Decoding the language of price tags to get the best savings | Frugal Friday

When you find yourself going shopping and you're looking for a deal, did you know that there's a secret language that could unlock even more savings at your favorite discount stores? 

That includes places like TJ Maxx and Sam's Club, and Andrea Woroch, a consumer savings expert, helped explain what you need to be on the lookout for when you're bargain hunting. 

Decoding Sam's Club tags

First and foremost, a price that ends in 1 means that you're getting a good deal. For example: $.91, $.41, and $.01 means it's on heavy clearance. 

Also, be on the lookout for letters at the bottom-left corner of the price label, because that can tell you whether or not it's a product worth purchasing right away. 

The letter A means the item is always in store, always stocked, and you should wait to purchase. 

Now, the letter C means cancelled, so once it's gone, it's gone for good, so they're priced to a point where they are looking to move out their inventory. 

Finally, the letter S is very similar to the letter C. S stands for seasonal, so this is a limited-time product, usually for holidays, and that means once the holiday passes, the savings will be big. 

Finding max savings at TJ Maxx

Knowing what to spot at a store like TJ Maxx can also be applied to other stores, including HomeGoods and Marshalls. 

Let's start with the top of the tag. If you see the number 1, that means the product was made specifically for that store, so chances are you won't be getting the best deal. 

The number 2 is where you're going to find the best deal. That means it's an authentic, high-quality item from a different retailer, and it's priced to move. 

Now, we can skip a few numbers ahead. 

The number 6 means it's a clothing set, and it should have two pieces. If it doesn't, then you can certainly ask for a discount on the one piece. 

A discontinued item will have the number 7 on the tag, so if it's something you like, grab it while you can because it won't be produced any longer. 

If you see a 9 on a price tag, that usually means special instructions for the item of clothing, whether that be hand-wash or dry clean only. 

Checking out the price tag is also important because it's more than just numbers you find on the tag; it's where and the size of the tag. 

If you see a bigger tag compared to the rest of the items on the rack, that means it was a returned item, and it was returned without the original tag. 

Finally, a boxed number corresponds with the week of the year when the item arrived at the store. An example would be a boxed number 23. That means it was returned in the 23rd week of the year, and that is the week of June 2-8. 

The longer an item has been in the store, the closer it is to being marked down.