How to Save BIG Money When Shopping on the Internet!

Are you a part of the increasing population of internet shoppers? If so, you'll be glad to know that you don't have to pay full price online for anything ever again! Follow the easy steps laid out in this article to learn how to do all of your online shopping at a discount from now on!

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Internet Access
• Form of Payment for Online Purchases

1. Once you know what it is that you need to shop online for, get on the internet and find the item for the cheapest available price by searching a free comparison shopping program like bizrate.com. This will help you find an online vendor with the item you want at the cheapest rate. But wait, it gets cheaper than that!!
2. Register yourself at a couple of the free "cash back" shopping sites like ebates.com or mypoints.com. These sites will award you with a 2-8% rate cash-back or points that you trade in for giftcards just for clicking through their site to go to the store of your choice! So, lets say your search at Step 1 told you that Target has the item you want for the cheapest price. You'll log in to your mypoints.com account and click the "Shopping" tab. You will then scroll through the list of merchants and click "Target." That click through MyPoints.com to Target.com will not only take you to the place where your item is cheapest, but it will also award you with points you can later cash in for a free gift card! Now you've got your item at the cheapest rate available online and a free giftcard to boot. But wait, it gets cheaper than that, even!!!
3. Minimize the tab of which you have your shopping site open at. Now, open a new internet tab and visit a coupon code site like couponcabin.com or promocodes.com. Do a search for your store there to find any current coupon codes to enter in at checkout. This will drop your price even further!! In fact, some stores will even let you enter TWO coupon codes! (For example, you might find a code to get $20 off a $100 purchase and then a second code for free shipping!) But wait, there's still more!!!
4. Use a credit card to pay for the purchase that gives you points, cash-back, air-line miles, etc just for using it. My bank awards me with points if I use my credit/debit card as a credit-card. I can then trade those points in for gift cards. It's more common than not these days to have a card in your wallet that awards you with something for using it.
5. (Though this last step is an optional one, it can dramatically increase the amount of savings you get.)
   
   Before you place your order with any online store, give your closest friends and family a call and ask if there's anything they need from the site you're shopping at. If there is a shipping cost, you can split the shipping. (though you'll likely have found a code for free shipping.) In addition to possibly saving on shipping, you will GREATLY increase the amount of cash-back rewards you get from the cash-back site and your credit card. Also, the higher your purchase amount is, the better the coupon codes you will qualify for!

Tips & Warnings

• Bookmark your cash-back and coupon code sites before you start shopping for quick and easy access. Afterall, internet shopping is all about convinience!
• Keep a blog with the details of all your savings while online shopping - you'll be amazed to see how much you save in one year!
• Plan ahead - make a list of the things you need and find the stores offering those things cheapest first. If you know the store name ahead of time, you have more time to touch base with friends and family on if they want to go in on purchases with you. This is especially effective during the holiday shopping season! A lot of the mothers in my area also co-shop for kids birthday items/supplies/gifts, halloween costumes, fall and summer clothing, etc.
• Be sure the sites you choose to shop online with are well-known, quality sites with a history of good service.
• Make sure you're shopping for things you need and/or will use w/in the near future. Don't make purchases just because you're getting a great deal - this defeats the purpose of saving in the first place!