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I don’t have a big pantry, I don’t have a ton of kids to feed, I don’t have a six-figure salary, and there’s no way I need to stock up for six months.
However, I do love saving money any way I can to help pay off my student loans. When it comes to being in debt, even buying food sometimes doesn’t even seem worth the money.
Gen Y — nah, call me Gen Frugal.
Here’s the millennial’s guide to couponing:
1. Only coupon for items you need — not just because you see a killer price.
If there’s only one or two of you at home, or maybe you don’t have children yet — you don’t necessarily need a six-month stockpile.
Instead of couponing for the best deals, just coupon for things you already eat or use. You’ll save money in the long run and won’t waste food you don’t eat.
2. Save up to 50% while eating out with Restaurant.com.
You’ll never go out to eat again without checking this app first.
Just enter in your zip code to see all the deals in your area. Once you’ve found a deal you want, buy the discounted gift card and save!
Here are some examples of savings:
- $5 certificate for $2
- $10 certificate for $4
- $15 certificate for $6
- $25 certificate for $10
Just remember that many restaurants have a minimum purchase, so be sure to read the fine print.
3. Download the free Ibotta app, and start getting cash back after your purchase.
Ibotta makes it simple. It’s an app full of money-saving rebates for nearly every store you can think of. Instead of coupons that save you money before your purchase, Ibotta rebates give you cash back after you swipe your card.
Check the app for rebates before you shop and pay normally at checkout. Then, upload a photo of your receipt to get credit for each rebate. Finally, cash out via Paypal, Venmo, or in the form of a gift card.
In my first month using Ibotta (very casually, might I add), I saved $35 on grocery and alcohol purchases. If I can keep that up, I’ll have saved over $400 over the course of a year. #WorthIt
Speaking of Ibotta. . .
4. Get discounts and cash back for riding with Uber or Lyft.
Refer friends to Uber or Lyft for the first time, and get discounts on your future rides. That, my friend, is a money-saver.
Uber is now eligible for $1 cash back per ride through Ibotta. Mind blown.
5. Find deals and coupons via the KCL app.
You don’t have to be a krazy coupon lady to use our app.
I usually choose the store I know I’ll be shopping at and browse to find the deals I’m interested in. I can even set deal alerts via the KCL app, and get notified with a push every time the brands I like go on sale.
6. Download and use CrayPay to instantly save on your purchase.
Guys, this is the coolest new app out there, and you’ve gotta download it.
CrayPay gives you the ability to get instant rewards like immediate savings on the entire purchase price. No need to pull out coupons or submit a receipt for rebates. You literally save instantly.
CrayPay rewards you with points on the money you save, not on what you spend. The points allow you to level up to bigger savings on all purchases. The more you save, the faster you achieve new reward levels with bigger incentives.
RELATED: CrayPay: The New Digital Wallet That Saves You Money
7. Use Ebates to get cash back when you shop online.
Every time you shop online through Ebates, you’ll get cash back.
And if you download the widget, Ebates will notify you when you’re shopping on a site currently offering cash-back rebates. You can even get 1% cash back on your Etsy purchases!
8. Never clip a single coupon, and save $99/month by shopping with weekly ads.
No need to bust out the scissors and five copies of the Sunday newspaper anymore.
You can still get ultimate savings on your grocery bill just by shopping your local store’s weekly ad.
Just download your favorite store’s apps, or check their weekly flyers to see what sales and promotions are running.
Increase your savings by using price-matching programs to take advantage of competitor sales.
For example, I compared the following items at Fred Meyer:
Sabra Hummus savings: $2.50
Regular price: $4.99
Sale price: $2.49
Galbani String Cheese savings: $1.80
Regular price: $4.79
Sale price: $2.99
Country Oven Bread savings: $1.60
Regular price: $2.59
Sale price: $0.99
Boneless Chicken Breast savings: $0.62 per lb.
Regular price: $2.39 per lb.
Sale price: $1.77 per lb.
I easily saved $99 on my grocery trip by strictly shopping items that were on sale that week.
9. Use Flipp to digitally browse local flyers.
Want to see all the deals happening at your favorite stores, but don’t want to buy a newspaper?
No worries — Flipp has you covered. Browse a digital version of any store’s ad, and instantly clip digital coupons to use!
10. Buy discounted gift cards from Raise or Gift Card Granny.
Before making any purchase, take a look at either Raise.com or GiftCardGranny.com for discounted gift cards.
On average, you’ll save 12-15% on purchases from your favorite brands.
RELATED: Gift Card Hacks You Should Be Using
11. Print manufacturer coupons from the Krazy Coupon Lady website.
Yes — people still do this.
While I don’t buy the Sunday newspaper to get coupons from RetailMeNot Everyday (formerly Red Plum), Smart Source, or Procter & Gamble, I do print coupons online. It takes just seconds to find exactly what I need.
12. Use Checkout 51 to get cash back on your purchase.
Just snap a photo of your receipt, and earn cash back on qualifying purchases. You can even redeem some rebate offers up to five times!
I’d recommend redeeming your qualifying Checkout51 offers by Wednesday of every week to receive a “bonus” by Friday.
For example, I bought French’s Ketchup, redeemed the $0.50 rebate offer on Tuesday, and by Friday I received another $0.25 because that item was eligible for a bonus.
13. Save an extra 30% at Target with Circle.
Are you Target-obsessed like I am? If you are, don’t shop at Target again without downloading their free app.
This app gives you store coupons, called Circle offers, for products straight to your phone for the cashier to scan. Talk about easy.
Oh, and as a bonus — Target offers free wifi, so you’ll never have an excuse not to use the app in store.
14. Let Honey automatically find you coupon codes for the site you’re shopping on.
Yes, that’s right.
Honey finds coupons for you and applies them to your order automatically — saving you time and money.
15. Use online or in-store promo codes from RetailMeNot.
Before I purchase anything, I always check this app first.
About 99.9% of the time, you’ll find a promo code to save you some serious dough.
UP NEXT: Hidden Features You Must Know Before Shopping on Amazon
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