Shopping Bots

Pricegrabber
 

Coupon sites

Couponmountain

Alexscoupons

Keycode

Internet Rebates

Ebates

Other Savings

    APPLIANCES/ELECTRONICS 

1. Look for deals like below, especially when combined: 
Free delivery offers
Financing specials e.g. No payments, no interest for 1 year
Sale prices esp. 4^th of July, Thanksgiving and New Year’s day
Manufacturers rebate
Extra savings (10%) for using store card 
Take advantage of 110% price match guarantee 
Use internet coupons and Shopping Bots to your advantage.

2. Do not buy newly introduced products (e.g. DVD 4 years back). Buy late in the product life-cycle. 

3. Some credit cards double warranty

4.  Do not buy the fastest computer unless you really need it. The savings can be substantial. Also buy over the internet and use online coupons (e.g. 15% off) combined with promotions (e.g. free memory).

5. Printer cartridges: Use grayscale mode and smaller fonts to save ink, use insaver software and buy printers that have 3 separate color cartridges for frequent color printing, use refill kits. Buy remanufactured/generic cartridges. 

BROKERS AND BANKS

1. Discount/Deep discount broker fees are low e.g. Ameritrade

2. Take advantage of promotions to open a new account.

3. Use free online banking to your advantage. Look for free bill pay with features such as On-time guarantee, Auto-Fill biller info, Quick Pay, View bills and Track spending (e.g. Bank of America)

4. Consolidate accounts to avoid fees for minimum balance requirement.

5. Buy blank checks directly from companies listed below (some advertise in the Sunday papers) that are less expensive than what the bank charges you. Designer Checks, Check Gallery, Deluxe

6. Use Interest bearing accounts instead of non-interest bearing accounts. Get great deals at checkingfinder.com and highyieldcheckingdeals.com

7. Find the best money market yields. Consider US Savings Bonds for good yields and safety.

8. Use direct deposit and have money working for you right away.

9.  Compare bank charges (monthly fees, ATM fees) and interest rates. 
Get a free checking account (usually direct deposit needed). Be cognizant of the FDIC Insurance coverage and limits. 

10. Add Overdraft protection. Remember default overdraft service is more expensive
      than service linked to your credit line. If there any any extra fees, call and
      politely ask for the fee to be waived.

11. Use the CD laddering strategy. 

12. Besides large banks, check out Community banks, Credit Unions and Online banks.

     CREDIT CARDS

1.  Use Grace period to your advantage.

2.  Use Rebate cards (calculate % since some have tiered levels, see usefulness of rebate, check when rebate expires and max rebate allowed in a year).

3.  Take advantage of zero interest credit cards (check if 0% is on purchases or on balance transfers). Put the 0% balance transfer card away and do not use it for regular purchases, since monthly payments are paid to lower-rate balances first while your purchases are at a high interest rate.

4.  Check balance transfer fees if transferring a balance.

5.  Compare credit cards at cardratings.com, lowcards.com and cardweb.com. Watch for universal default clauses. Read credit cardholder agreements carefully, look at the Schumer Box.

6.  Compare billing method (e.g. average daily balance) and APR if you carry a balance. You may incur higher finance charges with cards that use the two-cycle billing system.

7.  Pay higher interest loans (e.g. credit card loans) with lower interest loans (e.g. Home equity loan).

8.  Use No annual fee credit cards.

9.  Store cards give a 10% to 20% discount on your first purchase.

10.  Compare rates (bankrate.com).

11.  Avoid extra coverage (e.g. travel services) if you do not use them.

12. Always ask and negotiate for a lower credit card interest/fees.
      If you accidentally pay a bill late, call and politely ask for the late fee to be waived.

13. Determine which is the best card for you..

      a. Keep a balance > get a low-rate card

      b. Pay your balance in full > get a rebate card

          Then choose what kind of rebate card you like - Cash, Retirement account credit
          or airline miles. 

          Note that cash rebate cards differ by rebate % and eligible purchases.
          Example 5% on groceries, 3% on restaurants, 1% on everything else.

          Also, some cards have the same rebate throughout the year, others the rebate
          changes quarterly. 

    LIFE INSURANCE

1.   Eliminate coverage you do not need. Understand Deductible, Copays and
      Coinsurance for health policies. Increase deductibles. Use all discounts possible. 

2.   Understand term, whole, universal and variable life insurance.
      Term life (e.g. Insure.com) gives you the most coverage for the lowest price
      versus Whole life. Calculate how much insurance you need at life-line.org

3.  Do not buy life insurance for your kids, rather increase insurance on the breadwinner
     whose loss is more financially devastating.  

4. Stop paying for unneeded life insurance. Read article in Money.

   PARKING

1.  At airports use airportdiscountparking, longtermparking

   PHONE/CABLE/HIGH SPEED INTERNET BILLS

1. Dump the land line in favor of all cellular phone service or Internet phone services 
(Vonage.com, Packet8.net, Sunrocket.com).

2. International calls use Skype.com for free PC-PC calls
Phone-to-phone at 1010719.com

3. Check out unlimited local and long distance plans.

4. Choose your cell phone deal carefully. Things to look for are monthly charges, length of contact, termination fees, ,activation fees,  cost of phone, no long distance, no roaming charges, how many day time and free night/weekend minutes, when night and weekend begin, promotions, peak calling period, rollover minutes, family plan, employer discount, flat-rate plan for unlimited texting, quality of service (check with friends). Shop at myrateplan.com and billshrink.com. 

5. Get good cell phone deals at Amazon.  

6. Use your cell phone (nationwide plans) for calling long distance during night and weekends. 

7.  Directory assistance at Infospace or Yellow Pages instead of an operator. Avoid operator assisted calling. Customer service numbers at gethuman.com

8. Check local phone bill for services you don’t need. Watch for expired promotions.

9. Use toll-free numbers (800, 888, 877).

10. Compare satellite versus cable TV. For one or two outlets satellite may be a better
 deal than cable. Choose only channels you really need.

11. Compare package discount for video, voice and broadband services.
      Negotiate better rates for DSL (as low as $15/month) and Cable. 
      Look for promotions. Get rid of add-on services.

   ADVERTISING

1. Free ads at Craigslist  


     POSTAGE

1. Use postage free envelopes.

2. Save on stamps by Auto payment of all bills from bank account (ACH, Bill Pay).

3. Compare UPS/DHL/Fedex Ground ($100 insurance included) vs. USPS

4. Save a stamp by calling 800# then pay by phone using credit card. 

    If possible, complete rebates online instead of mailing. 

5. Use Media mail at USPS for books etc.


      MAGAZINES/FILM PROCESSING/DVD RENTALS

1. Redeeem Frequent flier miles (some airlines) for magazine subscriptions at
    Milepoint. 

2. Student rates, Negotiate rate

3. Free magazine subscriptions if eligible.

4. Great deals on magazines on the internet.

5. Compare film processing at local stores, Costco, Sams Club, Snapfish.com  

6.  Rent DVD's from your local library for free.

     CLOTHES/JEWELLERY/SHOES

1. Always buy on sale and on clearance.  
    Buy them when they are off-season (Spring and Fall).

2. Check out thrift stores at thethriftshopper.com and upscale used clothes at
    consignmentshops.com.

3. Outlet stores are not always a good deal since a lot of the stuff is made specifically
    for outlet stores and not necessarily deeply discounted stuff from retail stores.  
    Check them out at outletbound.com

4. Cut down on dry cleaning unless absolutely necessary.

   CHILD CARE

1. Use a dependent-care spending account for daycare expenses.

2. Shop for diapers at warehouse clubs (Sam’s Club, Costco).

  HAIRCUTS

1. Get online coupons from borics.com and haircuttery.com

2. Look at the beauty products you like at the salon but buy them at websites like
    salonsavings.com

  PETCARE

1. Pet medications online 1800PetMeds.com

2. Pet Insurance PetInsuranceReview.com

  GARDEN SUPPLIES

1. GardenBargainsOnline.com

2. Gardeners.com

  EYE GLASSES

1. EyeBuyDirect.com

2. 39Dollarglasses.com

  HEALTH CLUBS

1. Check out discounts from health insurers, employers.

2. Haggle, threaten to walk away, shop in the summer.

3. Compare individual classes vs. annual membership


    BOOKS

1. New books at Amazon or Barnes & Noble

2. Discounts for store membership club such as Borders rewards

3. Compare book prices from several websites at Bigwords.com, BestBookBuys or Cheapestbookprice

4. Buy used books at Amazon or half.com

5. Textbooks at Textbooks and Varsity

6. Become a member of programs like Borders Rewards that send you coupons in the
    email and credit based on total purchases.

7. Rent books at chegg.com,  Bookrenter.com

8. Swap books at campus or at Swapbooks.com


     AT WORK

1. Take advantage of all benefits that are optional:
.  Matching 401(k) plan
.  Contributory Pension Plan
   Understand difference between Traditional and Cash Balance Pensions at
   Pensionrights.org  
 . Health Care and Dependent Care Flexible Spending accounts
   Remember to use funds in the Flexible Spending Account (FSA) by the end of the
   year or risk losing it.
 . HMO availability in Health plans (lower premiums).

2. Check out total fees for your 401(k) plan at work, some may be high.

3. Calculate the true cost of switching jobs:  Vacation, Pension, 401(k), Stock options, perks

   RESTAURANTS/ENTERTAINMENT

1. Save money by eating at home instead of restaurants. Find recipies at epicurious.com. Get your own bag lunch, yearly savings $1250 (@$5/day)

2. Restaurant coupons sources: Entertainment book, Junk mail, Sunday newspaper.

3. Restaurant discounts: Restaurant.com (coupons at Couponmountain), Upromise 10% rebate, join email list of chains such as T.G.I. Friday's.

4. Restaurants tips: 
Go for the lunch instead of the pricier dinner.
Order wine by the glass or half bottle or full bottle depending on party size. 
Skip appetizers, beverage and alcohol for more savings.
Check menus before you arrive at opentable.com and menupages.com

5. Movies: Matinee shows, use coupons, Get movies from public library.

6. TV: Eliminate premium channels or cable/dish altogether.