The current economic situation has definitely affected most consumer products. Even people's spending habits are changing because of the crunch that everyone is feeling now. But there is still the need to purchase certain products and necessities that we cannot do without. What we can do is to still shop, but shop smartly to be able to save money. Here are some tips to help you to balance shopping and saving

If you can afford it, stock on non-perishable items when your grocery or supermarket has a sale. This doesn't mean that you have to panic and buy everything on site; just stock up on products that you usually use and enough to last you until the next sale. If you wait until you desperately need an item before buying it, you are always forced to buy it at the regular price

Be on the lookout for birthday and Christmas presents throughout the year, not only at the time of the event. This takes a little forward planning, but allows you to buy when the item is on sale. Post-Christmas sales have the best pricing you are likely to see all year.

You can save a lot of money by cutting down on the times you dine at restaurants. For example, instead of going out for lunch every day, try bringing your own lunch to work twice or thrice a week. Not only do you save money, you also keep your diet in check because you usually cannot control what you eat outside which means more extra pounds on you if you're not careful. If you have a regular family dinner at a restaurant, substitute it for an outdoor barbeque or picnic lunch at a park or river. Not only will you save money, but your family will enjoy the day out.

Save yourself a fortune on entertainment by buying second hand. There's little chance you can go wrong with a second-hand book, music CD or DVD movie (and if you have your doubts, a reputable second-hand dealer will be willing to show you that the product works before you take it home). You can save around 70% off the normal price. Better yet, borrow items from your local library and save yourself 100%

Also, at this time, discount coupons will be your best friend. Search for coupons in your local papers and publications. Online discount coupons are now the newest trend and is very useful if you do most of your shopping online. Just Google the item you're targeting to buy and type in coupon and you'll probably get a lot of results.

In relation to this, studies show that shopping online is significantly cheaper than going to an actual department store. You save money because there is not physical store that the seller needs to rent. Of course, the disadvantage is that you cannot actually physically examine the product, but if you choose wisely and thoroughly research the product, you will still have significant amount of savings from shopping online