3 Incredible Secrets To Saving Money When You Shop

You know you have to shop, even on a budget, you have to purchase at the minimum the basic necessities and then there are the holidays and birthdays to consider. Whether you are sticking to a strict money saving budget or enjoy a little retail therapy there is no reason to spend more than necessary to take home those items.

We all wish we could write own sales deals when we need them and finally there are three great ways to create a sale for yourself whenever you need one for your shopping.

You shopped and found a good deal on a big purchase or maybe you grabbed items that you needed but then you get that awful feeling when you open the weekly ads and there is that item, or items, on sale for less than you just paid a few days ago. I know it can make you feel a little sick, and maybe a lot frustrated, but you no longer need to worry about that situation.

Thanks to www.paribus.com you can set up your email account for free, or download the app, and this great company will monitor your email receipts for purchases and watch for price drops from tons of retailers. If an item you purchased goes on sale for less the Paribus program will automatically request a rebate for the price difference. You don't have to do a thing it's all handled.

Amazon updated their rebate rules and only offers a price rebate on televisions purchased within 30 days of the price drop but this can be a big rebate if you are shopping for a television. However, Paribus works with many other retailers such as :

• Staples
• Walmart
• Target
• Old Navy
• Gap
• Zappos
• Kohl’s
• Nordstrom
• Best Buy
• and many more!

I personally love that it is all automated and the rebates are processed directly to me through a gift card or store credit or as a refund amount to the original payment method. Paribus makes its money by charging you a 25% "finders" fee so you will get a statement at the end of the month for this fee. I don't mind this since you only owe them if they get money back for you so there is no risk. When you sign up your first rebate is fee free and they usually run a deal for referrals and when your friends and family use the service you get reduced fees for your own rebates.

A tip here is to make sure you set up an account for each email in the family so you don't miss out on any rebate opportunities. So there you have secret number one for savings on autopilot!

If you are a coupon person you know that clipping coupons and loading them to a loyalty card are a great way to save but many products also have rebates available that you can receive. There is a great website and App that can get you instant rebates for items you already buy, including alcohol! I don't know about you but finding coupons for beer, wine and spirits isn't so easy but not so with this next secret weapon.

The company is name Ibotta and when you sign up for free they let you shop or rebates based on your favorite stores and when you choose the rebate and then go shopping. If you have a loyalty card you can link that and the rebate gets processed automatically. If there is not a loyalty card, like Walmart, simply upload a scan of the receipt and the rebate will get processed.

After the rebate is processed, usually within 24 hours, you will be able to get cash as a PayPal transfer to redeem for a gift card to use. When you first signup and redeem your first rebate they will also reward you with a $10 bonus!

After you sign up you will receive a friend link to share and for every friend or family member who joins and redeems a rebate you will get an extra $5. If you are feeling friendly you can join with my friend referral code which is https://ibotta.com/r/oijekxq

You can get a nice rebate on many items even up to $4-5 an item for wine and spirits but everything you get back is a nice savings the way I see it since it is for items I was going to buy anyway. There you have secret money back number two.

This last secret is really a powerful idea that can save you a lot of money when used correctly. You need to become very best friends with www.raise.com and don't shop without visiting here first. This is a website that sells gift cards (don't sell your gift cards you are better off on Ebay for that) but to purchase gift cards this site is really amazing.

How about an automatic 7% savings at Kroger, 20% or more for Kohl's and even some card up to 30% or more off. The process is easy you visit the website and shop for the store you need and purchase the gift card, or cards, in the amount necessary and pay the discounted price. For example you purchase a $100 face value gift card for Kroger but because it has a discount price of 7% you only pay $93 for the card. The beauty of this is plan is that when you use the card you get the full $100 to spend at Kroger giving yourself that 7% discount.

Gift cards are like cash at the stores, meaning you can use store sale prices, discounts, loyalty programs and coupons before you pay the balance with your gift card. You can also use multiple cards to pay the balance as well.

A few tips to maximize this site:

1. Set up notifications for the store and discount % you want and you will receive an email when it becomes available.

2. Best days to buy are Mondays and Fridays as they have the best selection and availability.

3. Use many store brand gift cards to purchase other gift cards creating a discount for those cards at a higher discount than buying it directly. This works best in grocery stores and Walmart and Target. I like to use this to purchase gas cards which are usually difficult find at a discount.

4. Purchase your gift cards with a rewards credit card and not only get discounted cards but the extra cash back or airline miles as well!

5. Use the app and set up your electronic wallet so the gift cards are easily accessible and the balances easy to find.

There you go, secret number three to savings. You can easily save yourself 20% off every time you eat out and routinely get 3-7% off everyday purchases and then there are crazy great deals for clothing and specialty stores.

If you plan ahead a little and employ these three "secrets" you can create a really nice savings routine for yourself on almost everything you buy everyday. Hope these are helpful and you find yourself some great savings!