When it comes to saving money, the power of coupons or money-back policies is often understated. While they may seem quite small and insignificant at the time, the money saved can add up to be a large amount when done consistently. Other times, certain discounts can be a savior for buying something that you do not have the full money to pay.
It is beneficial to know the different types of discounts. The type we are all familiar with is the standard discount in which money is taken off of the purchase at the time of the purchase. This can be due to in-store promotions, coupons, and more. A discount can help a seller briefly increase short-term sales, get rid of a lower-demand supply, along with other reasons.
Another “type” of discount to look at is something called a “rebate.” Unlike a common discount where the money is immediately taken off a purchase and you pay less, a rebate works quite differently. First of all, you pay for an object at full price. Then, at a later time, you receive a partial refund from this purchase. Basically, instead of taking away money from the purchase, you are given money after the purchase, which leaves you with more money, in the end, either way.
Online Discounts
Knowing about such discounts won’t lead to anything unless you take action to save money. Especially with the current pandemic, we may frequently resort to online shopping to make big purchases. There are many tools we can use to find discounts to save money that are often overlooked!
One tool to use is Capital One Shopping, which is a browser extension. Capital One Shopping can be used to automatically apply coupon codes when you check out to buy something online. It searches all over the Internet for coupon codes and sees if they work or not so that you do not have to do this process yourself. Another function of this tool is that it compares the prices of products, and can direct you to another website in which something may be cheaper. And, it has a system called “Capital One Shopping Credits” in which you earn such credits after purchases at popular sites. Once you save up on these credits, you can redeem a gift card and save even more money!
A similar tool is Ibotta. The focus of Ibotta is cashback, which essentially is a rebate in which you get money for buying something. Like Capital One Shopping, Ibotta works to find deals in cashback for you to buy on your phone or laptop. Ibotta also allows you to apply discounts on in-person purchases, like everyday groceries, which can be extremely beneficial.
Lastly, Honey is a popular coupon-finder extension for your browser as well. It specializes in searching all over the Internet for applicable coupon codes on certain websites and products you want to buy.
Overall, using coupons and discounts is a great consumer benefit, one that most people may not take full advantage of. You can simply save money by taking the extra steps of using one of the tools above, or just actively looking and applying coupons whenever you can. Next time you shop, save more money!
Written by Brian Caballo