With entire websites, blogs, and apps dedicated to finding sales and savings, it can be overwhelming to know exactly where to start looking for the best deals to save money.
One way to dive into everyday savings is to sign up for reward and loyalty programs for your favorite stores and retailers, according to Kristin McGrath, an editor at RetailMeNot’s blog, The Real Deal.
“If that's something you didn't have patience for in the past, well, guess what? We're in a world of inflation right now,” McGrath said.
Reward programs will get you special prices occasionally, McGrath said, and also help you earn rewards for items you can purchase at a later time.
“You might get early access to some sales before things get picked over,” McGrath said. “So it’s something to really consider even if it’s not something you took the time to do before.”
McGrath also suggests installing web browser extensions like CamelCamelCamel, which helps to track Amazon prices.
“It can be a great way just to get a read on how an item has been priced over time. So if a retailer is saying, you know, it's the best deal ever at a certain electronic, you can actually go and make sure that that's true,” McGrath said. “And if the price frequently falls even lower, you might want to wait on that purchase.”
Before hitting up all of the sales, however, McGrath encourages shoppers to make a list of non-emergency purchases. That way, when sales come along, “You really concentrate your efforts,” McGrath said. “Because it can be tremendously overwhelming when everything's on sale, or you have a really great promo code that works on absolutely everything.”
Keeping that list on your phone or in an accessible place can help curb the desire to impulse buy, McGrath said.
“When a sale arrives, you get what you would be buying anyway. You're getting those things you need on sale, and you're not wasting money on impulse buys,” McGrath said.
While finding a good deal is subjective to the buyer, Julie Ramhold, a consumer analyst with DealNews.com, says email newsletters are a great way to dip your toe into the savings world.
“If there's a particular store you like to shop for clothing, or you know, if you like to shop Best Buy for everything you can get at Best Buy, sign up for those newsletters because they'll tell you when there's going to be a sale,” Ramhold said. “By kind of taking note of those newsletters, you can see whether or not these sales are actual sales.”
Ramhold, like McGrath, suggests downloading the app for your favorite stores, as well as grocery stores.
“If you're not looking at... the weekly sales flyers for your local Publix or Kroger or whatever is in your area, then you're missing out on some really good deals,” Ramhold said.
A great way to track grocery store deals, according to Ramhold, is to download Ibotta and install Ibotta’s browser extension. With Ibotta, shoppers can earn cashback and clip online coupons to apply instant savings. She also suggests Rakuten’s web browser for cashback and coupon savings.
Ramhold’s best advice for Smart Shoppers?
“Get used to kind of poking around and see what else is out there,” Ramhold said.”Widen your shopping horizons so you can find the best deals.”