Internet Shoppers: Save Money Like This

With the advent of spring (at least for today!), one's mind turns to one's wardrobe, and how to, shall we say, augment it.

I hate going shopping, but I do like getting new clothes. So, for me, the Internet is a great (and when I write "great," what I mean is "easy" and "tempting") way to go.  By employing a few techniques, I've found easy ways to get great savings.

This site: http://www.cardpool.com/ has gift cards for purchase at a reduced rate (usually an 8% discount). I've used this site extensively (both for buying gift cards I want and for selling gift cards that I can't use), and it's terrific. If I know I want to buy some stuff from, say, West Elm (love their linens), I'll go to the West Elm site and pick out everything I want. Then I make note of the cost and the items I want and make a little visit to Card Pool. I find the card with the approximate amount I want, and buy it (sometimes this can take a few days—they don't always have the cards I want, in the amounts I want). When the card arrives in the mail (usually within 5 days), I go back to the site, review what's in my "saved" cart, make any adjustments, and then go back to the Internet to hunt for online coupons. I almost always find an e-coupon that is 10% off plus free shipping.

That's it—hey-presto!, I've just saved about 20% off my bill! What's even better is that I (almost) never buy anything full price, so I often get even better deals (my best-ever was 95% off some awesome things at Nordstrom, plus free shipping).

There are a few other good things about this approach: first, it distances you from your purchases and saves you from impulse buys or mistakes. I just performed the procedure I described above with Land's End only to discover that two black sweaters I picked out were actually blue. In my initial, "That's it! I need cardigan sweaters!" frenzy, I didn't even notice that I picked out the wrong color.

Second, it saves you from impulse buys.

Third, did I mention it saves you from impulse buys?

I mentioned that I used Card Pool a lot—I do. It's great to use for gifts, too.

Hope this is helpful. Happy Hunting!