Sunday, January 16, 2011

Cheapskate

I love shopping. I love hunting for treasures at thrift stores, scoring a great clearance deal and I have to say, I'm a pretty good gift giver.

But what really sustains my little consumerist heart is online shopping. I am writing out a list of the sites that I use to save money while online shopping. Hopefully it helps you out with your addiction also or at least saves you a few bucks. I'm a member or have used everyone of these. The ones with stars I get referral points for if you sign up, but if you don't feel comfortable with that, please don't let that stop you from trying it out. And if you do decide to use the site through my referral link, gracias! Mama needs some new shoes (not really, Momma actually needs to pay for textbooks and
her student loans but you know.)

I'm slightly addicted to this site and check this jam everyday. It's a big forum of people who post deals and sales for everything.

This saved my butt this Christmas! They have free trial options for moms and students- I just got a year gratis for being in college. At least my suffering is for something!

*Ebates and *ShopAtHome
Cash-back sites. Click through the links on these sites before you shop and they give you a percentage back on your purchase. You can find like everything on here too, not just clothing sites. I just got cash back from my flight to Florida and the photos I ordered from Snapfish. I mean, look you're not going to pay the rent with what you get back but why NOT recoup some of the money you're spending? I've gotten checks from both so I can personally attest to the fact that they don't scam you.


*Groupon
Surely you've heard of this by now? They post a daily deal (or two) every day for an area near you. They have everything. Seriously, speed dating, dentists, clothing stores, photographers, bikini waxes... Two of these may or may not be ones I've purchased by the way.


*No More Rack
Pros: They post awesome deals every day. Clothing, makeup, jewelry, shoes... Cons: I suck at remembering to check at noon everyday and usually miss out on stuff I want!


*Swagbucks 
I love this site. You win Swagbucks (basically points) for searches you make and then can redeem those for gift cards or merchandise. I installed the search bar (I have Firefox so it goes in the corner with all the other search bar options and doesn't make my browser look clunky and cheesy) and run my typical searches through it. I almost always find the same things I would on Google and I seriously bought like 90% of my Christmas Amazon purchases with gift cards I bought with Swagbucks.

Hip 2 Save
I love this site! Collin finds great deals and posts weekly updates on the coupon matches for drugstores and Target.


Mint.com
I know it sounds like I spend my day on my computer throwing virtual cash around but I actually have a strict budget. I was always too lazy to keep up with it on paper or I would way too tempted to lie to myself, until I started using Mint. There is no hiding from my online shopping addiction now because this site lays it allllll out. It links to your bank account and automatically tracks everything you spend, your student loans, whatever else is going on with your wallet (though you have to put in cash yourself- it's not THAT omnipotent) and puts it in nice little pie or bar graphs, itemized lists and a lot of other technical things that make me feel official.

It also yells at you via e-mail or angry red letters when you start getting to out of hand, which I can appreciate. Sometimes I need a firm hand and Mint is there to give it to me. (Is it just me or was that kind of dirty?)


Anyway, if you are in need of a budget revamp or want to plan to save for a big vacation or even your retirement Mint is a nice little angel on your shoulder to help get on track. And if it makes you feel icky to have it linked to your bank account I can tell you that I've personally used it for almost a year now and have never had a problem or felt weird.

*Offermatic
My new obsession. This uses the same technology as Mint to link to your credit card or debit card and then sends you money saving offers based on what you normally spend your money on. For example, they caught on to my Kohl's fascination (They have the BEST SALES) and sent me an offer for $5 on my next purchase over $30. Again this isn't like a huge change your life savings but I was going to shop there anyway (Seriously- their clothes are cute and SO CHEAP) so it was a nice little bonus. This takes no extra effort on your part- they just send you an e-mail when you have a new offer and you decide if you want to activate it or not. No harm no foul, maybe save a few bucks.


Let me know if you've ever used any of these or have any tricks I've missed!




Search & Win

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