Let’s talk money. If you’ve been scrapping for even just a few months, you’ve likely purchased at least one item from a digital shop. While there are a good deal of freebies, a well-rounded stash full of high-quality products will likely have at least a few things from the retail sector.
Unfortunately, only an elite number of digital scrappers can afford all they wish to purchase. Priorities must be set and decisions must be made. Here are some tips to maximize every last dollar you spend on digital goodies.
1. Set a budget – Know how much you can afford and stick to it. Having limits will help you prioritize and think critically on how ever new purchase will add to your scrapping stash.
2. Keep a wish list – For any product worthy of purchasing, add it to a wish list. Update your list frequently, removing items that have lost their appeal. Scan your list to make sure you’re working towards filling gaps in your stash.
3. Shop the sales – Most of the items on your wish list will go on sale at some point, even if at retirement. Keep an eye out for your favorite products at reduced prices during major holidays and birthday sales.
4. Don’t shop the sales – A 20% off sale on $3-7 products is not a lot of money. The savings won’t even get you a cup of coffee at a Starbucks. If you love a product, add it to your wishlist and come back when you have the budget. Don’t get pressured into the new release “deals” especially.
5. Participate in challenges – While we think challenges are a great way to have fun, think creatively and support a shop, Simple Scrapper recommends “cash back” challenges for frugal-minded scrappers. Use % discount rewards only on products you would have purchased anyway!
6. Shop your stash – Getting organized is a great way to discover supplies you forgot (or never knew) you had. Use a good organizing system to find long lost gems and do more mix & match scrapping.
7. Get stretchy – I try to use a kit for at least two layouts, minimum. With the Work-a-Long project, you can see that one kit can be easily stretched to 4 layouts. Challenge yourself to get several more uses out of a kit by switching up styles or combining two similar kits into one.
8. Build your basics – Fun and fresh new kits go a lot further if you have a good collection of classic items to build upon. Check out our posts on 7 essential and 6 more supplies for digital scrapbooking!
Do you have a money saving tip? Share it in the comments… but first, here’s a reader poll!
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My two tips are RAK threads and CT teams.
Both DigiShopTalk and DigiscrapAddicts have sections for RAK giveaways and all you have to do usually is respond to a thread saying that you’d be interested in receiving that kit… you don’t always win, but it’s certainly worth trying. I’ve gotten lots of stuff that way…
CT Teams are great too because it’s a skill exchange… in exchange for a designers products, you do promotion for them and create layouts with their kits…. Once you know who you like, going this route is a great option. Also, there are often lots of opportunities for one kit calls so if you don’t want to make a long term commitment to a designer, it’s always good to keep an eye out on the call section of various boards to see if there’s anything that catches your fancy!
Great tips nikkiana! These are excellent ways to get free goodies.
I have another suggestion. Of course, if you’ve set up a wish list you’ve probably registered with that site. But if you’re not, for pretty much any site where you think you might eventually want to purchase, sign up for their e-mail list. They are the best way to hear about sales, and can also offer some great coupon codes.
Fabulous list, Jennifer. I especially love the “shop your stash” list. It is so easy for things to get lost as you accumulate more and more (and more) kits and supplies. When I got ACDSee I think I said out loud “I LOVE this program!” every single time I used it for the first 3 months! It was such an awesome way to make sure I started using what I already had, even though I may not have known it was there.
Love this blog! Keep up the great work:)