If You Are Not Doing These 5 Things You’re leaving Money on the Table
It’s important to be conscious about money and who doesn’t like to save a little when they can? You may have tried coupons, buying strictly on sale, pouring over ads or shopping several different stores for groceries. While you can save some money with these ideas, most mentioned feel like gimmicks. For example shopping sales… you go to four different stores to get what’s on sale at each and try to plan a meal menu around those items. When you have kids and pets and work there’s jut not time for that on a routine basis. However there are a few things that really do work to save you some cash and are pretty easy to do. All these things can be done pretty routinely without too much extra time or travel.
*Please note: this post contains affiliate links.*
1. Use Ebates
Ebates is a website that will pay you for shopping through them. Sound too good to be true? This is completely real! They send you a check after you shop through their link. It’s super easy to sign up and while they don’t have every store, they have a lot! Here’s how it works, you go to Ebates.com and sign up for an account (it’s super quick and they usually give you a gift card just for signing up. I got mine). Next go to their site first each time you plan to shop online. If you do a lot of shopping from your phone I recommend downloading their free app. Lastly, shop like normal and collect your check when it comes in the mail. FREE MONEY!! To get started go here!
2. Get a milage or points rewards card.
If you love free gift cards, this one is for you!Although credit cards can be risky, if you are responsible with them and don’t carry a balance you should have no problem just reaping the benefits… and some of the benefits are AWESOME! With rewards cards you can score cash back, free gift cards, free flights or hotel rooms and more depending on the card you choose. Pick the card that has benefits that work for you and your life. Check out some of our faves…
Current Promotion: 50,000 miles (one time bonus) once you spend $3,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening, equal to $500 in travel, 2 mile per dollar spent, 10 miles per dollar on hotels, use on any airline or hotel OR redeem for giftcards (1000 miles = $10), miles don’t expire as long as the account is open, $0 intro fee. One drawback to this card is it can have a huge interest rate of around 24% (depending on your credit). However if you download their app and pay your balance in full each time you use the card the interest rate shouldn’t be a problem.
Current Promotion: Get 30,000 bonus miles for signing up plus Alaska’s Companion Fare™, get a free checked bag on Alaska and Virgin America flights for you and up to six other passengers on the same reservation, 3 miles for every $1 spent directly on Alaska Airlines and Virgin America, 1 mile for every $1 spent on all other purchases, no blackout dates. One drawback is that there is a $75 annual fee, however the companion fare alone should make up for that if you use it.
** If you do choose to go with a rewards card, remember to use credit responsibly. We HIGHLY recommend never carrying a balance on your cards. The rewards will not be beneficial if you are paying 20%+ in interest on a high card balance. Spend only the money you have! **
3. Sign up for and USE airline miles. Do you ever wonder how some people can take so many vacations? It can be hard to budget for just one vacation every few years, but if you are savy and use a few tricks, multiple vacations per year can be yours too. One of the easiest secrets to more travel possibilities is taking advantage of airline points programs. It’s amazing how many people leave points and therefore money on the table by not signing up for milage rewards or never using the rewards they accrue. With rewards points I’ve been able to visit my friend who lives across the country, take multiple Disney vacations and even a honeymoon (all of which would not have been in the budget had I not used points). My personal favorite is the Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan. I like this plan because Alaska has direct flights to most places I frequently travel and it’s super simple to use (not to mention they are Seattle Based). With Mileage Plan you sign up for an account, enter your flier number each time you fly and when you’re ready to use the points just log in, pick your flight and go. The one thing I dislike about Alaska’s program is that each flier, even kids has their own number and account, and can only earn miles if you are the one flying. So if I buy my 3 year old a ticket, to earn miles for that purchase I have to create an account for her separate from mine. The cool part, you can gift miles to anyone. So even though my daughter accrued miles in her name, I can still use them to buy a ticket for myself.
Tips:
Play around with your booking options. Sometimes it’s better to redeem miles for 50% off a ticket or traveling a different day may save you significantly. To check out Milage Plan click here.
Look at various plans and even sign up for multiple. Anytime you travel on a new airline, sign up for their program.
Want to earn miles faster? Go back to number 2 and get a rewards card.
4. Grocery Store Card
This one may seem like a no brainer for many, but I’ve been amazed at how many people don’t use a grocery store Card. Grocery store savings come in all different forms. To attract diverse buyers companies put out coupons to clip from the newspaper, digital savings, Plenty Rewards (or something similar), and most stores seem to have their own card. While clipping coupons in any form can feel like a fun game at times, when you have kids and a busy schedule just making time to go to the store can be difficult let alone couponing. A very easy way you can usually at least save a little is by using a store card. At most stores once you sign up you can just input your phone number during checkout and viola, savings applied! Many stores also let you digitally apply coupon savings right to your card and thus use via inputting your phone number, making couponing along with store savings way more manageable.
5. Use Paribus
Paribus is a service that will scan your email for past receipts and request a price adjustment on your behalf if prices have fallen since your purchase. While Paribus does take a percentage, it is still money back that you get with no effort on your part. If you’re an Amazon user Paribus will even help you claim cash back if your package is late.
