5 ways to save money when shopping online

This is a guest post from Anna of Bargain Moose.

As living costs continually increase, people are looking for more and more ways to maintain their regular lifestyle, but to reduce costs as they do so.

Here are 5 ways that you save money online while you are shopping. It’s easier than you think.

1. Monitor the sales cycles.

Prices of many products can change on a cyclical basis, meaning that you can get better deals at certain times of the year. Some are obvious deals, like sales on chocolate eggs after the Easter holidays, but some bargains are not so obvious.

A little bit of research can tell you the best time of year to fork out cash for the big buys, such as appliances. For example, Earth Day is in April, and many stores run promotions on their eco-friendly and green products around this time.

Laptops and computers tend to see the best deals around the late summer when stores are trying to entice students to buy before they return to school.

2. Subscribe, subscribe, subscribe.

Make a list of all your favorite companies or brands and find their websites. Then, subscribe to their email newsletters to receive special deals and offers.

I recommend using a separate email address just for this purpose, as you’re going to receive a lot of emails.

3. Follow, follow, follow.

Find your favorite companies on the big social networks; Facebook, Twitter, and even Pinterest. Many companies share coupon codes (and even printable coupons) on these sites that are not available anywhere else.

Some great brands to follow Old Navy, Lean Cuisine, Babies R Us.

4. Save on entertainment.

You can even find cheaper ways to entertain yourself.

Consider downgrading your TV entertainment package to save yourself up to hundreds of dollars a year. Then you can take out a subscription to Netflix, where you can watch unlimited TV & movies from $7.99 per month. These shows would be streamed over your internet connection, so you can watch them at any time.

An option for book lovers is eBooks. You can find thousands of eBooks for free, or for only a few dollars.

Check out popular sites like Kobo Books, or the Amazon eBook store.

5. Find coupon codes before you spend.

Before you make any purchase at a Canadian online store, check to see if there’s a valid coupon code to use with your purchase. RetailMeNot is a great site for this.

A bit of searching can save you so much money!

My friend recently used the combination of an online sale and a coupon code for Sears, and managed to buy a $500 KitchenAid stand mixer for only $165, a savings of $335 on one single item!

But beware – you won’t always find a coupon code. If you’ve been searching for a discount for more than half an hour, it’s probably time to give up and admit you’re not going to find one.

While online shopping can be a bit of a daunting prospect to a first-timer, it’s nothing to be scared of.

You really can save hundreds, if not thousands of dollars a year by being a savvy online shopper. Search for coupon codes and keep an eye on your favorite brands and companies.

How do you save money online?

This is a guest post from Anna, owner of Bargain Moose. Anna regularly writes about money saving ideas, with a focus on Canadian coupon codes and online shopping deals.