Don’t let holiday spending cause you stress anymore! It’s the holidays…you should feel jolly!!! Here are my surefire tips to put cash back in your wallet (and still get what you want). I’ve utilized these tricks throughout the year and, especially, during this holiday season.
Personal Trainer Wisdom: My friend Allison introduced Ebates to me last holiday season, and holiday shopping has never been the same. The concept: You’ll receive a check for shopping at online retailers you normally would anyways. Of course, I met her suggestion with much skepticism. Within 3 months, though, I received a payment of over $300, and I haven’t questioned it since. Basically, Ebates.com has partnered with popular retailers including Target, Amazon, Dell, and much more to offer you a percentage payback for whatever purchase you make. Although the return is typically 1-5%, most retailers double their offer during holidays. Right now, Dell, Barnes and Noble, Barney’s New York, The Container Store, Coach, Under Armor, and Shoes.com are offering 12%! Last year, my wife and I purchased a television on Dell for a retail value of $1000. Luckily, Dell was offering a 10% Ebate and another 10% with Dell financing (saving me a total of $200). You can also receive $10 in your account when someone sends you a referral code....more free money. My referral code is https://www.ebates.com/r/MICHAE50039?eeid=28187. Trust me…this is real.
Personal Trainer Wisdom: Honey is another great web browser extension built to save you money. At one time, I scoured the internet for coupon codes (thank you Retail Me Not for your years of service). No longer! After you create your account on https://www.joinhoney.com/ and download the extension, begin shopping! As you checkout, click on the Honey extension. She will scour the internet for you and automatically apply the best coupon codes. Recently, I purchased a computer from Lenovo and saved $50 with a Honey code (and I also received $50 in cash back from Ebates for a total of $100 off). Crazy enough, Honey is most compatible with Amazon. You can check Honey for a lower price without visiting the checkout. Just click on the button next to the price!
Personal Trainer Wisdom: Even though you have a travel destination in mind would you be willing to fly to a nearby city or somewhere else on the same dates to save hundreds of dollars? Absolutely! With Google Flights, you can find cheaper roundtrip flights based on proximity using their interactive map. After you input your desired dates, click on the map. You’ll notice the lowest roundtrip fares for any city in the world based on your selection. A few years ago we tested this tip while looking for flights to Spain. We found spring airfare to Barcelona for $1300. After reviewing the map, we purchased $500 roundtrip tickets to Dublin, Ireland instead! Not only did we see another world city on our trip, but we also saved nearly 37% on total airfare (we booked another flight to Barcelona a few days later after our arrival for $320 apiece). Basically, we saw Ireland and Spain for only $820 roundtrip!! Keep in mind that your flexibility will determine your discount success. Good luck!
Personal Trainer Wisdom: Although you typically receive a 2% return on your rewards credit cards, Discover is now offering a 5% return on all Amazon purchases this holiday season. Time to stock up on everything you typically purchase throughout the year for a fraction of the price (especially if you use this discount with Honey). Link your Discover Card to your Amazon Prime account today!
Personal Trainer Wisdom: Many rewards credit cards are offering an introductory benefit of 50-80,000 miles/points for signing up (usually for only a $95 annual fee). Why not barter these relatively free miles with your service provider? I value 60,000 miles as $1200 (the cost of a European trip in economy class). If you transfer the miles to me as a credit for $1200 of personal training services, you’ll save nearly $1000. The only cost to you is the annual fee of the credit card and the $100 fee for transferring the miles. Worse case scenario? Your service provider says no. Worth trying though!
Photo Credit:
Halfpoint–What savings can you unravel this holiday season?
Earn cash back with Ebates
Personal Trainer Wisdom: My friend Allison introduced Ebates to me last holiday season, and holiday shopping has never been the same. The concept: You’ll receive a check for shopping at online retailers you normally would anyways. Of course, I met her suggestion with much skepticism. Within 3 months, though, I received a payment of over $300, and I haven’t questioned it since. Basically, Ebates.com has partnered with popular retailers including Target, Amazon, Dell, and much more to offer you a percentage payback for whatever purchase you make. Although the return is typically 1-5%, most retailers double their offer during holidays. Right now, Dell, Barnes and Noble, Barney’s New York, The Container Store, Coach, Under Armor, and Shoes.com are offering 12%! Last year, my wife and I purchased a television on Dell for a retail value of $1000. Luckily, Dell was offering a 10% Ebate and another 10% with Dell financing (saving me a total of $200). You can also receive $10 in your account when someone sends you a referral code....more free money. My referral code is https://www.ebates.com/r/MICHAE50039?eeid=28187. Trust me…this is real.
Honey finds coupon codes for you
Personal Trainer Wisdom: Honey is another great web browser extension built to save you money. At one time, I scoured the internet for coupon codes (thank you Retail Me Not for your years of service). No longer! After you create your account on https://www.joinhoney.com/ and download the extension, begin shopping! As you checkout, click on the Honey extension. She will scour the internet for you and automatically apply the best coupon codes. Recently, I purchased a computer from Lenovo and saved $50 with a Honey code (and I also received $50 in cash back from Ebates for a total of $100 off). Crazy enough, Honey is most compatible with Amazon. You can check Honey for a lower price without visiting the checkout. Just click on the button next to the price!
Book flexible travel using Google flights
Personal Trainer Wisdom: Even though you have a travel destination in mind would you be willing to fly to a nearby city or somewhere else on the same dates to save hundreds of dollars? Absolutely! With Google Flights, you can find cheaper roundtrip flights based on proximity using their interactive map. After you input your desired dates, click on the map. You’ll notice the lowest roundtrip fares for any city in the world based on your selection. A few years ago we tested this tip while looking for flights to Spain. We found spring airfare to Barcelona for $1300. After reviewing the map, we purchased $500 roundtrip tickets to Dublin, Ireland instead! Not only did we see another world city on our trip, but we also saved nearly 37% on total airfare (we booked another flight to Barcelona a few days later after our arrival for $320 apiece). Basically, we saw Ireland and Spain for only $820 roundtrip!! Keep in mind that your flexibility will determine your discount success. Good luck!
Use your Discover Credit Card on Amazon Prime
Personal Trainer Wisdom: Although you typically receive a 2% return on your rewards credit cards, Discover is now offering a 5% return on all Amazon purchases this holiday season. Time to stock up on everything you typically purchase throughout the year for a fraction of the price (especially if you use this discount with Honey). Link your Discover Card to your Amazon Prime account today!
Trade mileage for services (and save nearly 85%)
Personal Trainer Wisdom: Many rewards credit cards are offering an introductory benefit of 50-80,000 miles/points for signing up (usually for only a $95 annual fee). Why not barter these relatively free miles with your service provider? I value 60,000 miles as $1200 (the cost of a European trip in economy class). If you transfer the miles to me as a credit for $1200 of personal training services, you’ll save nearly $1000. The only cost to you is the annual fee of the credit card and the $100 fee for transferring the miles. Worse case scenario? Your service provider says no. Worth trying though!
Photo Credit:
Halfpoint–What savings can you unravel this holiday season?
