We all enjoy the convenience of online shopping. You can make your purchases without ever having to leave your couch!

That convenience leaves us with some pros and cons, though. While you could wake up from a drunken night to find your front porch littered with Amazon Prime packages, you could also use the internet resourcefully to SAVE money instead of impulse shop.

Here are some ways you can save money whenever you shop online.

Look for Coupon Codes

Websites like RetailMeNot offer a vast assortment of coupon codes that you can use at checkout to save money on various websites. Sometimes the codes work and sometimes they don’t, but it’s always worth checking this website out if you’re wondering if maybe, just maybe, there’s a way to squeeze out some extra savings on the purchase you’re making.

If you don’t want to scour through the listings on RetailMeNot, browser plugins like Honey can do the heavy lifting for you. This will automatically scan the internet for the best coupon code and apply it to your purchase at check-out on various stores like Amazon, Travelocity, and Office Depot.

Get Cash Back

We’ve all heard of cash back programs that are attached to credit cards. It turns out you don’t need to rack up a large credit card balance to get cash back any more, nor even use a credit card at all! Websites like Ebates and Swagbucks allow you to earn cash back when you follow links through their websites.

Ebates is my preferred company for cash back and I’ve previously made a video about them which you can watch here. Their website is very direct and easy to navigate and I’ve always received my quarterly check without a hitch. Swagbucks, on the other hand, is a bit more complex although it has its own perks. With Swagbucks, you earn a digital currency or SB that you can trade for gift cards (including Paypal) rather than checks.

To try Ebates for free and even be eligible for a $10 bonus, go here

To try Swagbucks and get 150 SB free, follow my referral link here

(Disclosure: I’m compensated for referrals when you follow the two previous links and sign-up)

Sign Up for Emails from Retailers (Without Cluttering Your Inbox!)

Getting on email lists for retailers can be both helpful and frustrating. On the one hand, having an email ready and waiting with coupons and info on upcoming sales is helpful when you’re ready to shop. On the other having an inbox with never-ending clutter from various retailers can be very annoying.

That’s where the site unroll.me can come in. By signing up for a free account, they will scan your email and allow you to easily unenroll in email lists you want to leave as well as combine the email lists you want to stay subscribed to in one, simple compact email with a digest of your various email subscriptions.

For the businesses you frequent you can sign up for their emails, and then check your daily “Rollup” email from Unroll to see if there’s any sales going on when you’re ready to shop.

Use a Price Comparison Tool

As the members of my Thrifty Squad know, shopping around for the best price is always a prerequisite before making a purchase. Several websites out there make this easier than ever such as PriceBlink, which offers a browser add-on that automatically brings up price comparisons from other websites when you’re shopping.

There’s lots of price comparison websites out there, and they all draw their data from different sources so it’s best to check out more than one to help get the complete picture of what prices are available on the web. Some others include Shopping.com, PriceGrabber, and Nextag. There’s a wide range of sellers listed on these sites so always use discretion and buy from reputable merchants.

Resist the Urge to Spend

I’m about to dispense some tough love here. If you have to ask yourself, “Do I really need this?” then the answer is probably “no.” For me, that is my #1 standard whenever I’m tempted to buy something without thinking about it (and the internet has made it easier than ever to do so!).

This isn’t to say that it’s not okay to enjoy or want “things.” I once heard someone say that we as a society are materialistic in all the wrong ways, but not materialistic enough in others. What does this mean? We should value the things that we own and prioritize our money enough to spend on the things that we will truly make use of, rather than burn through disposable objects that will quickly lose our interest.

With those words of wisdom in mind- shop wisely, my thrifty friends.

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