazed how much you can save when they adjust your balance. I tried this last spring but any season will do. It is a special treat if you are an average size person because your size clothing is usually the first off the racks. By the time the really good sales hit, a size 3 or XSmall is all that's left.

I did this with bath towels as well. I had actually forgotten about my layaway this time. I ended up getting $5 bath towels for $2 each. Right now I have a chair on layaway and it's already $40 cheaper. I have a few weeks before it must be picked up so I'm holding out for an even lower mark down price.

Personally, I don't shop at Wal-Mart, but I may try this at other stores. The Dollar Stretcher has tons of good frugality tips like this. Subscribe for free here.

Cross-posted to