If you are like most folks these days, you do a lot of shopping online. One friend of mine mentioned that she had the same $20 in her purse today as she did a year ago. I can go one better; I’ve had the same $5 bill in mine for over 2 years.
My mom was a blue ribbon Window Shopping Super Shopper. We didn’t have a lot of money to spend when I was little and often we found ourselves walking through downtown (aka: Main Street) and checking out the window displays. Mom also took advantage of the newspaper circulars, catalogs and magazines to find ‘just the right thing’ she was looking for before she ventured into shops.
Granted, that was a few decades ago, but she taught her girls well and I, for one, love to take advantage of online shopping.
Online shopping has evolved quite a bit in the past 20 odd years. Stores have taken advantage of a lot of tools that search engines provide and have embraced what I refer to as a sharing network. You might think of eBay or Facebook Marketplace, but I look at Google, Yahoo, and Rakuten to find things – not to mention stores – that have the items I’m looking for.
Looking for Coupons or Deals?
I’ve never been much of a couponer, but years ago I was introduced to eBates by a friend and have used the service often over the years. eBates is now knows as Rakuten.
Rakuten was founded in 1997 and has evolved to work with hundreds, if not thousands, of brands and stores to create a one-stop-shopping experience that provides a variety of cash back offers, deals and shopping rewards on products and services you use. Click on the link for more information and to sign up – it is free. Hint: Go to the bottom of their webpage and check out the lists of stores and brands they work with.
The best part about shopping with Rakuten is the money they return to your pocket!
Your New Shopping Best Friend
We all have those friends who love to shop, right? They always find the best deal and the best price and love to share their finds.
A year or so ago, Hermione Chantal talked about an app she has used for years called Shoptagr and I immediately checked it out. Shoptagr has become Karma and provides similar cashback and coupon tools as Rakuten but Karma has the additional feature of allowing you to keep track of things you are looking for, be notified when they go on sale or are once again available and allow you to shop directly from their site.
Looking for that perfect sofa? Want to update your wardrobe? Your favorite whatsit out of stock or not yet on sale? Karma will notify you using the settings you create in your free account.
Not Just For Shopaholics
Online tools like Karma and Rakuten help you save more money while you shop for the things you need and/or want. They also have buttons (or widgets) to add to your browser that will alert you when you are in a store they support. They are easy to use and, best of all, free.
Check them out – you will be amazed at the stores and merchandise you will find!
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