The BEST Ways Save the Most Money Shopping Online!
I do a lot of my shopping online. It winds up saving me a lot of money for a few reasons (not spending on gas, cutting back on impulse buys, etc.), but it’s harder to find discounts or to negotiate the price of something online. You can’t just open the Sunday paper and see that you can order bulk toilet paper online with a coupon.
You can’t just open the Sunday paper and see that you can order bulk toilet paper online with a coupon. Most stores put coupons in the paper for their physical stores so that you will come into the store and will likely buy more from them than just the item with the coupon.
But you can do so much more online that you can in the store!
Before you buy anything online, you need to check some things before pressing “checkout.”
Here are my go-to steps before I ever buy anything online:
Step 1: Start at Google.
Yes, Google. I Google items to find coupon codes, to shop around for the best prices, to find the best options, everything!
Always check for coupons!
Discount codes, free shipping, BOGO deals… all of these things can be found just by Googling the store you want to buy something from! Type in “[the store’s name] coupon codes,” and you’ll find pages of codes to try out! Some of them can even be grouped together!
Here’s some ways it’s worked for me:
- I needed a new blender when mine caught on fire after 5 years (RIP $15 Walmart blender). I knew that I wanted something that was actually going to get the job of a blender done well. After a lot of researching on Google, I found that the overall consensus was that Vitamix had the best blenders. I found a coupon code that got me $150 off of a refurbished model (that comes with an amazing 7-year warranty), with an additional 10% off and free shipping! I paid $150 for my amazing Vitamix that was originally $379!
- My husband needed some new vape juice (not supporting it, not suggesting it, not a fan of it, just telling it like it is). The best prices are already online, so when he pickedout what he wanted, I just Googled coupons and the company name and there is was: free shipping and 20% off. Not too shabby!
- When I bought my amazing Berkey water filter (which you should buy today, if you don’t have one already), a Google search revealed that there were many different stores that sold the same water filter for different prices. I never would’ve found the deal that I got without Google: I got my Big Berkey water filter with 2 fluoride filters and 2 regular filters for $150 less than what I found on Amazon!
Once you’ve Googled the best prices and coupon codes, move on to the next step!
Get Ebates and install the browser plugin
Why Ebates? Becuase if you’re going to be buying something online anyway, don’t you want to see if you can get cashback? Ebates gives you cashback almost everywhere online (you can read more about why you should get Ebates no matter how often you shop online HERE). And there’s nothing you have to do to get it. No hoops to jump through, or subscriptions to pay for… just click, sign up, and you can get your cashback. Yes, it’s really that easy!
I installed the browser plugin and now I get a little popup that lets me know if what I’m about to buy is eligible for Ebates cashback. Then all I have to do is click the button, make my purchase, and then I get my cashback!
Swagbucks
Did you know that you can get Swagbucks for buying things? Yup! First off, if you don’t have Swagbucks, you should definitely check it out HERE and you can get 300 Swagbucks using the code cowcountry15 !
You can get 3 to 15 Swagbucks per dollar spent at certain sites! Awesome right? But the better part here is that you can double the savings by using your Ebates plugin for many sites!
If you make a Groupon purchase, and you activated Ebates and Swagbucks, you’ll automatically get 15% cashback from Ebates and 7 Swagbucks per dollar… all on something you were already going to buy!
So there you have it: my ultimate tips to help you save the most money shopping online. If you do any shopping online at all, give these tips a try and see how much you can save and get in cashback!
What do you do to save money shopping online?
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Morgan says
May 27 at 10:46 AMThis is good advice! Online purchases can add up and become big expenses, especially with shipping costs being added. Smoking is hard habit to kick to the curb, but alternatives like vaping certainly make it a lot easier. Vaping is an excellent way for people to quit smoking cigarettes and is, in deed, much less dangerous, so no shame in your husband’s buying the juice online. Nicely said! Thanks for sharing!
Caroline says
May 30 at 10:01 PMThanks so much, Morgan! Online purchases are so tricky with how much they cost! I was really proud of my husband for vaping instead of smoking! Not to mention I loved finding the coupons for the things he needs to kick the habit! 🙂
Nancy Bryant says
November 4 at 8:18 AMGreat tips Caroline! I’m an online shopaholic trying to do away with the habit. I guess this would help me get some discount and save some cost. Thanks for the information 🙂