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Saving Every Day - Profit From Online Discounts

--Web Coupons, Rebates and Promotional Codes Free for the Taking

Times are tough. If every there was a time to economize, this is it. It's rare to get something for nothing, but if you're reading this article, you're connected to the Internet have access to a wealth of saving opportunities.

The consumer credit counselors at ClearPoint Credit Counseling Solutions share some of their favorite ways to find deals online.

• Search the Web for "promotional codes" and "coupon codes"
  Numerous Web sites search for and compile promotional codes from various online retailers. Save time by finding a few of these most up-to-date sites and checking them before making any online purchase. Free shipping is a very common offer which will usually shave $5-$10 off the cost of your purchase. The problem here is that some sites don't delete expired offers and you'll have to sift through them.
• Check your credit card's site
  VISA and MasterCard, for example, have a "Discounts" tab on their sites. VISA displays money-saving offers in 20 categories. For example, if you purchase a washer on your VISA at Sears, and you can save $25; flowers from either of two national florists. You really never know what deals you'll find. These offers do have expiration dates, but it's worth bookmarking the pages and revisiting them out every several weeks.
• Use association member discounts
  Membership with various associations and clubs, such as the automotive clubs and non-profit organizations will give you access to numerous money-saving benefits. Check the organizations' Web sites directly. For instance, they may offer an average 35% discount on generic prescriptions,15% off name brands at participating pharmacies, and 10-15% off retail purchases as diverse as books, tires and auto repair.
• Check the source
  Companies realize that when potential customers visit their sites, they need to entice them to act rather than move on to another site. So they often show Web specials on their home pages. A ClearPoint Credit Counseling Solutions' employee recently search from her browser for her phone company and "web specials" and was able to renew her Internet plan for $15 a month less than the prices she was quoted by sales reps in person or by phone. National pizza chain Web sites offer free sides or sodas with deliveries of online package deals.
• Research rebates and cash back
  Some large retailers list manufacturer rebates on their sites. If plan to shop there, you might as well check out these specials first. Today, you'll find a $30 pre-paid VISA card for purchasing a slow cooker, a digital camera rebate for $50, and rebates of $5 off a 1-gallon can and $20 off a 5-gallon pail of paint, respectively. You can also peruse aggregator sites for rebates. Usually you have to join (free) and you'll earn cash back (small rebates) on every purchase you make through their sites.
• Search for "deal-a-day"
  Over the past several years, many deal-a-day (or "deal of the day") sites have popped up. They sell one product at a time-manufacturers' surplus, closeouts, refurbished items, or introductory models. Also look for bargain-aggregator sites which link directly to a host of sites from various retailers' limited-time offers.

Retailers are clever. In general, the higher the expenditure, the greater potential savings. It's common to see promotions of 10%-20% orders of over $75 or $100.

Avoid the temptation of spending more to receive a discount. By increasing the amount you spend in order to receive a good-sounding discount, you're likely to buy more than you would have without it. Make sure to do the math. And, you can find many online discounts with no minimum purchase.

As long as you don't fall for online discounts and buy things you wouldn't otherwise buy, there's no downside to taking advantage of these special offers.

If you would like reduce your costs in other areas, ClearPoint Credit Counseling Solutions offers more than a dozen articles to support your efforts.

If your efforts to save aren't enough to make ends meet, ClearPoint Credit Counseling Solutions offers no-cost credit and debt counseling from NFCC-certified Financial Specialists. Our credit counselors will help you develop a plan to discourage overspending and get out of credit card debt. To schedule an appointment, call 877.422.9045 or start immediately online.