Never Pay Retail Again

I hate paying retail for anything, and crochet supplies are no exception. I will offer you a few of my tips for never paying retail on your crochet addiction again.

- get the Sunday paper. Almost every week there is a 50% off regular priced item from Michaels coupon. Sometimes, Joanns and Tall Mouse are in there too. You don't have to subscribe, you can just go buy it for a buck 25 when you need a coupon. Then head to your local store and start buying up supplies.

I use Clover soft touch hooks. They run over $50 for the set I have (contains 8 hooks), but with my 50% off coupon, I got them for about $25 dollars.

If I don't have a big ticket item I want to purchase that week. I still go in and get a one pound skein of yarn in basic colors I use all the time (i.e. white, black, brown) Instead of paying $7.99 when I need it. I pay $4 and never run out.

- sign up for craft store email newsletters. I know you probably don't want anymore emails in your inbox, but this is how to get the great deals. The best is Joann.com, they send out coupons all the time and have online only sales that can save you big bucks. Beware of buying online though. Always calculate the shipping in with your final price to see if it would be cheaper to just go to the store (for those of you in the boonies, ignore the last remark).

-ebay. But beware, you could end up spending more money for yarn than if you bought it full price at the store. The best way to shop on ebay is to have Joann.com up in another window. Pick out a listing you like and then check Joann for the price of the yarn (if it is specialty yarn, then do a search and find where they sell it to check the price), if the price is better than Joann, then bid, but make sure you add in shipping when trying to figure out if it is worth it or not. A .99 cent lot is no good if you have to pay $20 to ship it.

When looking on ebay keep your mind open. Don't pass up a good deal just because you don't know what you will make from it right now. If you have the money and don't mind having a stash, stocking up when it is available will save you lots of money in the long run.

Check back soon for the next installment of money saving tips. Bye for now and happy hooking!!