Savvy Online Shopping

We are seeing an increase in shopping online as the pandemic unfolds. But, did you know that you can save a lot of money with a few simple tricks? 

The internet runs on advertising, and getting traffic (website views) is big business. Sites that direct people to websites can earn cash for doing this. This is how they can afford to pay you to shop through them. 

Cashback sites

There are a number of sites that offer cash back on your online shopping. In addition, if you renew your insurances through them. It takes time to earn cash back, but once you have some, can claim in vouchers or cash. Not all online shopping is covered, so you may want to select a site based on whether it includes the companies you use most. To earn cashback, you need to enter the shopping website via your cashback site, which will then track the purchase. 

We're registered with Quidco, which will also track all your debit / credit card spending and offer cashback on selected purchases. Using the link will give you a £10.00 cashback offer. 

According to the Money Saving Expert, the highest cashback is paid by Top Cashback.  This Money Saving Expert Blog has some great advice and information on using these sites. 

Discount Vouchers

Many online retailers accept discount vouchers and codes, which give you money off your online shopping. There are a wide range of sites which have lists of voucher codes you can use:

• Groupon 
• Honey 
• MyVoucherCodes
• Vouchercodes
• Wowcher
• This blog has done the hard work for you, in evaluating the best voucher sites out there. 

If you sign up for their newsletters, they will send you details of the latest deals. The alternative is you can simply search for 'voucher codes for (name of online shop)'. This can be a bit hit and miss, because there are normally terms and conditions, and not all of the vouchers are valid. 

I prefer Voucher sites that include a browser 'extension' a little programme that is added to Chrome, and when you shop, it will automatically search for any relevant vouchers, and add them to your shopping basket. I am currently using Piggy

Price comparison websites

The internet makes it easy to 'shop around' and you can find the best price on an item from the comfort of your armchair. You may have used some of these for checking for the best deals for insurances, utilities etc:

• Compare The Market.com is the site we normally use, largely because of cute meerkat toys! However, they do save all your details, so you don't have to start from scratch each time you want to check your deals. 
• GoCompare is memorable for the most annoying adverts ever.
• Confused.com
• Uswitch

In addition to these sites, there are sites that will help you find the item you want to buy at the best price. Simply search for the item you want to buy, and the site will find the best price available for you. 

• Google shopping
• Price Grabber
• Shopping.com
• Shopzilla

You can read more about these, and see reviews of them in this blog. 

Online Safety

If you are shopping online, do take precautions:

• Set up a bank account for online shopping. In a previous blog we looked at a range of banks that operate without borders, which can be set up online. Keep the balance low. 
• Use Paypal or a secure payment service to make payments online
• Only deal with reputable websites
• Don't give out more information than you have to
• Use secure passwords - see an older blog for more tips.
• Watch out for additional charges, such as delivery, and import costs if you order from other countries. 

Shopping online is easier, faster, and you don't have to leave the house. If you use the tools in today's blog, you will find it is cheaper too!