Sometimes people think that spending consciously is a total waste of time and incredibly difficult. Fortunately, this isn’t always true, and there are tons of little ways to save money. Sometimes this means going to the grocery store on a full stomach, and sometimes it means skipping on the yoga classes and buying some exercise videos at home instead. But there are even some common sense ways to save a buck or two – and you can do it right from your computer.
How, you ask? By taking advantage of a browser feature that has been around for more than a decade: bookmarking. You might think that bookmarking is just for your favorite webcomics and your daily news websites, but it’s so much more than that.
By adding a couple of various sites to your normal complement of websites in your list, you can save some serious moola. Some of them might already be in your bookmarks, but add a few more to increase your potential savings.
RetailMeNot.com is a valuable resource for coupon codes for absolutely everything. If you think something doesn’t have a coupon code, check Retail Me Not before you go and purchase something. It even has codes that have been used in the past and some that may be useful in the future, too – and it doesn’t require any fee or sign up. You have access to the codes right off the bat. The rating system is great, too, and codes that have worked for other users are at the top.
PrintableCalendar.ca saves you at least $12 on those incredibly overpriced stacks of paper you have to buy at the beginning of the year. If you take a trip to the dollar store you can usually find a limited selection too, but the calendars on this website are completely free. You can even enter special dates and events before you print, and you can choose from a few designs.
Your bank’s website may not seem like it will save you money, but being aware of where your finances are all of the time is extremely helpful when it comes to deciding whether or not you want to buy something. Now, you may not be enthusiastic about looking at your bank account every morning with your coffee, but having a good starting point of your financial picture in the morning is essential in having a fee-free day.
Financial blogs (like this one!) should be part of your routine as well. Not only does reading strong advice in the morning help guide your day, but often there is a snippet or two of advice that anyone could use in every blog post you’ll see there – and the advice is usually pretty good, too. It’s also important to read about personal finances to keep yourself focused!
Review sites like amazon.com are also essential bookmarks. Buying a 47” TV without reading the reviews on sound and picture can be an absolute disaster, especially when you go to return it because it wasn’t what you wanted. Bookmark handy sites and look at them before you make a purchase – that way, you can be incredibly informed and not make a terrible mistake that will cost you a few hundred dollars in shipping fees to fix. Many people like to communicate with one another about the quality of an item – listen. It’s free.
Some of these bookmarks won’t work for you, but the ones that do will save you cash and more importantly, time. Consider finding your own money saving bookmarks and saving them all in a “finances” folder on your browser – that way, you’ll always have a quick and easy way to save some money.
Steven Clarkson is a writer for FranklinDebtRelief.com. Visit FranklinDebtRelief.com for objective advice about debt relief options.
I think I’d skip the printable calendar, but I do like to take advantage of the other bookmarks listed. There is so much information online that can help you save money. It’s just a matter of taking the time to seek out that free info.
Over the past 5-10 years the Internet has become an endless source of ways to save money. All you have to do is find them
Sean – I agree but the person has to have a want to save money too, because with all the information out there if you do not read it you will not save.
I have more bookmarked sites than I know what to do with! I have to go clean them out from time-to-time. lol.
@ Jason – I hear you then it takes longer to look through them than it would just to go to google and perform a new search.
I live via Amazon.com, Yelp, and Youtube reviews. They’ve helped me save a ton of money (and have also helped me justify spending a fair amount too 😉 ). I think a lot of people use RSS feeds or e-mail to keep track of new blog posts, but I also love Bloglovin’ which keeps track of it for me.
@ GB – I didn’t realize what RSS was until I started blogging. I wonder if others who do not blog even know what that is. I have saved bookmarks but they are always either at home or at work.
Great minds think like. Well, soughta! I’ve bookmarked all of these sites except for the printable calender. I prefer to buy the hardbound copies, because they’re sturdy and they work best for my needs.
@ Anthony – I agree with you on the printable calendar, I use a printable calendar at work though and I certainly do not mind writing all over it.
Looks like I’m already doing all of these things. Before I buy anything I will spend 5 seconds to google the store name + promo code or coupon code. Sometimes RetailMeNot does not have all of the coupon codes so I check out other sites too. It’s really funny because my friends all make fun of me because I’ll spend 5-10 mins looking for coupon codes, even if we are just ordering pizza online.
@ Shopping to Saving – you are ahead of the curve then. So many people do not take the time to read reviews or just go out and purchase something without realizing they could have saved some money online by using a coupon or coupon code.
This is a great tip that everyone should be doing…every single time you shop online! I like slickdeals.net still, but simply googling the products can pull up deals and coupons too.
Also, I need to look into printable calendars since I have one on my phone (who doesn’t these days?) but I still like to have a paper version for my kids with their school activities and reminders.
I love retailmenot and obviously personal finance blogs 🙂 They help me stay accountable and give me ideas of where to save money. Every time I go to make any purchase that’s planned, I try to look at reviews – it can save a lot of headaches!
@ Daisy – it can certainly save a lot of headaches, but now that I have started blogging and approached to write positive reviews. I question their credibility now.
Good idea about reading financial blogs! Thanks Christopher.
I’m a huge fan of the personal finance blogs one! Other than that I normally google store name + coupon code and end up at retailmenot. Maybe I should bookmark it after all…
There are tons of websites like RetailMeNot.com. Just need time to browse them all.