Things ain’t getting any cheaper as the years go by, and you’re an experienced, savvy shopper, you would already know that. That’s why more than ever now, you’ve got to up your budgeting game to stretch that monthly balance of yours for years to come. Whether it’s using state-of-the-art apps or couponing, we’ve prepared a smorgasbord of some of the smartest ways to keep a few extra greens lying around, while still living extravagantly.
1. Do Proper Research
The first thing you need to do before making a purchase is to devote your time to some good old-fashioned product research. Fortunately, with the ubiquitous capabilities of the internet itself, the time it takes to research items that pique your interest can be done in a fraction of the time in the pre-digital era.
One of the best ways to get ahead of other shoppers is to inspect the reviews from shoppers and look into other retailers that have the item you desire. You might find it at a more desirable price rate, with more customization options and even come in bundle deals.
2. Acquire Free Amazon Prime Membership
If you want to shop smart, you can’t go wrong with Amazon Prime, where you can get access to a vast line of promotions, deals and, of course, discounts. And there’s no better way to get a hold of some of those deals is being an Amazon Prime member.
Of course not everyone is expected to have a Prime membership if they don’t want to. But if you aren’t a Prime member yet, then that’s great because Amazon gives you over a whole month’s access to its Prime program for free. What’s more is that you can get the jump on both the pre-sale and sales that happen on that very day.
Just so you know, once you’ve used up your whole free month of this membership, the program will cost you about $2.99 monthly.
3. Be on the Lookout for Online Coupons and Discounts
Many websites offer both new and old customers a set of coupon codes or discounts every now and again, similar to Lottoland’s current promotion of discounted lottery tickets. These discounts and coupons can come with email newsletters, yearly premium memberships, credit card discounts, rewards programs and referrals. And don’t just sign up for one rewards program while you’re at it as going for more than one can increase your saving opportunities.
4. Install Browser Extensions
Now you don’t need to waste hours upon hours of scouring across the vast internet database to look for food discounts and coupons, not when some good browser extensions can do that for you. And one extension that is guaranteed to deliver the goods (both figuratively and literally) is Honey.
Honey’s function allows it to quickly scan any e-commerce website to pick up the best discount coupons so that you can apply it to whatever product(s) you add to your cart. You can also keep a track of the items as soon as they’re added to your Droplist. Honey will then notify you when the prices for those items have been lowered.
Other apps include Klarna, Rakuten and Pricescout among many more.
5. Get Some Cash Back
Instead of paying full prices on items that you want to purchase, it would be better to get a portion of that cash back in your wallet or account. You can do so by using cash back apps like Rakuten, Ibotta, Receipt Hog, Upside or others like these. Just scan the receipts of the items that you purchase, and you can earn some cash back, just for a few minutes of your time.
6. Stop Relying on Credit Cards a lot
If you’re unable to pay for whatever you’ve accumulated at the end of the month, it would only exacerbate the debts attached to your credit card due to the ridiculous interest rates. That’s why it is only common sense that you should refrain from relying on these cards for your shopping, be it groceries or common goods.
Better yet, it would be better to opt for a card that doesn’t know the meaning of the word interest. These cards are known as those with 0% balance transfer. Just know that the 0% interest benefit is limited, which can be between 1 or 2 years. During this period, you won’t be stacking up any interest on the items you buy. However, if you don’t repay the items in this duration, you’ll be hit with interest afterward.
7. Sales Can Help
One of the best times to shop at supermarkets is when they’re running a bunch of promotions. This is especially when you wish to save on necessities like milk, eggs, cookies and ice cream. Buying anything on sale is a no-brainer approach, since you won’t be paying the usual higher price on the item that’s at sale.