How to Save Money When Shopping Online
Stop paying full price and start saving money! Keep reading to learn all of our insider tricks to save money shopping online! Sponsored by Capital One Shopping.
The holiday season is just around the corner, so my husband and I have already started shopping for gifts. We usually do quite a bit of our shopping online, but this year we will probably do almost all of it online!
With a big family to shop for at Christmas, I’m always on the lookout for deals. Over the years I’ve figured out a few tricks to avoid paying full price!
8 Ways to Save Money Shopping Online
These are our tried and tested ways to save money online and save money on Christmas gifts. You may even be able to combine some of these tricks for bigger savings!
1. Set a Budget Before You Shop
Before you start shopping, it’s important to set a budget that you can afford. Spending more than expected is stressful — and it’s also unnecessary if you know the tricks to save money online shopping!
A budget also allows you to tell whether you spent less than expected (yay!) or got more items for the price you planned (yay again!)
2. Know the Sale Schedule
Stores will often markdown items on a specific day of the week, every week. If you know your store’s schedule, you’ll know when to be on the lookout for the best deals!
A little bit of research or making friends with a store clerk can get you all the info you need to know about when to shop!
3. Phone a Friend
While I was setting up our homeschool room over the summer, I bought a sturdy wood activity table for the girls.
Normally, I never buy anything without a coupon code, but this time I did. I searched and searched but could not find one! So I went ahead and bought the table.
I could not believe it when a day later I saw a friend post on social media asking if anyone had a coupon code for that same store! And someone did!
Why didn’t I think of that?!
Many stores will send exclusive coupons to frequent shoppers or email subscribers. These coupons are not always available to the public, which is why I couldn’t find one at that time.
If you’re planning on making a big purchase, it can’t hurt to ask friends and family if they have any unused coupons. You never know who might have a hot deal just sitting in their inbox!
Speaking of coupon codes…
4. Use Capital One Shopping to Find the Best Available Deals
I always joke to my husband that I never buy something if I can’t find a coupon code for it first — no matter how long it takes me to find them!
Yes, searching for discount codes “the old way” took me a long time. It involved checking countless coupon websites and applying code after code to see which ones actually work.
I’m so glad I found out about Capital One Shopping because it does ALL of that work for me…in seconds! Even my husband was impressed, and he is known as a tough critic.
Instead of me physically combing through website after website searching for codes, the Capital One Shopping browser add-on does it FOR me! Not only that, but Capital One Shopping tests those codes and applies the one that saves me the most money!
I don’t even have to remember to ask or click a button first…Capital One Shopping does everything instantly!
Here’s how it works:
- Go to CapitalOneShopping.com and add the browser extension.
- Shop!
- Enjoy the best available coupon codes added directly to your shopping cart before you checkout.
What’s the Catch?
There’s no catch! Unlike many of the coupon sites I’ve tried, with Capital One Shopping there are no ads and nothing to slow down your shopping experience. It’s not just easy, it’s effortless!
When you click “checkout” on one of thousands of sites, Capital One Shopping instantly searches the web for available coupons and applies the best one! Over time, you can earn Capital One Shopping Credits at participating retailers that can be redeemed for gift cards (more savings!!)
Even better, Capital One Shopping will let you know if another retailer has the item(s) you’re buying on Amazon, Target, and Best Buy at a lower price. Which brings us to the next point…
5. Price Match
Let’s say you’re buying multiple items from Target when Capital One Shopping alerts you that one of those items is available cheaper at another store. However, it doesn’t necessarily make sense to do a whole separate purchase for one item — especially if you have to pay shipping on two orders!
Believe it or not, many stores will price match online purchases, just like you would do in-store. Simply request a price match through their customer service phone number or online chat. It can’t hurt to ask!
6. Leave Items in Your Cart
That’s right — don’t buy them! If you think that the price you’re seeing is not the best price you could get, try putting items in your shopping cart without checking out.
Many times the store will follow up with an email asking if you “forgot” about your shopping cart. Those emails might contain discount codes as an extra incentive to get you to complete your purchase!
7. BOPIC
Want to skip shipping costs? I’ve got five words for you: buy online, pickup in store. Many stores even have curbside pickup options that are easy and contact free!
8. Plan Ahead
Waiting until the last minute is the easiest way to get stuck paying more than you hoped. When you’re rushed for time, you’re more likely to make impulse buys or miss sales that happened earlier.
My husband and I start looking for Christmas gifts as early as summer. When we see something that we know is perfect for a loved one, we go ahead and grab it and hide it until the holiday season.
My aunties actually do one better — they do all of their Christmas shopping the week after Christmas! Yep, they buy their gifts a whole year ahead and save a ton of money shopping after-Christmas sales!
The sooner you start planning, the more money you can save!
Speaking of getting started, click here to get the Capital One Shopping add-on and start saving money shopping online right away!
Do you have any other tips to save money when shopping online or Christmas money saving ideas? I’d love to hear them in the comments!
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Hi Stacey,
I really liked the post, it’s full of really good tips!
One more tip I’d like to share, although for the tech-savvy, it can sometimes find deep discounts.
Many larger websites these days have dynamic pricing that is sometimes based on location. When shopping you can open a new tab in “incognito” mode and see if you can find a better price when the website cannot track who you are. If you see no difference that you can turn on a VPN (if you have one) and connect through a server that is located in a city where the average income is lower than the city where you are located. Some retailers will offer better prices based on your location.