Ever have the urge to go shopping, but decided not to because of your tight budget? Ever wanted to have a nice dinner with friends, family or significant other, but didn’t want to break the bank? We all have the urges each and every day to live above our means. No doubt about it. But there many simple ways to buy everything cheaper and get great deals on nearly everything! Why not save the money if you can?
Don’t push that checkout button just yet! Did you first do a simple Google search to find out if there were any active coupons? Take a few extra minutes to scour the web for instant discounts on your favorite shopping sites. 10% or any discount is a nice bonus for something you were planning on purchasing anyways. One of my favorite resources is RetailMeNot. We just bought some paintings online and found a 30% discount code and it worked like a charm!
While you may not find anything free, take a gander at eBay. Very often you’ll find out that companies will send out discounts via mailing lists. Many people decide they will never use it and will list them on eBay for pennies on the dollar. A few years back I paid $1.99 for a stackable Dell coupon which I use to purchase my laptop…an additional $200 off. Now that is a lot of cents!
Look for gift cards on eBay, Craigslist or gift card exchange sites like PlasticJungle. While the discounts won’t be as great and you’ll have to wait for the seller to ship (unless they send the code via e-mail or you meet them), I still recommend entertaining the thought. Again, if you are going to spend the money, why not save a few bucks? Recently, I purchased a $100 Melting Pot gift card for $75 on eBay. I couldn’t pass up the deal as my wife and I love eating there. We only go on special occasions, so this will be a rare treat.
Check out your favorite company websites for special offers. Most have mailing lists you can subscribe to and they often will send you special deals and discounts. Yes, it could get annoying with all that spam, but you could setup an separate e-mail account to receive any and all offers. To a point I have noticed the deals coming in less frequently, but I still get those coupons!
And finally, use shopping comparison sites like PriceGrabber to see who has the best deals on products. You’d be surprised how much of a disparity there is between lowest and highest prices. Just a warning, be sure to check out the sites ratings before making a purchase. OK..fine, go take a peak at Amazon or eBay too.
If you follow any or all of these steps before making a purchase, you’ll be saving lots of cents. Being frugal isn’t stupid, it’s just common sense! Feel free to share you saving stories!
Stupidly Yours,
Matt
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To go along with the things you have mentioned in this article, I would recommend price watch. (www.pricewatch.com)
Though, sometimes you have to watch out for disreputable vendors.
Thanks Chris! I’ve used that site too, but that is more geared for computer/electronic components.
Nice post
Everyone can save money in small and seemingly insignificant areas if you know how and where to do it.
These are all great ideas
Great tips! I’ll be coming back to learn more about saving money!
Not all coupons are really money savers, most companies increase the price of their product and offer coupons as to trick the customer into thinking that there is an actual sale or discount.
You can also sell your unwanted gift cards to http://www.giftcardrescue.com they offer very competitive rates and excellent customer service!