Money-Saving Ideas-Part I {Websites}
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I have to say, I owe a lot of the post to my husband, Kevin. He is the KING of money-saving. Obviously this is not anywhere near a comprehensive list of ideas, but it’s what our family has found works.
**I am not affiliated with any of these links, websites, or products. All of the reviews below are my opinion and are provided for your information only.
Money-Saving Websites
- Selling items on Amazon and Craigslist: Both my husband and I have been fairly successful with this money-saving option. Between these two sites (and maybe throw eBay and Etsy in there, too), you could probably sell almost anything.
- Amazon: I listed both mine and Kevin’s textbooks from college on Amazon and we made about $300 from the extra textbooks we had that we weren’t using.
- Craigslist: My husband has recently found an affinity for Craiglist. We live in an apartment and unfortunately people do not always follow the garbage disposal rules–putting larger items in the garbage, placing items next to the garbage bin instead of in it. It frustrated us for the longest time, until……we found out we could make some easy money from it. Don’t be grossed out–anything that we sell is cleaned and in good condition. Recently, Kevin found an exercise ball near the trash bin. We cleaned it, spruced it up, and sold it for a $20 profit. And posting the ad and cleaning probably took about 30 minutes. For $40/hour, you can’t do much better!
- eBay and Etsy: Though I haven’t used these personally, eBay is very reputable and I’ve heard great things about selling there. I also have a shop set up for Etsy and read through the process of posting a listing and everything was pretty straightforward. I just have to find a product and how to package it.
- Amazon Prime: Okay, bear with me here. I know you may say, “But Elizabeth, you have to pay money to have a Prime account. How will this save us money?” Because Amazon has the money-saving algorithm down to a science. Amazon Prime costs $99/year at the time of this post (or $8.25/month). There are two ways I save using Amazon Prime:
- On a majority of items, Amazon’s prices are lower than prices at other stores and they often have more variety of options. As much as possible we price-compare to see if we can find a better deal on Amazon. The savings on the products alone save us money. Kevin’s roommate in college even went as far as ordering things that he would need every month and have them shipped on a regular basis (ex. toilet paper, rice, shampoo, etc.).
- For example, I just ordered a multi-pack (15 count)of oil-based Sharpies
from Amazon for $32 with free two-day Prime shipping and saved anywhere from $3 to $11, depending where you look. In comparison a Sharpies from each of these stores cost as follows:
- Wal-Mart (5-pack)-$11.67 ($35.01 for 15)
- Blick Art Supplies-with bulk discounts $2.89 each ($43.35 for 15)
- Home Depot (5-pack)-$12.47 $37.41
- For example, I just ordered a multi-pack (15 count)of oil-based Sharpies
- The second way we save is by not having to pay shipping. Amazon’s shipping prices range anywhere from $2 to $20+. Prime not only gives you free shipping, but free two-day shipping. Add that to the lower prices on Amazon and you’ve got a great way to get the products you need at a reasonable price.
- On a majority of items, Amazon’s prices are lower than prices at other stores and they often have more variety of options. As much as possible we price-compare to see if we can find a better deal on Amazon. The savings on the products alone save us money. Kevin’s roommate in college even went as far as ordering things that he would need every month and have them shipped on a regular basis (ex. toilet paper, rice, shampoo, etc.).
- Amazon Mechanical Turk: This is one that I used for a while while I was on summer break from teaching. Requesters put a HIT (Human Intelligence Task) up on the Mechanical Turk website and Workers can complete these tasks for payments. Possible tasks include: watching a video, taking a survey, transcribing audio records, and classifying items. Payment ranges between $0.01 and $50 (though most $50 tasks either require a lot of time or a certain qualification). I generally focused on taking surveys that paid more than $0.50. While it is not a comparable income to a full-time job (though some people will claim it can be), it was a great source of a little extra money while I was home.
- Snagshout: Snagshout is discount website that partners with Amazon. They offer products at a discounted price in exchange for an honest review of the product bought. Users can scroll or search for products and “snag” the product they want. The first listing at the time of this post is a Waterproof Bluetooth Wireless Speaker. It is listed on Amazon for $69.95, but you can get it on Snagshout for $19.95 (71% off). Kevin got a phone holder for our car for a fraction of the retail price, all for simply submitting a review on Amazon.
- Kinja: Kinja is essentially a directory of discounts. The site provides links to what items, media, apps, and credits (ex. 25% iTunes credit discount). One of the links today points to the best Labor Day deals.
- Wisebread: This is another site similar to Kinja. It lists the “deals of the day” with categories such as: $10 and Under, Apparel, Beauty, Electronics, Home, Shoes, and Travel.
- camelcamelcamel: A free Amazon price-tracker service that can help you get the best deals on Amazon. They have features like: price drop alerts, price history charts, and browser add-ons. The current front page of Arts, Crafts, and Sewing has Washi Tape Sticker Sheets on sale for $1.20 (original price: $5.04).
- Reddit: Reddit has a sub-reddit for frugal living. Scanning through these posts can give you some great ideas for money-saving tips and tricks.
If you like this post on money-saving, stayed tuned soon for my favorite money-saving apps. services, and tips! If you have any others to add, please feel free to comment and share your best tips, tricks, and advice.