I think not all of us know the best ways to save money right? Some of us are experts on saving money while others have no idea where their money goes. So if you are looking to make some extra room in your budget, then saving money is a priority for you. Of course, for some of us, it may be difficult to cut the spending in certain areas.
Let us try to focus on ways to save money on any purchase rather than focusing on the small details. Just keep doing this for let us say 3 weeks or more. You will be pleasantly surprised to find out that you have trained yourself to look for ways to cut your spending naturally. Your shopping habits will change a lot as a result.
Now let us discuss some awesome ways to save money when making a purchase:
Check for promotions and coupons
Let us confess who does not like to get those coupons and promotions in the mailbox? Most of us like them and take the advantage of saving some money. Just try to always look for coupons. I agree that not everybody likes to look through the paper clipping coupons on Sunday but hey you can just make it easier on yourself by having coupons come to you.
A great idea is to create an email account specifically for junk email and sign up for the newsletters of the stores where you mostly shop at. Most of them very often offer discounts, exclusive sales, and coupon codes.
The tricky part is to only check that email when you actually need to make a purchase. We all know how tempting the sales might be so just know your limits! Another way is to do a Google search for coupon codes when shopping online if you do not feel like signing up for newsletters. If you see a place for a coupon or promo code at checkout, that means they are available somewhere and you only need to find them.
Choose used or older models
Who does not like new shining toys or whatever it is? But hey, this will cost you a lot more than a used one. Just think about it. There are so many things we buy that does not need to be brand new to function. Buying used furniture will cost you a lot less than buying new. So why not? The same can be said about buying a refurbished laptop. It has the potential to save you hundreds of dollars, especially on a brand or line that does not go on sale that often.
There are other ways to save money if you are not a huge fan of buying used because of some risks involved. You can try to look for older models of a particular item. For example, maybe you want to buy new swimming clothes, sunglasses or a new pair of running shoes. Check the last year’s model which might be $20-$40 cheaper, depending on which brand and line you are looking at.
Just keep in mind that buying something that is older no matter it is used or new will save you money. Try this method and you will be pleasantly surprised at how much you saved.
Use cash back opportunities
There are many ways to save money by earning cash back and the great thing about cash back is that you can use it for anything! If you are looking for the easiest way to earn cash back it is through shopping portals. This is how it works. You have to sign up for an account and shop online via their affiliate links. In return, you get a certain percentage of cash back anytime you make a purchase. As soon as you reach the cash out threshold, you will be able to redeem your rewards.
Using a site like Swagbucks is another option to use to earn points toward gift cards. You can sign up for an account and if you want more points just go ahead and perform certain activities such as performing a search or filling out a survey. You can then redeem these points for a gift card. This is such a pleasant one together with other ways to save money.
Compare prices
If you love to shop at Amazon then this one is a must for you. One of the best price tracking tools you can use is Camelcamelcamel. It will link up to your Amazon account and will track the prices of anything on your wish list. What you have to do is simply setting your desired price. Then you will receive an email alert when the price drops on an item.
Search for similar browser extensions and apps that you can use to view the price history of an item. Then check where it is on sale, and for what price. This will help you a lot if you are shopping at retailers that offer price match guarantees.
In this case, all you need to do is provide proof that an item you want is cheaper elsewhere, and they will match the price. If you do not feel like waiting a few days for an order to ship to you then this is a must for you. Note that a majority of retailers offer this (Best Buy, Walmart, Target, etc).
Look for discounted gift cards
One of the greatest ways to save money is to check those websites that sell gift cards at discounted prices. Did you know this? For example, say you want to shop at Best Buy go do your research. You are very likely to be able to find a $100 gift card for $90 or even $85. People usually sell their unused gift cards to these websites. In turn, the websites offer the gift cards at a discount. You just keep an eye out and you might find gift cards selling for $30 under their value. It is a great way to get a little discount here and there.
We hope that our article will help you a lot to save some money on any purchase you make. Good luck.
