With prices of everything on the rise these days, everyone is looking for ways to save money when shopping. Whether grocery shopping, gift shopping, or making larger purchases, all of these ideas will help you save money. Some ideas you may have heard of before, but some you may not have, so keep on reading if you want to keep that cash in your pocket!
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What are the best ways to save money when shopping?
Rakuten and TopCashBack
Rakuten and TopCashBack are fantastic money saving apps. Before you shake your head and say you have too many useless apps already, hear me out. I have earned over $200 in cash back from Rakuten. I’ve earned almost $20 from TopCashBack in just one purchase as well. Both of these sites give you cash back on purchases, and also provide you with easy-to-find coupon codes and deals. This way you’re saving money, and also earning money back. I always use them when doing Christmas, birthday, or other gift shopping. You can earn $30 back with a purchase of $30 or more on Rakuten with this link here, and $10 cash back with my TopCashBack referral link.
Price Matching
It never hurts to ask, especially when it comes to price matching. Many stores that you may not expect will price match competitors prices, or match their online price. The place I primarily do this is Petco. Many times the in-store prices at our local Petco are higher than what they have online, so all I have to do is screenshot the online price, show it to the store associate, and they change it to the lower online price.
It’s best to do your research beforehand to make it easier and more convenient for everyone when it’s time for checkout. Have the lower prices of items saved, and check ahead of time to see if the retailer will price match certain items. It’s a fast and easy way to save money.
Compare Prices Online
One of the money saving tips I’ve been using most lately has been comparing prices online. Ever since grocery pick up became popular, grocery stores have the prices of their items online. This makes saving money on groceries and other items much easier. How? Well, you can easily compare prices between stores without the hassle of driving from store to store! But, beware of price changes, as some stores such as Walgreens have different prices listed online than they have in your local store. If you run into this problem, price matching might not always be available, but there is a way to get around this issue and still reduce your shopping expenses.
The secret to saving money and avoiding the price difference is pick up orders. I place my Walgreens orders online, and then am able to get the lower online price plus use any promo codes they may have. It’s one of my favorite money saving hacks. Plus, at some stores such as Safeway, you may get an additional discount for doing your first pick up order as well.
Apps
Store apps will often times have great coupons that will help you stay within your monthly shopping budget. The ones I use most often are for Safeway and Walgreens. According to Intuit “the average cost of food per month for one person ranges from $150 to $300, depending on age.” This cost is quickly rising, so saving money on groceries and lowering your expenses is essential.
Using apps for certain stores allows you to clip digital coupons that members of their rewards program benefit from. I highly recommend doing this as you can save hundreds of dollars over time, and helps me save money every month. These programs may also allow you to accumulate points, such as gas rewards or cash back. You can check out the amount I’ve saved with Safeway coupons and my fuel rewards progress below.
Sign up for the emails. You may not want to get bombarded with deals and emails from companies and stores all year long, but the first sign-up email usually includes a discount code, which is well worth it. Plus, if you chose to do so, you can always unsubscribe after you have your code and you’ve made your purchase.
Do you have any bonus tips on how to save money when shopping?
Promotional Codes and Coupons
Well I’m glad you asked, because yes, I do have one more great money saving idea! In fact, I just used this idea last night. My husband was looking to save some money on jeans. The ones he wears are often $70 or more, but they were on sale for about 40% off for Black Friday. What a great deal, right! But, since I love to save, I just had to see if an additional coupon would work before he completed his order. A quick Google search helped me find a 20% off coupon. He added it to the order and saved $16 more!
So, this being said, I’d suggest checking for any coupons or promotional codes before placing orders on anything from jeans to Papa Murphy’s pizza! It’s always worth a look! Plus, promo codes can help you save tons on gifts, and with Christmas fast approaching they can be a huge help. (With people spending over $600+ on Christmas gifts according to Ramsey Solutions, this is a great way to save. Also, don’t forget the reason for the season. Save on shopping and enjoy some favorite Christmas traditions, too.)
I know money is a topic no one wants to chat about, but when it comes to saving money we’re all about it! If you want to save money when shopping, using one or all of these ideas will definitely help you. Happy shopping AND saving, friends!