If you find yourself frequently ordering things online, there’s a chance you’re missing out on an opportunity to save yourself hundreds. Living on a budget isn’t easy, and you’re often forced to go without the things that you want, but there are ways you can save yourself a lot of money if you know what you should look out for. The first thing you should know is, when it comes to saving yourself a lot of money, you have to be prepared to put in some tedious work. Nothing comes for free, but with some extra time and effort, you’ll find that those savings you’re making will soon add up.
Make a plan
In life, it’s generally best to make a plan for most things, but in this case, planning what you buy can save you quite a bit. Knowing what you’re going to need now and later on means that you’re going to be able to divide up your money accurately, and you can take advantage of sales when they happen. For example, you know you’re going to need toilet roll tomorrow, and the day after, and the week after – so buying a lot of it when it’s cheaper can only save you money in the long run! You can’t plan everything you need to buy, of course, and some things will only last short-term, but even if you can only plan a few things that you’ll need, you can still save a little here and there!
Sign up for product news
When you order things from a website, you’ll often have the option to sign up for newsletters and sales going on on their site. A lot of the time this can be annoying spam if you need your email for other purposes, so it doesn’t hurt to make a second email that you use for shopping. Sign yourself up for as many sites as you need, and you’ll find that you can save on many of your purchases. This is where it helps to know what you’re going to need later on, as you can make use of the sales as they come. Sometimes sales can completely cut the prices in half, or even greater, so don’t miss out on them!
Online sales
You’d be surprised at how many things you can buy online that will actually be cheaper than in-store. The chances are, if you can buy it from a store, you can find it cheaper online. Need to order a new vacuum? There’s likely a sale! Looking to renovate your house? There’s a clearance on engineered wood flooring! No matter what it is you need, it’s going to be on sale in an online store at some point, so keep an eye out! If you can’t find sales in the stores that you’re familiar with, try checking out different ones.
Double-check unfamiliar sites
One of the main problems with shopping online is the legitimacy of some of the stores that you find there. It’s not like when you actually go to a shop, and you can confirm that the product exists and you’re able to leave the store with it. Sometimes when you go to an online store, the whole business might be fake, only there to take your money – but that can be easily avoided! It’s not always easy to tell if something is fake by looking at it, and sometimes it’s best to ask around people that you know or check out a review website to see if anyone has said anything about it. A lot of fake sites will have people complaining and warning others that the site isn’t legitimate, as they never received their items.
Use coupon extensions/sites
There are extensions that you can get for your web browser that try to find and apply coupon codes for you, meaning that you don’t have to ever miss out on a discount. Even if you only save 1% on this order, making that kind of saving often will soon add up to something more, and you don’t have to pay for those extensions! Honey is a free extension that does just that, so there’s no point in ignoring it, else you’re potentially throwing away money! Without tools like these, it would be impossible to keep track of all those coupon codes, especially if you never had one of your own in the first place.
Buy in bulk
Like before, knowing what you’re going to need is important when it comes to saving money, as buying in bulk can sometimes save you a fraction of the price. Retailers or suppliers will often discount bulk buys, meaning that buying a smaller amount at a time will at some point cost more overall. Plan ahead and figure out what you should be stocking up on, you’ll be freeing up your wallet later on!
Make use of shop credit
There are many sites online that reward customers for their loyalty, and often will give out credit to use in their store when you purchase from them. You should keep a note of where you have money here and there, as not to waste it – think of it as your own money, and remember to make use of it when you need it! If you aren’t being rewarded for your loyalty from the sites you frequently buy from, have you checked if there are others? You could be saving quite a large amount with that credit!
Patient for postage
If you know what you need in advance, then you’re more likely going to be able to save money on postage. It can be a nightmare to order things when you need them as soon as possible, as postage fees can be expensive if you opt-in for the quickest one. Don’t let yourself get caught out, and be patient with your postage!
Make use of subscriptions
Sites like Amazon have subscriptions that could actually save you money in the long run, while offering you other perks to go with it. Amazon prime offers free and fast postage on many products that you can buy from the site, and a whole range of different services to go with it! If you know you can make a good amount of use out of a service, then it pays for itself in the end, meaning that you’re not really losing anything by investing in a subscription. Some people rely on Amazon for many of the things they buy, so prime is almost essential in that case!
Social media savings groups
If you’re active on social media, it might be a good idea for you to look for groups that post about different savings on the things you’re interested in. Twitter and Facebook have many different groups where people post updates on things you can save money on, making it much easier for you to spot sales when they’re up – without that much effort either! You won’t always find what you’re looking for with these things, but they can be a great help here and there, as you won’t always know about sales from sites you don’t frequently visit!
Used products
With online shopping being so popular these days, online selling has become very popular too, leading to a lot of pre-owned products on the market! Often the idea of owning something that someone else has owned can be off-putting for some, as it might be broken or unusable now, but that’s not always the case! Buying used products opens up the opportunity to make huge savings on the items that you buy, be it clothes, electronics, or others! Sites like Amazon and eBay are great ways to find cheaper, used alternatives to products that you can buy straight from a store, and the chances are the price will be significantly lower!
Just like being careful with fake sites, it’s important that you make sure you do the same when you’re buying used items. Sites like Amazon have protection for it, but for others, you might have to be more cautious, as you can’t always guarantee you’re buying from a legitimate seller. A lot of sites that allow for people to resell their items, will likely have a review system where people will talk about their experience with that seller, or leave a rating – which is often a good tell!
If you spend a lot of your time buying things online, then you’re likely going to be able to make use out of a lot of these savings methods. Looking for ways to save money is something that everyone should be looking to do, budget or not, even if it’s just a little money every now and then! It does take a little extra time to do it sometimes, but with the amount you can save by taking advantage of special promotions and discounts, you’ll find that it’s well worth that effort.
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