Are you a shopaholic?
So do you over spend often?
And then, do you regret it?
If you said aye for all of the above questions, then you need to learn to shop smart. Gone are the days when one had to restrict their desires to cut down on shopping bills and welcome to the era of savvy online shopping, one that is equipped with offers, coupons and promo codes.
Although it takes a bit of acclimatisation to become a regular coupon shopper but simplest of mental changes can get your coffers ringing.
Let’s say for example, your everyday grocery shopping. Did you know, you can save up to 50 to 90% at groceries, only if you know the right way to do so. Plan the meal beforehand and visit two or three stores instead of one, with different coupons. Buy items which are on sale and stocked up for clearance, only if you plan to consume it on the same day. Also when you plan to buy in bulk, the deal gets super cheap and your savings are on an all-time high. So if you have ample storage space and good planning to back up, go for it.
Go for sites that specialise in coupons like the Chameleonjohn.com which have printable coupons. Sites like Chameleonjohn have a wide range of retailers associated with them. So once you start surfing, they present to you option galore. You can pick, compare and take home the beat deal from the best labels in town. Sign up for daily deal alerts and stay updated.
You should also understand coupon jargon well as most of the necessary information is printed on the coupon itself but either we don’t read through them properly or we just don’t understand the terms and conditions hidden in the undertones. Are your coupons stackable? Do you know their expiry? Which stores can be used at? Can they be used across the country or just this state? Does any store offer a double coupon deal on it? So on and so forth! Understand their jargon and acronyms, OYNO, MIR, BOGO, etc.
Now a sale doesn’t always mean saving. You need to be an informed customer, which comes along with a little homework. So, label prices during sales should be compared with before sale label prices, to realise the real saving. Often a manager might get you to believe that the coupon does not apply on a certain offer or a particular store doesn’t accept it. But a customer who knows their facts well doesn’t give away to such lame adamant behaviour.
In case of lucrative deals, brand loyalty doesn’t take you a long way. So, avoid that. If a reasonable deal is up for grabs and you decide to wait for your favourite label to come up with something like that, such an incident may or may not happen. Exploring several brands for best coupon deals lands you to great savings. This is another reason why coupon sites like Chameleonjohn offer several retailers and labels under one roof.
The ultimate motive remains to pay for your bills and make it worth a while.
James Hendrickson is an internet entrepreneur, blogging junky, hunter and personal finance geek. When he’s not lurking in coffee shops in Portland, Oregon, you’ll find him in the Pacific Northwest’s great outdoors. James has a masters degree in Sociology from the University of Maryland at College Park and a Bachelors degree on Sociology from Earlham College. He loves individual stocks, bonds and precious metals.
