Americans spent more than $ 210.6 billion on Internet purchases in 2013, according to Statista, but I wonder how much this figure could be reduced if they had done everything they could to save money. Unless you have no debt and you have a very balanced budget, we advise you to read theseways to save money on your online shopping.
1. Avoid shipping costs:
For 49 $ per year, the registration to Amazon Premium allows you to have all your purchases delivered for free. In addition, if you group your purchases together on other websites, you will normally be able to exceed the minimum amount to get free shipping.
You can also do a quick search and find discount coupons to get free shipping. In addition, many retailers now offer an option to pick up your order in-store. While they may not seem important, shipping costs can add up, especially if you tend to shop online.
2. Group Shopping Websites:
Sites such as Groupon or Grodeal offer impressive offers on both products and services. You can either buy the product directly from the website or print a coupon for a particular service, which will often offer you 50% off or more.
3. Use the best credit cards and find the best deals.
Some credit cards offer up to 5% off online purchases made during the last quarter of the year. Just look for the best deal. There are, also “business” that you can find by logging into your account. If an offer comes up, sign up and you can make some serious savings. For example, you could make purchases for 75 $ and receive 15 $ discount. There is nothing better than getting money by simply having to do a few simple steps. So, make sure you have these cards.
4. Use promo codes:
Did you know that only 1 in 3 users searches for a promotional code before making an online purchase? It’s a shame because on the internet you can easily access thousands of promotional codes in a few clicks, there are hundreds of sites that distribute them openly and for free, without any compensation from consumers.
Many websites will allow you to obtain promo codes and other coupons. No need to register, just search for the brand in question, copy the code and enter it when you pay for your purchases. If you find discount codes, 10% off coupon codes when shopping it can help you to great effect.
5. Know how to detect good deals:
Make sure you know the difference between an interesting offer and one that is not. This is not because Groupon claims to sell a camera at 80 $ when it normally costs 199 $ that it is inevitably true. Check prices using sites such as eBay or Amazon. In many cases, it is not an interesting offer.
6. Make sure your online payments are secure:
There are many ways for cybercriminals to steal money from you. An imprudent transfer could cost you all your savings of the year. That’s why it’s very important to be careful when shopping online. The best way to make sure a payment is safe is to use protection.
7. Some additional tips:
Suppose you saved $ 50 by buying a product on Groupon, $ 30 using the right credit card and $ 20 extra by avoiding shipping costs. Instead of letting those 100 $ sleep on your bank account, use them where you need them the most. For example, you will be able to pay an invoice, pay your home loan, or even bail out your emergency bank account. Save as much as possible on your online purchases is important but what you do with the money saved is also essential.
8. Use loyalty card:
Loyalty cards are a really good plan for saving money in everyday errands. In large chain stores, they usually accumulate points that can then be exchanged for gifts, or they can allow us to accumulate euros that can be used to pay less later.
In smaller shops, for example at the hairdresser’s downstairs, loyalty cards can accumulate one or more buffers during each expenditure, once the loyalty card is filled can obtain a service or a product for free.
The problem with loyalty cards … is that there are too many. A large part of the shops offers us their loyalty card once we pass the checkout and by force, we ended up losing some, or they start to really take up a lot of space in the wallet. To remedy this problem, know that now there are applications, such as Fidall or FidMe, that will allow you to store and collect all your loyalty cards on your smartphone.