How To Find (And Save) On Hard-to-Get Stuff
Welcome to Saving Money with Andrew! If you’re new, you might want to check out my top 9 money-saving tips.
We’ve settled into a routine at home, with time largely spent alternating among three jobs:
My real job, now done via email and videoconference
Half-time caregiver to my kids (switching off with my wife who is also balancing work and childcare)
Official quartermaster of the Saving Money With Andrew household
This third job is challenging, with grocery delivery slots and many items scarce (this week, napkins took their turn as the hard-to-find item). But, we’ve been able to continue our streak (now six weeks) of not going to any physical stores, while also finding some good deals. Here’s what has worked for us:
We start each week by booking an online grocery order a week out. Amazon Fresh slots have been impossible to get, but we’ve had luck with other online grocers - we use Freshdirect, but we know of others using Peapod or delivery services from their local grocery store.
During the week, we fill an Amazon Prime Now cart with any essentials we might need, as well as any items that are much cheaper than from Freshdirect (particularly produce, dairy products, and packaged goods). If you’re having trouble getting a delivery slot, make sure to select “Amazon” as your Prime Now store rather than Whole Foods. The two have different inventories and delivery operations, and slots are generally much easier to get from Amazon on Prime Now rather than Whole Foods.[1]
I then periodically check Prime Now to see if a delivery slot is available, and then place an order if I can. I generally check first thing when I wake up around 6am. If you’re having a hard time finding slots, try weird times, as Amazon releases slots throughout the day. Then, once we receive the order, I remove any of the duplicate items from our Freshdirect cart.
For non-grocery essentials, I generally rotate among Amazon, Walmart, and Target. Often we are able to find things at Walmart or Target that are meaningfully cheaper, particularly after using cashback and discounted gift cards. And some other online retailers have had surprisingly good availability on certain items that were sold out on Amazon, including Bed Bath & Beyond and Staples.
For all of your Amazon purchases, make sure to set Amazon Smile as your default bookmark for Amazon for 0.5% of your purchases to go to a charity of your choice. And if you’re looking for more ways to help, here are some great suggestions.
I hope this has been helpful. If you liked it, please share it with a friend! Also, please send me your feedback, requests, and success stories.
[1] I spoke to an Amazon rep the other day who confirmed that the order was being fulfilled by the nearest Amazon distribution center (which, I’m assuming, has more capacity than local Whole Foods locations).