Shopping: Deals and Discounts

If you are anything like me, you LOVE a good deal on something. I get excited when I use coupons or even get a percentage off something that I wasn't expecting. It's the rush of it all. Almost like I feel like I am getting away with something I shouldn't be. My mom and I practically feel like we are robbing stores like Kohls half the time because they let you use coupons on top of coupons on top of coupons.

I have become more "spending conscious" lately as I have finally realized that we are a one income family (I am JUST now grasping the concept of this almost two years after I stopped working... at least give me credit for eventually coming to terms with this before we were completely broke). Due to the fact that sometimes its just downright hard to leave the house, I have depended on online shopping for a lot of the things I need (and its even nicer when you can have diapers delivered two days after ordering them in the middle of a snowstorm).

So I thought I would share some of my money saving AND money making (yes, you read that right, you can MAKE money from shopping) tips to help you put a few extra dollars back in your pocket.

My 1st FAVORITE online shopping tool is retailmenot.com! This site is to put it bluntly, AMAZEBALLS! I check this site for any and all online and in-store purchases before I check out. I once got a free calendar, magnet, 12 greeting cards and an 8x10 print from Shutterfly just from the coupon codes provided by retailmenot.com. If you didn't know, now you know.

My 2nd (very close second) FAVORITE online shopping tool is ebates.com. Ebates allows you to shop at many of your favorite online stores AND get a percentage of your purchase back in what they call a "Big Fat Check". I was hesitant to use this site at first but I am proud to say that I have received $136.63 in checks over the past 3 years just by shopping through their site. It's simple! Click on this link to start an account (sometimes they even give you a gift card just for signing up!) ebates.com, enter the name of the store you want to shop from in the search bar (I received $6 back from Nordstrom last time just for buying a pair of shoes! Sweet!), click on the link to the store and start buying! So easy peasy! They have pre-entered coupon codes on the site as well so it makes shopping online at a discount even easier. And you can make money for referrals! Some of my favorite sites to shop through ebates.com are
-VeraBradley.com
-Diapers.com
-BabiesRUs.com
-Nordstrom.com
-Target.com
-Amazon.com

My other love and addiction is zulily.com! I became obsessed with this site when I became pregnant with Mackenzie and haven't looked back. They have everything from baby and children's clothing and toys, household goodies, women's, maternity and mens clothing, shoes, and more! I like to think of Zulily as an online TJMaxx or Marshalls. They usually only post items for 3 days, so if you like something, buy it! Plus when you refer people, you get $15 when their first order ships! Its a win, win and you get great stuff at a discount.

Last but not least, my newest online money saving friend, BradsDeals.com! I just found the perfect piece of furniture for our living room at a major discount AND free shipping. It's name brand stuff at awesome prices. I definitely recommend you check it out :)

I hope all you bargain hunters found this helpful. Why not save a buck or two when you can? Happy Shopping AND saving :)

The Darling heartbeat continues...