Josh Elledge - Chief Executive Angel
22 ways to save you should be combining all the time
As a consumer expert, and “savings guy”, over the years I've mentioned dozens of ways to save. But there are about 22 ways to save you should be combining all the time for ultimate savings. This means many times, you can stack multiple discounts. How many are you using?
When shopping goods, services, and entertainment online:
1. Retailmenot.com – discount coupons and promo codes; also have exclusive savings codes.
2. GiftcardZen.com – for discount gift cards for hundreds of businesses.
3. Ebates.com – rebates back on online purchases and exclusive promotional discount codes.
4, 5 and 6. Groupon.com, Groupon Coupons and Snap by Groupon and Livingsocial.com discounted experiences, goods, getaways and more. Both have available mobile apps. Groupon also offers coupon / promo codes, some of which are exclusive.
7. Coupons.com – for cash back offers, coupon codes, and printable grocery coupons.
8 and 9. ShopYourWay.com and Plenti.com – both are points programs for various affiliated businesses.
Combine for ultimate savings: First buy a discounted gift card. Next, activate available cash back and/or a points program. Then locate a coupon or coupon code or use points for an additional discount. Don't overlook free shipping offers. When tested, this yielded a $160 laser printer for a net of $60.44, shipped free.
When shopping goods, services, and entertainment in-store:
Along with the ways listed above…
10. Competitor's coupons, local business coupons, and radio station/tv deals – Places everywhere from your local McDonald's to Publix supermarkets to hair salons will often take a competitor's coupon to get your business. Learn the ones near you. Likewise, locate local coupon books and save coupons that come in the mail or newspaper. And finally, often radio and television stations will be in partnership with local businesses to offer deals, even up to half off.
Combine for ultimate savings: Buy a discounted gift card and combine with offers or coupons. This week, you could eat Olive Garden's famous unlimited soup, salad and breadstick lunch at 37% off!
When shopping travel:
11, 12 and 13. Priceline.com and Hotwire.com – for travel savings for hotels, airfare, car rentals and more. CruiseCompete.com for cruise deals. Also Groupon.com and Livingsocial.com.
Combine for ultimate savings: First compare between these and other discount travel sites to find your best deal. Next, buy a gift card from Giftcard Zen if available. Then, activate available cash back and/or a points program and use a coupon code if you can find one (check with sources listed above). When tested, this yielded a night's stay in a mid-range hotel for just $39.73.
When shopping groceries and household consumables:
14, 15 and 16. SmartSource and SmartSource.com, RedPlum and RedPlum.com – coupons available both as newspaper coupon inserts and as printable coupons. Coupons.com – printable online grocery coupons. Proctor & Gamble (P&G) – coupons available as newspaper coupon inserts.
17, 18 and 19. Checkout 51.com, Ibotta.com, and Savingstar.com – get rebates back on groceries and other purchases. (Regarding combining coupons with offers, each site varies: Checkout51 – you can use coupons, unless otherwise stated. Ibotta – no stated policy. Savingstar – offers are not intended to be used in conjunction with manufacturer's coupons, but can be combined with store coupons and offers.)
20. Store money-back programs – like Walgreens' Register Rewards, CVS's Extra Care Bucks, Meijer's Custom Coupons, and the nationwide Catalina program.
21. Store coupon programs – like Walgreens' savings booklet coupons, CVS's in-store kiosk coupons, Meijer's Mperks program, Publix's digital coupons, and Rite Aid's in-ad coupons.
22. Digital coupons – like Meijer's Mperks program, Publix's digital coupons, Rite Aid's load-to-card coupons, and many more retailers and grocers.
Combine for ultimate savings: First buy a discounted gift card (if available). When shopping, use a manufacturer's coupon or cash-back offer, and combine with a store coupon and/or any money-back programs. Check all available sources for coupons. If the ultimate savings combo were used this week, you could get over $24 of merchandise from CVS Pharmacy for a net of only 4 cents! (Plus tax; after using all available coupons, incentives and offers.)
