Nov

Yesterday I started writing about my favorite websites for saving money and explained my favorite ways to compare prices online. Today I’ll talk about websites that help you get discounts.

Discounts

If you are going to make a purchase online, you can often find a discount code for free shipping, 10% off, or whatever. I don’t make a lot of online purchases, but I have seen that there are many websites providing lists of discount codes. Try Retail Me Not or another similar site and search for a discount code before you make your next purchase online.

“But,” you say, “I don’t do much online shopping.” That’s ok. There are still ways that you can use the internet to save money on your “regular” shopping.

On restaurant.com, you can buy restaurant gift certificates at a discount. We’ve purchased and used these certificates several times with no problems. Their regular prices are pretty good, and when they have a sale, you can get some great deals. Eating out is definitely more expensive than eating at home, but getting a discount will help.

Many retail stores offer e-mail newsletters containing special coupons. If you shop regularly at the same stores, look on their website to see if you will get any discounts by signing up for their newsletters. When I recently started making craft items, I signed up for newsletters from Michaels and Hobby Lobby. So far the Hobby Lobby coupons aren’t very impressive, but I have gotten good coupons from Michaels almost every week since I signed up.

Some people use coupons to save money on their groceries. I used to think that couponing wasn’t worth it, because it was too complicated. Just recently, I found several websites that make saving money with coupons lots easier.

The Grocery Game: For a small fee, you get weekly access to a list of deals at your local grocery store. Their database tracks prices and tells you when your coupons correspond to the best sales. You can print manufacturers’ coupons from this website (and find discount codes). I currently subscribe to the Bi-Lo list from the Grocery Game. You can try Grocery Game for one month for only $1.

Coupon Mom: Coupon Mom is similar to Grocery Game, but the advantage to Coupon Mom is that it’s free. The disadvantage is that it tells you the sales, but won’t necessary track the absolute best time to buy. You can also print manufacturers’ coupons from this website (and find discount codes). I use Coupon Mom to keep track of the Wal-Mart, CVS, and Walgreens deals.

Money Saving Mom: Crystal Paine blogs about how her family saves money, and gives lots of links to help you save, too. I’ve been reading her blog for several months, and gotten lots of great ideas. She often includes a list of the best deals from Walgreens, CVS, etc.

Saving in Greenville: This blog is similar to Money Saving Mom, but is located in Greenville, SC, where I live. It has a lot of overlap with other blogs that I read, but occasionally a good local deal that I wouldn’t otherwise know about.

I’m sure there are many other helpful sites out there (which you’re welcome to share in the comments), but these are the ones I’ve actually used. In my next post, I’ll talk about websites that can help you save by buying used.

Oct

Like the rest of us, you are probably looking for ways to save money right now. The internet offers lots of resources, but let’s face it–not every “money-saving” website actually helps you save money. So today I thought I would make a list of money-saving websites that I have actually used (and found helpful).

Comparison Shopping

Comparison shopping involves finding prices for the same (or similar) items at multiple stores and it is an important first step to saving money online. The internet has made this much easier, since you can find prices from lots of places without leaving your desk. This step is important because you won’t know when you’re getting a good deal unless you know what your options are. Why should you pay $129 when you could have the exact same item for $119?

If I want a particular item, I usually start by doing a Google search for it. Once there, I like to use the Google shopping tab to compare prices. There are other sites specifically devoted to price comparison, but I usually pick whichever one is conveniently located at the top of my Google search. This is one time when I actually follow the Google ads.

eBay is a great place to comparison shop. I especially like to look at completed listings so that I can see how much items actually sold for. When I’m looking for a book, I almost always check Amazon (which also has reviews).

Don’t forget the regular retailers! Most of them have websites, and those websites provide lots of great information. I would look at Walmart, Staples, Home Depot, or other similar websites to get ideas before making a major purchase. Even if you prefer to buy from a store (not online) you can gather information, models numbers, and prices before you encounter a salesperson.

What are you looking for in this all this searching? Prices, of course, but also make and model information, colors, features, and customer reviews. Saving money could mean getting an item for a better price, getting another item that works better for you, or getting a better model for the same price.

More to Come

I originally intended to write about comparison shopping, discounts, buying used, and not buying all in this post, but it was just too long. So I decided to make this a series, and I will write about discounts tomorrow. In the mean time, what are your favorite places to comparison shop? I would love to hear how you find the best prices.