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Let’s talk about ways to save money…because we never seem to have enough of it, and our kids are constantly wanting new toys, Roblox Robux, FortNite VBucks, Hot Wheels, clothes and shoes. Who can blame them, right? We took away their social calendar the past year. But with all of us being at home, my husband included, means that our grocery bill is considerably bigger since we are eating at home for Every. Single. Meal.
So I want to help others out by showing you some tips and tricks I have learned in the past several years. Not just because of COVID, but because I shop online. A lot. Like, a ridiculous amount. It’s just easier, especially having a chronic illness that prevents me from having tons of energy to actually go out and walk the aisles of Target and the grocery store every week. (Although I would love to, don’t get me wrong!)
Online shopping is just easy to see your total price, tax, shipping cost (if any), and those sneaky little discount codes. So here are 5 ways I save money by shopping online.
*Please note, some of these are affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I may receive a small commission at no cost to you. This helps me support the blog and allows me to continue to make free content. I only recommend products I use and love. Thank you for your support!
Tip #1 – Rakuten
I LOVE Rakuten (formerly ebates). This site is super easy to use and once you set it on your browser extension, you don’t need to do anything. Say you are on Old Navy’s website. Once the site loads, the Rakuten extension will drop down a message and tell you how much you could save with this shopping trip. You simply click. And it reroutes you back to Old Navy’s site with their tracking info on it so that when you check out, it’s in their system. And almost instantly, after you purchase, you will see your cashback amount in your Rakuten account. And they send you a check in the mail quarterly! How easy is that?
How easy is that? I don’t want to show you my personal account for security reasons, but I have saved $890 so far. And the higher the percentage of cash back, obviously the more you will get back in your pocket. Stores will fluctuate their cash back rates so keep an eye on that. I have seen Old Navy’s go up to 10% !
Tip #2 – Honey
Honey is another browser extension you add and upon checkout, it will automatically search for coupon codes to use and find you the best one. The more you save, the more “Honey Gold” you will collect. Once you have enough “Gold”, you can redeem it to get gift cards to retailers that is just like cash back in your pocket.
So I currently have 4,000 Gold, which could be $40 to redeem at Walmart, Target, and so many more retailers. Not bad, huh?
The only caveat is that you CAN NOT use Rakuten AND Honey in the same shopping trip. It’s either one or the other. So I sometimes will open my cart in both and see which one will save me the most money and go with that one. Every penny counts, right?
Tip #3 – Fetch Rewards app
Fetch is a new app I have been using since last year. I don’t remember how I stumbled upon it, but after looking it up and reading the reviews, I was excited to try it. It is kind of like Ibotta but way easier in my opinion.
The biggest challenge I face when using this app is actually remembering to scan my receipts. It gives you the most money back for your grocery receipts, but even fast food will give you some points back too. The platform is super user-friendly and fast when uploading your receipts. And if it can’t read your receipt for some reason, you can manually submit the information to still get your points.
Tip #4 – Hotels.com
I have been a die hard user of Hotels.com for years now. We have racked up enough nights that we have gotten countless for free in return. If you stay 10 nights (through their app), you can redeem 1 night for free through their rewards program! Every vacation we take, we do it through Hotels.com AND Rakuten (you CAN use these two simultaneously, and keep an eye out for when Rakuten has 10% cash back or more, because that will save you SO MUCH.
The best part is that they offer 100% free cancellation, AND you can either pay at the time of booking, or at the time of your checkout. When COVID hit, we ended up cancelling our beach vacation, and customer service was super accommodating. They refunded our money by the next business day. I can’t say anything bad about Hotels.com. I do hope you try it for your next vacation and don’t forget to use Rakuten too to save you even more money.
Tip #5 – Grocery Store Digital Coupons
I am willing to be that most all major grocery store chains have an app where you can load digital coupons onto your account and when you checkout, you simply put your phone number in, or an account number, and these coupons will automatically be applied to your total purchase.
We shop at Kroger, and their app is so user-friendly. They add coupons weekly, and if you are adding to your cart, you can then see what products apply to that specific coupon. We have been doing grocery pick up for several years now, especially with COVID, so we can see exactly what we are saving money on while we are building our cart. The more you save, the more rewards you get, and they have a relationship with Shell Gas stations where you can get money off per gallon the next time you fill up! We have saved so much that, one time, we saved $.90/gallon. I think it was like $7 to fill up my mom mobile.
I don’t know if other major grocery store chains do this, but it’s worth checkout out. Every bit helps and you will start to see the savings add up. The Kroger app will add all your yearly savings so you can see exactly how much you save with their coupons. I highly recommend looking into your local grocery store’s app for digital coupons if you haven’t already.
So, there ya have it! Five super easy ways to save money for you and the family. Your checking account will thank you if you just apply even one of these tips. You will feel so proud and will want to brag to your husband about all the money you’re saving for the family. If I don’t save money somehow on any purchase, I will wait until there is a sale or discount code. Don’t pay full price when there are so many tools out there like these for you to use!
Cheers,
Jackie
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