If you buy somewhere often anyway, wouldn’t it make sense to find ways to save at the places you go to often? This blog post will cover two ways you can save at all of your favorite places.
Gift-cards
Sometimes places offer a special deal when you purchase a gift-card, This is especially true beginning in the Christmas Holiday shopping season. Half Price Books for example has previously offered a free $5 coupon or gift-card when you purchase a $25 gift-card. If you are pretty sure that you will spend over the purchase amount in a reasonable amount of time, it would make financial sense to purchase the deal. Look for these deals especially in November and December.
After Christmas comes to a close and the New Year starts, there will be a lot of people who got gift-cards that are not particularly happy with the gift. Some of them are willing to sell them for really greatly discounted price. There are also websites where people can buy, sell and trade gift-cards.
One website that sells and lists gift-cards for sale is CardHub . I like to look for the most discounted deals first. Here is the link for that
http://gifts.cardhub.com/us/gift-card-exchange/?s=0
You can also buy and sell gift-cards on Craigslist. When you buy, be sure to verify the card balance before you hand over the cash. In most cases, you can call an 800 number on the back and check the balance, however in some cases you may need to call or visit the store.
Here is a list of other sites worth checking out. These sites can be particularly useful for knowing how much to pay for gift-cards.
http://monstergiftcard.com/ – You can Buy, Sell and Trade gift-cards here.
http://www.giftcardrescue.com/ – You can Sell and Buy gift-cards here.
http://www.plasticjungle.com/ – You can Sell and Buy gift-cards here.
Coupons
There are a couple of good coupon books for purchase. Usually they cost about $20 – $25 to purchase but if used (and remembered) it will save you several times your investment.
The Entertainment Passbook often contains (4) $5 Grocery shopping coupons in one of the front pages. Another book is the SaveAround / Enjoy The City book.
In both cases, I encourage you browse the coupon book first. Try to find 3X savings over the cost of the book before you buy.
You can also find coupons for sale on eBay. This is a great way to find discounts for the exact places you are looking for. Two things of note, when looking at coupons on eBay make sure that they will be valid for your local area. Often coupons are for specific areas only. Read the description carefully. Also, the sellers will often note something like “You are buying an envelope and stamp” or “You are bidding on my time and research” and “The coupon is free”. This is how they get around the eBay rules that do not allow the sale of coupons. It’s OK, just buy it if it the coupon is something you want. Be sure to be careful about expiration dates.
There are also websites that search for deals and combine sales, coupons, rebates and other discounts to get the best deal possible. One of those sites is
http://www.thegrocerygame.com/ – This site offers a trail and does cost after that. It may not be worth it for everyone.
Search for the name of your favorite place on FatWallet.com and SlickDeals.net. Often these websites will have specials or other deals members have found.
Finally, sign up for email newsletter on the official website of your favorite places. Also be sure to “Like” them on Facebook. This is your way of raising your hand and letting them know you want some deals to keep you coming back for more.