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My friend Faith is such a whiz-kid when it comes to finding deals and saving money that I am doing several interviews with her and I’ll be posting articles on several aspects of saving money while shopping.
Today’s topic is ONLINE SHOPPING!
Me: What sites do you like to shop at when there is a specific item you want to purchase?
Faith: Well, I tend to Google an item I would like to purchase, if it is specific. Then I usually go to Amazon.com. I compare prices so I can get a feel for what it’s selling for. Then I look for ways to get shipping for free or % off, or other discounts on the item.
Me: What are the ways to get the free or % off shipping?
Faith: I find coupon codes on retailmenot.com for % off or free shipping. Coupon codes are the best way to get free shipping. Most sites have a certain amount you must buy to get free shipping, and often I don’t meet this amount. so I look for free shipping first. If that’s not available then I factor that into the total cost of the item when I am shopping.
Me: How long would you say this process takes when you are shopping for, say, food items?
Faith: Well, I check the Amazon sales, specifically, once a week.
Me: What? Wait. Amazon has sales? (I’m such a shopping dunce.)
Faith: I go to the grocery section and click on the sales and specials tab. Then I scroll through the items and keep my eyes peeled for high % discounts, like 50%. I also keep in mind that I can get an additional 15% off Amazon grocery items when I select “subscribe and save” on my check out. I can always unsubscribe after my first shipment.
Me: Subscribe to what? (See? Shopping is not my super-power.)
Faith: ”Subscribe and Save” is a service that some items are eligible for. It means that you can order a food item to be shipped at regular intervals. When you have your item shipped by the “Subscribe and Save” service it takes an additional 15% off the item. And there is no penalty for unsubscribing right away.
Me: Ok, so when you are doing this, scanning at Amazon, are you looking for specific items or just deals?
Faith: I have specific things I look for, Kashi products. And I also am looking in general for good deals.
Another good place to look for good deals when shopping online is slickdeals.net. The first page will have a lot of current hot deals. this is a resource for any item under the sun that you could be looking for.
It’s basically a place where people gather to shop together. So you have thousands of minds shopping together and looking for and sharing deals. They even have forums for food shopping. Anything you want!
Me: Why would you wanna look at a forum for food shopping?
Faith: Well, if you want to know what your grocery store has on special that week without having to sort through the flyer reading about regularly priced items, this would be a huge time saver. They only put the really great deals on there. They weed out the junk and tell you if there are coupons available.
Me: Ok, I’m starting to see the benefit of that. Alright, now, back to deal shopping in general, do you usually have to buy stuff by the case lot or in large quantities to get the good deals?
Faith: No, not usually. Sometimes Amazon deals are that way.
Me: Ok, so is it worth looking for stuff like diapers or canned goods this way?
Faith: Nah, I usually am looking for boxed organic stuff. The high end stuff that will be tons cheaper than at the grocery. The specialty items that I would not be able to afford just walking into the health food store. Kashi products, maple syrup, better coffees.
Me: Well, that’s enough to get me started. I wonder if I can find a deal on coconut oil.
Next time we’ll talk about couponing.
I have a new nickname for Faith. She’s the Coupon Whisperer. Girl can do the CVS and Wags deals in her sleep!
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Oh, my! How wonderful! When is the wedding?
Do you think I can shop for Wedding items. I am planning my daughters wedding. AHAHAHAH!
I thought everybody said that.
Okay, okay – I’m with you.
We have to be kindred spirits, or else you wouldn’t have known where to poke me to make me move. Since I do have all girls, who will probably end up doing the most of the shopping, it wil be beneficial for them to know how to do it to the best of their ability. And it won’t hurt our budget either.
Alright – I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.
Oh, and for the record – I’m glad to know someone else uses the phrase, “I am bound and determined”.
Wow! We really are kindred spirits, Becky! It seems to me that Faith just walks out of her house and gift cards fall from the sky right on her! She just told me today how she got 20 lbs of chicken for free!
I’m with ya on the saving time thing, but, considering the economy and the uncertainty of the next few months, years, ok forever, we owe it to our children to learn to do this. And teach it to our kids as a way of life. To shop the deals. To take the time to learn the coupon thing. To take the time to go to the stores that have the deals.
I am a huge shopping clutz! But I am bound and determined to learn this!
Oh, and Wags = Walgreen’s. Wags deals are how you work the system using coupons and register rewards (that the store gives you when you make a qualifying purchase) to end up taking home merchandise with just a tiny cost to you and sometimes it works out that stuff is free.
Soo much to learn. But the best advice for now is go to Money Saving Mom and read about how to do the Walgreen’s and CVS deals, and start buying the Sunday paper and saving the coupon inserts.
Okay, I’m a shopping dummy too. Wag deals? And you can grocery shop on Amazon? I think the only thing I’ve ever bought there is a book or two. Of course, I personally think shopping is a necessary evil, so I’ll pay more just to get it done. Not the best thing for a budget, but I try to reason it out by saying that I’m saving tons of time – a much rarer commodity. Perhaps I should look into this more – wait, I feel an anxiety attack coming on, maybe I’ll wait ’til you finish your posts on shopping. I’ll be working on my courage in the mean time.