How I Use the Web to Save Big
Friday, March 26, 2010
For those of you scanning the net for the best deals, Mashable put together a list of 6 Easy Ways to Score the Best Deals with Social Media. Among their tips, they recommend becoming a fan of specific facebook pages for secret discounts, searching smart, utilize community buying, tapping into geo location tools, sharing the wealth and going where your fellow savers go. Visit their story to see the breakdown and specifics, but if you’re interested in knowing where I go to find deals, here are my faves:
1. I sign up for e-newsletters for all my favorite companies. This allows me to get promos and coupons sent straight to my inbox. Most companies will offer you a coupon just for signing up. Visit my post, Score Free Food with E-clubs for a detailed list of restaurants worth signing up for.
2. I become a fan of my favorite brands and companies on facebook. Some of best pages for promos include, Ruby Tuesday, Einstein Brothers, Build a Bear, Kohl’s, Taco Bell, Toys R Us, Babies R Us, The Children’s Place, Baja Fresh, Stride Rite, Huggies, Buca Di Beppo, Bravo, and Spaghetti Warehouse.
3. While I’m not as active with twitter, there are still a lot of great deals to be found that way. Erin Gifford at CouponCravings.com has put together a great list of 15 retailers, deal forums and cash-back shopping sites to follow on Twitter. Check out her post to find out who you should be following. You can also check out Mashable’s June 2009 post 5 Ways Twitter Can Save You Money to find more ways to score on twitter. While you’re on twitter, make sure to follow The Average Parent too.
6. I also have a handful of websites and blogs that I check regularly for great deals. Here are a few of my favorites. Coupon Cravings, Saving Cents with Sense, Freebies 4 Mom, Groupon, and Brad’s Deals.
7. Last but not least, I have a few websites I use to find specific deals. Retailmenot.com is my go-to when I’m looking for a deal on a specific purchase I need to make. The site allows consumers to find and share coupon and promo codes for great discounts at thousands of online stores. Before making any purchases online, just key in the retailer’s URL to find your savings opportunities.
I also have a couple go-to sites for cashback or rewards points. ShopatHome, Bing Cashback and Ebates allow you to earn 1-30% cash back just for shopping through their sites. Membership is completely FREE and you also gain access to thousands of coupons, FREE samples and more. I use Ebates which gives you a $5 bonus just for signing up, plus $5 for every member you refer. MyPoints is similar, but instead of earning cash, they reward you with points for doing what you already do online: shopping, reading emails, playing games, searching the web, taking surveys, and more! You can then use your points to get gift cards for nearly 100 different stores and restaurants. Membership is totally FREE and you pick the rewards you want.
8. If that’s not enough. Here are a few more posts that might help you out.
Money-Management Tips from Parenting
Find FREE Grocery Coupons Online
Free (or nearly free) Things to Do
Leave a Reply