Too often we hear the negatives of online shopping as if the warning label should read ‘debt through clicks’ before continuing to shop online. The overall feeling is that nothing good can come from online shopping. However, I see online shopping as a way to shop on a budget. Curious to learn how to shop on a budget online? Keep reading!
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Online Grocery Pickup
Let’s start with an expense that everyone is familiar with: food. We go to the grocery store with our grocery list having full intention to sticking to the list. But after walking the aisles you inevitably grab a few items here and a few items there that are not on the list. Before you know it you have a full cart and a grand total that you were not planning on! Does this scenario sound familiar? It happens to all of us. Don’t you wish there was an easier way to stick to your grocery budget? The answer is Grocery Pickup and it is more convenient than ever.
What Is Grocery Pickup?
Shopping through grocery pickup is one of the best ways to shop on a budget. It allows you to shop from the comfort of your couch, pay for your order, and simply pick it up when it’s ready! Grocery pickup is offered at many stores including Costco, Smiths, Target, and Walmart.
How To Use Grocery Pickup
To participate in grocery pickup, all you need to do is create an account. Once you have created an account, simply browse the store’s website, select the ‘grocery pickup’ option, and add the desired items to your cart. Once you are ready to pay, select ‘Submit Order,’ input payment information, and you are done! The cost of grocery pickup is free but some stores require a minimum purchase amount to qualify. You will be asked to select a time for your pickup. Once your order has been placed and pickup time selected, you will get an email confirmation. If the item you selected is not in stock, substitutions will be made for a similar product. If you do not wish an item to be substituted, stores like Walmart allow you to uncheck the items you do not want to be substituted. You can sign up today for Walmart’s Grocery Pickup.
Why Should I Use Grocery Pickup?
Save Time
The thing that I love most about grocery pickup is it saves me money by reducing impulse buys. You aren’t perusing the aisles and grabbing everything in sight like you would at the store. Instead, you search for items one by one in the search feature which makes it way easier to stick to your grocery list or shop for specific recipes.
Save Money
In addition to saving time, grocery pickup also helps you stick to your grocery budget. You know exactly what price you are going to pay before you purchase, giving you the option to remove items from your cart. And last, it saves time. You no longer have to block out 1-2 hours of time to go to the grocery store. You won’t be wasting your time trying to find if Panko bread crumbs are near the croutons, bread, or ethnic food aisle. Instead, you can take a nap, read a book, or binge-watch White Collar 🙂
Honey
Honey is a free browser extension that applies coupons and promo codes while you shop. Simply install the Honey extension to your toolbar for Safari, Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Firefox or Opera and Honey does the rest! When you go to checkout, Honey will notify you of promo codes. Click ‘Apply coupons’ and Honey will automatically search for coupon codes that apply to your order. If a coupon code applies to items, the promo code will be added and you will receive the corresponding discount. Honey will also tell you if there are no coupon codes so you know you are getting the best deal.
Track Prices Over Time
Honey allows you to track the price of desired items and get notified when the price drops through Droplist. This is an amazing tool to help you save money. Prices are constantly fluctuating, making it near impossible to know when you are getting the best deal. With Droplist, you can see the price in the last few months to determine if you should buy now or wait for a lower price.
If Droplist is available for the item, you will see an orange h+ icon appear on the item image. Click the ‘Save to Droplist’ button and select the number of days you want Honey to track the item (30, 60, 90, or 120 days). Droplist also allows you to customize the percentage of the price drop you want to be notified at. Once you have selected the Droplist watch period, percentage drop and color option (if applicable), click ‘Add to droplist.’ You will be notified via email once the price of the item drops to your specifications. To receive notifications from Honey, visit Account Settings in the Honey extension and enable emails for Droplist notifications. Not all sites or items offer Droplist, but you can verify which sites offer Droplist for Honey to ensure the best deal!
See Price History
Other than the savings Honey provides, one of my favorite features is the price history feature. Below the ‘Add to Droplist’ button there is a ‘See Price History’ link that will show you the pricing trends for up to 120 days! This will allow you to see price trends and if you are buying the item at the lowest price! Want to start saving money now with Honey? Use my HONEY REFERRAL CODE. In addition to price tracking, you can earn rewards with Honey for even more savings!
Is Honey Legit?
Honey collects information to help you save money while shopping online. It does not collect and store credit card or payment information. The only information needed to sign up for Honey is your name, email, and other general profile information. Honey does not sell or share your information so you can feel at ease knowing your information is secure. So yes, Honey is legit and will save you money when shopping online!
Wikibuy
Wikibuy is a cashback and coupon browser extension that you can activate to get rewards. Simply add it to your browser extension bar for later. What I love using Wikibuy for is as a price comparison tool.
Price Comparison
If you need to shop on a budget, price comparison is a must. To compare prices with Wikubuy, visit wikibuy.com and type in the name of the item. This will show you the cheapest price online and where you can get it. Wikibuy takes shipping and applicable coupons into account so you know the exact price point and how it compares to other sites. It does factor in Wikibuy credits to the final price before you get the cashback. Wikibuy provides the link to the site that offers the best deal.
Track Prices Over Time
Not only does the Wikibuy browser extension allow you to compare prices to other sites, it compares prices across time! Simply click on the browser extension icon and select ‘View Price History.’ If you see that it is not the best time to buy your item, you can put the item on your watchlist to get notified when the price drops. Click on the extension icon and select ‘Add to Watchlist.’ Wikibuy is definitely my go to price comparison tool that I always use to get the best deal!
Is Wikibuy Legit?
Yes, Wikibuy is legitimate and safe to use. It makes comparison shopping a breeze as it compares prices automatically so you know you are getting the best deal. What could be better than that?!
Camelcamelcamel
No, I did not mistype the name. If you are an Amazon shopper then you need this tool! Camelcamelcamel is a free price tracker for Amazon. You can search by popular products, top price drops to find all the best deals, or search by product name. The fastest way to find your specific item is by copying the Amazon link to the product and pasting it into the search feature on Camelcamelcamel.
Price Trends
If you shop on a budget, it is vital that you understand price trends. In other words, it is important to know when items are at the highest and lowest price point. Ever wish you could take a look into the future to see if and when the item on your Amazon wishlist would go on sale? You are in luck! Camelcamelcamel lets you take a look at the price history to anticipate future sales.
How To Use Camelcamelcamel
If you copy and paste the Amazon URL into Camelcamelcamel’s search bar, you will be able to see the price history of your Amazon item ranging from 3 months to a year. Price changes are shown as a line graph, allowing you to see when price drops happen to indicate a sale. This is a great way to see if you should wait for a Memorial Day sale or even when to avoid purchasing around bigger holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas. You can create a free Camelcamelcamel account; however, an account is not required to access product information.
Is Camelcamelcamel Legit?
Camelcamelcamel is legit and safe to use. You can set it up to send you price drop alerts and to check the price history. It’s a great way to know if you are indeed getting the best price on your Amazon products! Check out other Amazon hacks to save you even more money!
As you can see, online shopping CAN work for you and your budget. Comment below with what you do to save money online, and comment if these tips helped you save or earn on your online purchases!
You can learn even more about How to Reduce Your Grocery Budget and How to Maximize Rebate Earnings!
