Easy Ways to Save Money on All Your Purchases
There are times when you don’t want to wait for a birthday gift, earned rewards, or sale offer in order to get a discount. Fortunately, you don’t have to wait! There are multiple ways to find discounts if you know where to look.
Tips to Help You Hold on to Your Money
Keep more of your money in your wallet by following these tips and tricks to save big on your everyday purchases.
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Clever Ways to Save Money on Purchases
Here are 6 creative ways that you can save money on most of your everyday purchases. Learn more below about these smart money-saving strategies!
Buy Discounted Gift Cards
There are many times when someone would prefer to trade their gift cards for some cold, hard cash. Fortunately, this means that there are opportunities where you can buy these great gift cards for a discount of 10% or more!
Everyday Saving with Discounted Gift Cards
The following websites are marketplaces for unused gift cards. They include a wide variety of stores, and have a selection of both physical gift cards that are mailed and electronic gift cards that you can use right away.
- Card Cash: 45 day guarantee on purchases
- Card Cookie: 100 day guarantee on purchases
- Cardpool: 1 year guarantee on purchases
- Gift Card Bin: 3 week guarantee on purchases plus FREE SHIPPING and NO TAX
- Gift Card Granny
- GiftCards.com
- Raise.com: 1 year guarantee on purchases
- Retail Me Not (Gift Card Zen is now a part of this site)
The next time you plan to make a purchase at a large store, check to see if you can save with a discounted gift card. There are hundreds of stores and restaurants to choose from including Lowe’s, Sephora, Target, Ulta Beauty, AMC Theatres, Kohl’s, Office Max, Tiffany & Co, and 100’s more! Note that you should always check the terms of each offer and make sure that you’ll be able to get your money’s worth!
PRO-TIP: You can also sell any of your unwanted gift cards on these sites!
Buy Coupons
Did you know that you can buy valuable coupons? These opportunities show up when certain groups receive valuable coupons that they are not planning to use. For example, Lowe’s and Home Depot often send coupons to people right after they move to a new address. As not everyone needs these coupons, they can end up on resale sites where they can be purchased for a small amount. If you are planning a big purchase, a 10% discount can easily be worth over $100, and very much worth the extra step of purchasing a coupon.
Try these sites to find coupons for sale:
Some of the coupons can be used immediatly online, while others you will have to receive in the mail. Make sure to understand what you are purchasing to avoid any unpleasant surprises!
Use Rebate Websites to Earn Cash Back
There are some websites that will reward you in the form of cash back on your purchases. Each of these sites uses it’s own system that you will need to learn to navigate, but if you find one that you like, you can potentially earn a good amount of cash back!
- BeFrugal.com get a $10 sign up bonus
- Discover Card (for card members) – purchase gift cards at a discounted rate for select retailers & get at LEAST a $5 bonus on each card purchased!
- bonus offer for new card holders via link (exp 12/31/19): earn a $50 statement credit after first purchase within 3 months
- ExtraBux.com $20 sign up bonus
- MrRebates.com $5 bonus with first purchase
- MyPoints.com
- Rakuten (formerly ebates) $10 reward with first purchase
- ShopAtHome.com
- SwagBucks.com
- UPromise.com earn money for college
Use Store-branded Credit Cards
This method is not for everyone and should be carefully evaluated before you sign up.
Cash and Cards in Wallet
At places where you already spend a significant amount of money, signing up for a store-branded credit card can be a smart-money move — if you use it responsibly. There are strong pros & cons for these types of credit cards. Take both sides of these offers into account when deciding if they make sense for your family.
PROS
- earn points, discounts, & bonus gifts
- ongoing discounts or cash-back on all purchases
- introductory low or no-interest teaser rates
- qualifying for the card may be easier than a standard VISA / MASTERCARD and can help to build credit history
- extra perks and rewards at store may include
- free shipping
- extra days for returns
- free alterations
- returns with no receipt
- birthday gifts
CONS
- much higher than average interest rates
- low credit limits
- too many credit accounts may hurt credit scores / credit ratings
- your total spend / purchasing may be increased when discounts are offered
- limited card acceptability (often can only be used at single store)
- you are likely to comparison shop less if you are loyal to one store
If you decide that you do want to sign up for these store-brand credit cards, you can find them from most big brands. I have had a few over the years, making sure to only keep the ones that provide hefty benefits for being a card-member. Here are a few worth considering for their benefits:
- Amazon Visa Card (5% credit back on every statement)
- IHG Mastercard (annual fee, but includes automatic platinum status at hotels worldwide and a free hotel night voucher)
- Delta Air Lines American Express Card (annual fee, but includes companion ticket voucher and priority boarding)
Comparison Shopping & Price Matching
Sometimes you may enjoy the convenience, loyalty program, or return policy of a store — even when they don’t have the lowest price. In these cases, you may be able to get the lower price of the competitor’s store if your preferred store offers price matching!
Adding Up Savings
Here are 27 examples of stores who offer price matching / price adjustments for up to 30 days after you make your purchase!
- Abt offers price matching within 30 days of purchase
- Academy Sports + Outdoors will beat the lower price by 5% up to 14 days after purchase
- Advance Auto Parts matches prices of printed ads or online retailers at time of purchase
- Bed Bath & Beyond matches prices for in-stock items up to 14 days after purchase
- Bass Pro Shops / Cabela’s matches prices for identical items at time of purchase
- Best Buy matches prices at select retailers including Amazon
- Dell matches prices from select websites
- Dick’s Sporting Goods matches prices for in-stock items up to 14 days after purchase
- Dyson 30 day price match promise
- Fry’s Electronics 30 day price match promise to refund 110% of the price difference
- GNC matches prices of printed ads or online retailers at time of purchase
- Home Depot matches prices of printed ads or online retailers at time of purchase
- HP matches prices of printed ads or online retailers during return and exchange window
- JC Penney will beat the lower price by 5% up to 14 days after purchase
- Kohl’s matches prices for identical items at time of purchase
- Lord & Taylor matches prices at time of purchase and offers price adjusments on permanently marked down items for up to 7 days after purchase
- Lowe’s matches prices for in-stock items up to 30 days after purchase
- Michael’s 7 day price match promise to refund 110% of the price difference
- Nordstrom matches prices at time of purchase or will grant price adjustment on their own items for up to 14 days after purchase
- Office Depot matches prices for in-stock items up to 14 days after purchase
- PC Richard & Son matches prices for identical items up to 30 days after purchase
- PetCo matches prices for identical items at time of purchase
- PetSmart matches prices for identical items at time of purchase
- Sears matches prices for identical items at time of purchase
- Sur La Table matches prices for identical items at time of purchase
- Target matches prices for in-stock items up to 14 days after purchase
- Walmart matches prices for in-stock items from select stores
Please note that there may be exclusions to the policies listed above. Check the retailer’s website for full price-matching details.
Enjoy Benefits of Personal Status
Additionally, see other BestRewardsPrograms.com posts to learn how to enjoy even more benefits as a senior citizen, student, or member of the military.
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What do you think of these discount programs? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Well, well! I have learned a lot in the past 10 minutes from reading your post! Who knew you could sell unused gift cards? And to so many different companies? Awesome! I also never knew you could purchase coupons! WHAT!? I’m so glad I found this; we’re moving soon!
I am impressed by all the different ways one can save money – if smart! This is a very good article pointing many people in the right direction to save a few bucks here or there. It adds up over time! Thanks for your work in gathering all of this information to put in one place! I appreciate it! Cheers!
These are definitely great to know about when moving — the expenses of settling in to a new home can be a surprise so it’s great to save money on everything including gift cards!
Ooh, I love saving money.
I use Ebates for when I do my online shopping. I’ve gotten back some great rewards. I often do research on price before making a major purchase.
But I didn’t realize that so many stores had price matching or that I could save money purchases gift cards.
Thanks for the list of stores by the way.
Hi Margarette, I am glad to hear that you have found some new ways to save money on everyday items!
It is always great to be able to save money while getting all the necessary items for your home. I am currently using a store branded credit card and so far it has worked pretty good for me. I have saved quite some amounts, and in some instances, just got items for free just for being a member of the store. I also like the concept of buying discounted gift cards. Thank you for these great tips and suggestions on where to look. Every penny saved compounds to something bigger. Great article!
Hi Carol, It’s great to hear that you have also found that the store branded credit cards are great for special store perks and discounts!
Excellent article on ways to save money,first of all let me salute your writing prowess and the help you give to bless many people, achieving this by buying discounted card,buying coupons and also there are some websites that will reward you in the form of cash back on your purchases,yes you are actually right,I enjoyed your wonderful post ,I’ve gained a lot from this write-up,very helpful,thank you for sharing.
You are most welcome!
This is a really interesting post and I find it beneficial to me because I’ll be able to use it to save some pennies for myself. I’ve been purchasing commodities both online and in cash and I don’t know how to make extra discount out of what I pay, stumbling on this post has really widened my understanding and I’m very happy because I’ll be able to save for myself from all purchase I make. This is a really helpful and useful post for me, I enjoyed reading through every line. I love it and thanks for sharing.
Hi Jones, I’m happy to hear that you’ve found a few new strategies to save money on your purchases!
Awesome article. We all have times when we’re struggling, and need help. But the ideas you list are for any time, and I appreciate that. You provide so much help, and so much detail. Thank you for your research and your ideas. I really appreciate the listing of retailers that match or adjust pricing with 30 days of your purchase. I realized some companies did it, but had no idea it was so many.
Hi Wayne, It is definitely helpful to understand which companies will help you to save money — it’s even better that a few will go the extra mile and save you money even after you make a purchase!
Like many other commenters here, I didn’t realise it was possible to buy discounted gift card but I suppose it makes sense when you think about it. Thank you for taking the trouble to find all this information and put it in the public domain so we all have the chance to benefit from it. There are loads of other sites on this page that I didn’t know about – great work!
Wonderful — I’m happy that you found some new money saving ideas!
I have a temporary job I’m doing currently, and I’m concerned about stocking up as much good as possible because I don’t how long the job will last.I really wanted to save money, but I could not. I hadn’t known about many of these! Awesome rundown I found your tips really helpful and I think now I will be able to save some money.
Thanks for your amazing article.
Thanks so much, I glad you’ve found a few new ideas that can help!