I love the holidays and Christmas is my favorite, but I’ve found it to be a time of stress as well.
Stress over those hundreds of diy gifts you need/want to make…
Finding the perfect gift for that picky relative of yours…
- Planning a holiday meal that remembers Uncle Billy’s lactose intolerance, Aunt Sally’s THM diet, Gramp’s IBS and does little Johnny have a tree nut allergy or just peanuts?
- Wondering if the bank will give you a second loan to afford all those gifts you need to buy.
- Dealing with other stressed holiday shoppers while on the road and in the store.
Okay, so maybe it isn’t that bad, but I do know that I stress over the cost of things each year. In the end, there are still gifts to be bought, and even when I’m just buying something for myself, I have a unique way of using several different websites to really maximize my savings. Online is where I make at least 75% of my non-food purchases along with gifts, because that’s how I save the most money!
How to Maximize Holiday Savings When Shopping Online
First, start with Swagbucks.
Swagbucks is easy to use, and while you can earn more by taking surveys and playing games on there, I use it for mainly one thing. Searching.
Using searches to earn Swagbucks will result in an average of 10 “bucks” a day. Since you only need 500 Swagbucks to redeem a $5 Amazon card, it’s just one of those little ways that money adds up and then I redeem them for use around Christmas. You can learn more about Swagbucks here.
I use Swagbucks to search for the item I want to buy, or the store I want to shop at. Once I find the item I want to buy, I usually keep a few windows or tabs open from different stores so I can price compare.
Second, go to Ebates.
After Swagbucks it’s Ebates where I look for the best cash back and coupons for stores that sell the item I want.
Ebates offers direct cash back for purchases made through them at hundreds of stores, including but not limited to, Amazon, Wal-Mart, Ebay, Lowes, Target and more. They also have the best list of active, working coupons for each store. Learn more about Ebates here.
At this point I will often place the item in my cart and add in my available coupons. Now I can see just what the item will cost and I can also see how much cash back I will receive in my “Big Fat Check” from Ebates the following month.
But I’m not done yet. I still have one more place to save!
Final stop, Cardpool.
I am able to buy digital (and physical) gift cards at great discounts through Cardpool – usually saving around 10% off the full value!
I look for the store gift cards and find the best overall discounts and combine them with the percent back that Ebates offers to find the best price. Cardpool delivers electronic gift cards within 24 hours during the week and I typically get them within an hour or two at the most.
Here’s a Breakdown
- Use Swagbucks while searching to earn “bucks” for Amazon gift cards
- Go through Ebates to earn cash back and find the best coupons
- Buy discounted gift cards at Cardpool to make your purchase
- Do a happy dance to celebrate the savings!
As a family who lives on a budget so we can reach our really big goals, we need to make every dollar count. Stress happens with the holidays, but you shouldn’t have to stress over finding great deals. It’s all right here at your finger tips!
Great tips! I need to start using swagbucks and ebates. It has seemed like so much work to start up and remember to do, and I wonder if I can actually make it worth my time. Thanks for the explanation!
It really adds very little extra time to your shopping. It’s just the remembering.
Tonight I placed an order that originally cost $39 but after using promo codes found at ebates and a nice savings found at cardpool I spent less than $31 after the shipping and tax was added.
TOTALLY WORTH IT!