How To Shop for Free: 7 Easy Ways That Work
Are you a person who is looking for ways on how to shop for free? Getting freebies is what most people love because you don’t need to spend your money. You get to save money to pay for your other expenses. With inflation, the cost of food, bills, and gas is skyrocketing like crazy.
According to Yahoo, 69% of Americans have less than $1000 in savings. That is over half of the people in America who are struggling with saving. When you don’t have that much in your savings, you should start looking for ways to get some things at a discount or for free to cut down expenses.
Whether you are a money-savvy individual or not, you must take control of your finances. Most people love getting free things such as food, beauty products, gift cards, or traveling. As technology advances in society, there are many opportunities for everyone to make money online, start side hustles, and earn easy money. Everything you want to know is literally on the internet.
If you’re always on the lookout for freebies or want to save extra money, there are multiple ways to do so.
Curious About How To Shop for Free?
No one teaches you how to earn money online or get stuff for free. Sometimes you need to figure out ways to save or get free things by yourself. Personal finance is an important topic that not many people understand.
The following methods are simple strategies that you can use to save and budget according to your income. When you implement some of these methods into your daily life, you can save so much more in the long run.
Sample Products
Let’s be honest here. Most people love getting free samples. Whether they are individual samples or sample boxes, this is a great way to try new products and save money. With the internet, there are thousands of places or websites out there that give you free samples to test and try before buying the full-sized version. Why spend money on something you are not sure about when there are free options for taking? Figure out what suits your needs before buying them.
Sample products come in different sizes and shapes, and they last quite a while. Some brands and companies give out free samples to their customers because they care about their product experience.
Some sites where you may be interested in getting free samples are PINCHme, I Love Free Things and Amazon Prime.
Use Coupons
Coupons allow people to save and get free things when they are on a budget for the month. They are everywhere, such as in newspapers, the internet, and even in magazines. Not all coupons give out freebies, but some do, such as fast-food restaurants like McDonald’s, Chick-fil-a, Subway, Wendy, and Sonic. Coupons from restaurants might offer free desserts, while stores offer small products like lotion or detergent. There are coupons for many stores and websites.
Now, getting coupons does not mean you should use them every day. Coupons are there to help you with your financial situation. Some people think they will save more by using coupons often. That is not how it works. It would be best to use coupons to save a couple of bucks here and there.
If you do not get coupons in the mail, you can use your smartphone. If you want to know how to shop for free, learn how to be a master of coupons because coupons save people an average of $1500 per year. How amazing is that?
Unique websites to get outstanding deals include Coupons and Groupon.
Free Trial for Subscriptions
Subscriptions boxes and services are all the rage. It can be expensive, so most people sign up for a free trial to see if it’s what they want or not—what a great way to shop for free by signing up. You can get free music streaming, snacks, meals, coffee, audiobooks, etc. For example, Netflix offers a free month trial if you sign up. That is one month for you to watch amazing shows or movies! Once your trial is up, you can cancel to avoid the charges.
Free trials are incredible when you don’t want to pay for something you don’t know. Many big companies do this because they want their customers to enjoy their test trial services first. Before buying anything, opt for the free trial first.
Take Online Surveys
You might be wondering, “How do I shop for free by taking an online survey?” When you do online surveys, you can earn free money to shop. Taking these surveys does not mean you are going to be rich. Taking online surveys doesn’t require a lot of energy or time because you can do this in your spare time. You can earn up to about $25 or more.
By taking surveys, you can trade your points in for gift cards for places you love to shop, like Amazon, Ulta, Macy, Nike, etc. That can also give you extra money to shop for Christmas without destroying your wallet.
One of the most popular online surveys people use is Swagbucks. There are others as well, and you can test to see if the others are to your liking.
Credit Card Rewards
What better ways to get things for free than your credit cards? If you want to be an expert on shopping for free, check out your credit card rewards program. You can earn up to 5% cash back or get $250 back if you spend $500. Credit cards offer many rewards, so you don’t want to miss out on this tremendous opportunity to get some money back. Many people don’t use credit cards because they are afraid of going into debt, but there are so many great deals they are missing out on by not signing up for one.
Not only do you get rewards, but you can start building your credit score, which will help you in making big purchases like a car or home in the future. It is best to start getting a credit card early to build credit.
When you use your credit cards, you can earn points, which can be used for shopping and traveling. This is how people get to buy things or travel for free. How cool is that?
Many credit card companies have different reward programs, such as Chase, Capital One, Regions, Bank of America, etc. Seeing that there are many credit card companies, this does not mean you should sign up for all of them. Do some research to find which credit card makes sense to you. There are no wrong answers in choosing one credit card over the others. Sometimes people choose two different credit card companies.
Download Apps
There are many apps out there that help you get things for free. You may think it’s a scam, but in reality, millions of people are making extra money to download apps on their phones. Companies are willing to pay an intermediary to find people who don’t mind trying out the new apps. It’s a win-win situation for everyone.
Like taking surveys, you can download apps to earn money and use that money to shop. Whether you are on your phone or laptop, there are many free apps like Mistplay, Ibotta, Fetch, Nielsen Computer & Mobile Panel, etc. If you are wondering how to shop for free, you should check out these money apps to earn money to shop for the things you need and want.
Check Online Marketplace
People are always on the lookout for ways to shop for free. Marketplaces like Facebook, Nextdoor, or Craigslist have a lot of free things that people want to give away. If you are on a budget and don’t know where to get things at an affordable place, you can check these platforms out. People are always shopping for second-hand things because new things are way too expensive. You can find many quality items for a low price or for free. Things you may find are furniture, appliances, clothes, etc. Sometimes, if you are lucky, people are willing to give their things away for free because they want to get rid of them.
Summary
Most people are always in a pinch with money, and they want to find ways to shop for free. Everyone’s situation is different, and you don’t have to copy every strategy. If you wish to earn extra bucks for the month or get freebies, it is up to you to decide what works best. By finding ways to save money, you can build great habits to take control of your finances. These tips and tricks can help those in a bind who need a little bit of extra money every month.
This article originally appeared on Wealth of Geeks.
