There are so many benefits to shopping online. There are no lines, no crowds, no search for a parking spot. You can shop online in your pajamas from your couch. I know I’m not the only one who loves that part. But if you’re doing it right, shopping online can also save you money. Use these 5 smart ways to save money shopping online.
5 Smart Ways to Save Money Shopping Online
This post may contain affiliate links.
Most of us shop online at least part of the time. Make sure your getting the best deal by following these 5 tips.
1. Compare Prices
Shopping online makes it super easy to compare prices from store to store. You can have several tabs up from many different websites.
There are also a few online tools that can help you compare prices.
You can also Google a specific product that you’re looking for see prices from several retailers right next to each other. Google aims to show you the lowest prices too, so that is helpful.
CamelCamelCamel is a price tracker for all of the products on Amazon. It will help you see how the prices of those products have changed over time, so you can decide if the sale price is actually a good deal.
This can help youeven if you’re not buying from Amazon. Amazon sells pretty much every product under the sun, so you can look up the product that you’re wanting to buy on CamelCamelCamel to see what the price history of that item has been on Amazon and then compare the price history to the sale price you’re seeing for that item on any store’s website.
2. Get Paid
This is my favorite thing about shopping online. You can use cash back websites (Ebates is the best) and get real money back every time you make a purchase.
Ebates is an awesome cashback website that pays you (in a check or PayPal deposit) for shopping online. This is FREE MONEY, folks. If you’re not already a member, you can sign up here. I also have a whole post dedicated to telling you how Ebates works, you can sign up here.
3. Sign up for Coupons
If you turn off your pop-up blocker, most websites have a pop up that comes up offering a coupon in exchange for your email. Sign up for these coupons and use them!
If the website you are shopping at doesn’t have this easy method for getting a coupon, search around for their email signup form. Chances are, if you sign up for emails, they will come with a coupon. And you can always unsubscribe later.
4. Google a Coupon
If you don’t have a coupon, Google one! I’ve been so successful in just searching for coupon code before purchasing something.
Every time I’m going to checkout online and I see the box that says promo code or coupon I remember that I need to search for a coupon
This is so easy to do. It takes one minute, at most. There’s no excuse for not trying it.
5. Consider Amazon Prime
Most of the time, I find the best deals on Amazon.
Amazon Prime is a membership that includes many benefits, but most notably, free 2-day shipping and exclusive deals.
If you’re shopping at Amazon often, then Amazon Prime is a probably a no brainer.
If you’re shopping on Amazon for a short period of time only (like the holidays), you might want to just try a trial membership and go from there. The trial could save you a ton on shipping and prime deals.
You can read my in-depth post about Amazon Prime here.
*****
The key to actually saving money while you’re shopping is in not buying anything extra just because it’s on sale. Stick to your spending plan. As you’re shopping online for the things that you do need, use these tips to save money.
Remember to compare prices, get cash back, use a coupon-even if you have to Google one, and consider signing up for Amazon Prime if you don’t have it already. If you keep these 5 smart ways to save money shopping online in mind, you’re sure throughout the year.
Want more? Here are some of my best posts about saving money:
3 Tips to cut your Electric Bill in Half
How to Talk to your Friends about Money
The Easiest Way to Lower your Phone Bill
How to get a Good Deal on a Car when you’re not good at negotiating
How to Get Paid for Shopping Online
You can read more about my story here: A Spender and A Saver Fall in Love
I already love Ebates but I had never heard of CamelCamelCamel!! So cool, will check that out now! Have you heard of Honey? Camel sounds better, but I was using Honey for a while to find coupons online. It does a pretty good job.