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I can’t count how many times I’ve been suckered by retailers!
But I’ve grown smarter over the years, and now I use these 5 tools to beat retailers at their own game. Here’s how to do it:
1. Use Trim to automatically cancel recurring subscriptions.
Have you ever tried a free month of a subscription service like Audible, and then forgot to cancel your subscription after you downloaded that first audiobook?
Most of us have! Retailers who offer subscriptions count on you forgetting to cancel until it’s too late.
AskTrim.com is a (free!) site that automatically combs your bank accounts for recurring payments, then sends you a list of subscriptions you’re paying for (over text!!). All you have to do is text “Cancel Spotify” or “Cancel Netflix,” and Trim will contact the company and cancel your subscription for you.
Suddenly it’s safe to try out a “free” month’s subscription to whatever you want again!
Here are some of our favorite subscription boxes to try out.
Download Trim and become a professional free-month only subscriber.
2. Use Paribus to help you get money back when an item you already purchased goes on sale.
Paribus makes it painless to protect yourself from another trap we all fall into — buying an item only to find out it went on sale two days later!
Paribus watches your online purchases through your email confirmations, tracks the price of items you’ve purchased, alerts you to price drops — basically, they do the heavy lifting to help get you a price adjustment. You can literally save money while you sleep.
Download Paribus and put it to work earning money for you.
3. Use Fakespot to get a grade for every Amazon product review.
Did you know there are fake reviews on Amazon?
Fakespot is genius. They give every product on Amazon a grade, A-F. “A” doesn’t mean the product is good or bad. It means the reviews are good and you can trust them to make your purchase. And “F” doesn’t always mean don’t buy. But it definitely means don’t trust a word those reviewers say.
Just copy and paste any Amazon product link into Fakespot, and within seconds, you’ll see whether it earned its 5-star review or bought it.
Download Fakespot and stop getting scammed by fake Amazon reviews.
4. Use Raise to buy discounted gift cards and save an extra 5-30% on everything.
Tired of paying full retail price? You don’t have to ever again.
You can buy a $50 gift card on Raise.com for $43.59. (Yep, you just got a $6.41 “raise.”)
There are thousands of gift cards for sale at Raise. Average savings are 12-15%. This means every time you buy something with a Raise gift card, you’re paying less than the list price for the item.
The cool thing about Raise is that “eGift cards” are sent to you instantly, which means you can buy them on the go. You can use them in-store or online. There’s a 16-digit code the cashier enters at checkout, and your gift card is applied to your purchase.
The Raise app even lets you set alerts for when gift cards for specific retailers hit a certain percentage-off point (e.g., Anthropologie gift cards at 25% off or more). Wait, don’t set that alert. That one’s mine. . .
If you’re new and you sign up today, you’ll get $10 off your first gift card purchase of $50 or more with code KCL2017!
Download Raise and start paying less for your purchases.
5. Use the Amazon app as your secret price-matching tool.
Major retailers like Target, Walmart, Best Buy and Toys “R” Us have price-matching policies that allow you to price match to online stores like Amazon.
Use the Amazon app to scan the item you’re considering purchasing. The app will pull up Amazon’s prices instantly so you can compare.
What you do next is up to you. Either place an order on Amazon from the app, or just march that data right up to the counter of the store you’re at and ask them to give you the Amazon price.
Download the Amazon App and get Amazon prices no matter where you’re shopping.
Honesty is the best policy (except maybe store return policies with no receipt required, amirite?) so we want you to know that companies like Paribus compensates us when you sign-up using the links we provided above.
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