Many online florists take advantage of situations like Mother’s day and Valentines day and charge exorbitant amounts of money to deliver even a simple bouquet.

Knowing where to order cheap flower delivery from can save you tons of money.

1800Flowers

You’ve certainly heard of these guys, they are one of the largest online flower delivery providers in the US.

They have one of the broadest selections of flowers, assortments and gifts. I’ve personally used them a few times, and you can get some decent stuff for around $50-$60, but rarely did the flowers look like the pictures, and discounts were hard to find.

1-800-FLORALS – notice the similarity?

While it has a near identical name to 1800Flowers, there’s a big reason why 1-800-FLORALS is different. Namely, they are supported by Checkout Saver and we will pay you 15% cashback for any arrangements you purchase there.

Click through our portal to 1-800-FLORALS and you’ll earn 15% Cashback on your purchase, paid back to your Checkout Saver account.

FlowerDelivery.com

Another fantastic cheap flower delivery service which is partnered with Checkout Saver.

Earn 16.50% cashback on any purchases here.

FlowersFast.com – Free Same Day Flower Delivery

One of the best features of FlowersFast.com is no extra charge for same day delivery. This is a lifesaver, because it’s where the other merchants will gouge you – same day flower delivery service is where prices can start making your head spin.

Fortunately, that’s not the case at FlowersFast. In fact, it’s quite the opposite, because not only do they offer free same day delivery, we’ll even pay you an additional 15% cashback for your purchase there.

FTD Flowers – The Original Flower Delivery Service

FTD was amongst the first to provide cheap flower delivery having been founded in 1910.

Today, they still offer great bouquets at great prices. Partnered with more than 35 thousand florists, they’re bound to deliver to your area.

Make Cheap Flower Delivery Even Cheaper with Discount Gift Cards

The gift card marketplace is full of opportunities to save even more on your floral arrangement.

Somewhere out there, someone received a gift card to 1800Flowers, and they’d rather have cash than order an arrangement. Checkout Saver finds these people and buys their gift cards at a discount, which we then provide to you in order for you to save!

Let’s say Alice has a $25 gift card to 1800Flowers and she sells it to Checkout Saver for $19. Once you’ve installed our browser extension you’ll get an automatic alert when you arrive at 1800Flowers allowing you to buy the $25 gift card for $20.

How Do I Earn Cashback When Ordering Cheap Flower Delivery?

It sounds too good to be true but I assure you it’s not – we’ll really pay you around 15% cashback when you buy flowers from one of our partners.

It works like this: We refer you to a flower delivery service using an affiliate link, and when you make a purchase we get paid commission. We then turn around and give most of that commission to you.

It’s that simple – the more we save you, the more we earn.

Speaking of simple, we’ve recently launched our browser extension that makes the process a breeze. Either search for your favorite store through the extension, or visit the store on your own and the extension will alert you if you can earn cashback, or if there are any coupons and discount gift cards.

The post Cheap Flower Delivery – Top Store Comparison appeared first on The Checkout Saver Blog.

The following sites offer the most popular magazines at extremely competitive price points as is, but don’t forget cashback. Checkout Saver WILL PAY YOU additional cash when you purchase a magazine using one of our links. When we earn affiliate commission we pass the majority of that money back on to you (and keep a small % for ourselves to keep the lights on). So please, SUPPORT A SMALL BUSINESS and earn cashback when you buy cheap magazines!

Sign up for Checkout Saver free here, and then visit a store page like https://www.checkoutsaver.com/cashback/Meredith-Magazine-Store to Activate Cashback.

Magazines can be an unexpected source of joy, a monthly treat to look forward to, where you can kick your feet up and enjoy flipping pages – a treat in today’s technology-centered world.

We’re here to show you the secrets to ordering your favorite magazines, like People Magazine, National Geographic, Better Homes and Gardens, and more.

1. Magazine.Store – Up to 92% Off and 30% Cashback

Magazine.Store (Aka Meredith Magazines) offers all the top magazines you’d expect, like People, Allrecipes, and more, at amazing prices. A subscription to Better Homes & Gardens can come in at less than a $1 per issue.

Best of all, use Checkout Saver’s link and we’ll send you 30% cash back to your account. Learn more about that here.

They also offer some of the initial best prices in the industry. We ran a comparison for a top magazine below, and Magazine.Store sold it for over $30 cheaper!

2. DiscountMags.com – Up to 37.50% Cashback

Here’s another fantastic magazine provider that we’ve also partnered with to pay you up to 37.50% Cashback when you make a purchase – DiscountMags.com.

3. Magazineline.com – 22.50% Cashback and Cheap Magazines

Their tag line almost says it all: “Save up to 90% plus FREE shipping on more than 750 Discount Magazine Subcriptions”.

What they left out, is you can even earn an additional 22.50% Cashback on any of your subscriptions at Magazineline.

Want to get cheap magazines, and even get paid for it?

Download our browser extension. You can easily search for the top supported magazine retailers by searching “Magazine”, and you’ll see a list of all the merchants we offer cashback at.

Simply use the extension to navigate to the merchant site using our affiliate link, and when you make a purchase we’ll deposit cashback to your Checkout Saver account.

Which store offers the cheapest magazines?

We did a quick comparison of People Magazine, the 8th most popular magazine in the US, and the price difference at discount magazine stores was staggering.

There is definitely a better store than the rest of them.

Take a look at a very well-reputed magazine store – they state their discount is 62%, and for 54 issues you’ll only pay $123.66.

The price difference between that and our recommended store is a massive $34.56.

That’s right – just by shopping around a bit you can instantly save over thirty dollars! Here’s the proof:

Want to know which store had the better price? Magazine.store.

Excuse me as I channel my inner infomercial, but wait, there’s more. Not only are you now equipped with knowledge of some amazing stores, and which ones offer the best discounts, but we’ll pay you when you make a purchase at any of them.

Here’s How to Earn Cashback On Any Magazine Purchase

That People Magazine that you just ordered at a 71% discount, and instant savings of $34.56 by comparing prices, we’ll pay you an additional $26.73.

Sounds unbelievable, or there’s gotta be some serious strings attached, right? Well, there’s absolutely none. No gimmicks, no special requirements – we’ll literally pay you that much money for buying a magazine.

Let me explain – because we refer you to the retailer using an affiliate link, they send us commission for sending them a sale.

We turn around and pass almost all of that commission on to you (we keep a little bit to turn a profit and bring you these awesome opportunities). So that’s what’s in it for us – we get paid when you make a magazine purchase.

It’s in our best interests to help you save as much money as possible, which is why our service is completely free. You can sign up and start saving today.

Our new browser extension makes the process easier than ever. Simply search for your store and click through to save. We’ll even automatically alert you if you can save money at the store you’re browsing using Cashback, Coupons, or Discount Gift Cards.

Free Subscription Offers

There are actually many websites that offer “free” magazine subscriptions. I say “free” because there’s always an angle, but this is about as good as it gets.

The companies providing the free magazines make money if someone signs up to the ads they show you during the sign-up process. While you can get the magazines for free, you’ll have to wade through these ads, but in the end you’ll come out with magazines without paying a penny.

The Best Free Magazine Provider

There is one portal that stands out from all the others which provides easy access to many free magazine offers. That website is ValueMags.com.

Find Free Magazines at the Library

Libraries almost always keep a well stocked inventory of older magazines, available for free.

It doesn’t hurt to call and find out if they have any programs available for those in special need of magazines, to acquire the old ones as they are replaced by new magazines. This may particularly benefit schoolteachers and those trying to fill their waiting room with easy reading material.

The post The Best Sites for Cheap Magazines.. And Don’t Forget Additional Cashback appeared first on The Checkout Saver Blog.

Before we get started, it’s important to mention you should already be earning cashback at stores like Lululemon when you shop online. Checkout Saver earns affiliate commission from stores when you purchase using our links, and we pass most of that money on to you (we keep a small % to keep the lights on) directly to your Checkout Saver account in the form of cashback. If you haven’t already, sign up free here.

The Sweat Collective is a members-only community for active teachers/coaches/leaders in various sports-related areas. There’s lots of perks, but one of the most important is 25% all Lululemon purchases – sale, no sale, online, in-store.

While we don’t have Lululemon as a partner to send you cashback, we do have 6% cashback at Gaiam, another amazing active wear company. I own about 6 pairs of their sweat pants and there’s nothing better.

Loosely, if you fit one of these groups and are actively teaching, you can apply here.

• group instructors and personal trainers
• professional athletes and coaches
• elite amateur athletes and coaches
• studio owners and managers
• professional run club leaders
• team trainers/team staff

Though they list it as a requirement, you don’t necessarily need a paying job as a sweat-warrior. Starting a local club or meetup with a following and regular schedule can be enough to get you that sweet 25% discount.

Not eligible for the Sweat Collective Professional Discount?

No worries, we’ve got you covered. Keep reading for all the inside secrets to save at Lululemon.

First, it may be worth checking out if you live near a Lululemon outlet store.

Lululemon Outlet Stores

There are currently 19 locations, and to get the most current list check out their store locations.

Buy Lululemon Gift Cards at a Discount

Did you know Lululemon is one of the most popular stores for discounted gift cards? Tons of people receive Lululemon gift cards every day, who would rather trade it in for cash.

You can buy this gift cards at marketplaces like Raise, or use Checkout Saver to automatically remind you when you’re shopping if there’s an available gift card.

PS – You can Sell Lululemon Gift Cards Here

Four words to make you happy: “We made too much!”

Lululemon discounts both in-store and online merchandise at the beginning of every Thursday morning. If your an avid Lulu fan, you’ve probably seen their sale section already, called “We Made Too Much“.

Military Discount – 25%

It should come as no surprise that some of our nations hero’s dig Lulu apparel, and the 25% discount for military and first responders sweetens the deal.

The Lululemon military and first responder discount gets shoppers 25% off everything in the store, including markdowns. There are no exclusions or limits. 

Affiliate Cashback – 6%

Get up to 6% Cash Back for online purchases, sitewide. This deal exists every day when you shop through Checkout Saver or other platforms like RetailMeNot.

An additional 6% right to the bottom line, plus an additional 5% saved from a discount gift card can really make a difference on your Lululemon savings.

What about Coupons?

Sadly Lululemon isn’t too big on coupons, and it can be tough to get a working promo code. Still, it’s worth checking Checkout Saver or Retail Me Not to see if any codes are available.

Want to Automatically Get Paid Cashback for Shopping at Lululemon and Thousands of Other Stores?

Download our free browser extension! While getting paid cashback when you to shop seems like an outright scam, it actually makes a lot of sense. Let me clear things up.

Behind the scenes, when you use Checkout Saver to visit your favorite retailers, you’re being redirected their using our Affiliate Link.

Because we referred you and a sale to the retailer, they pay us a commission.

We turn around and pass almost all of that commission on to you (we keep a little bit to turn a profit and bring you these awesome opportunities). So that’s what’s in it for us – we get paid when you make a magazine purchase.

It’s in our best interests to help you save as much money as possible, which is why our service is completely free. You can sign up and start saving today.

Our new browser extension makes the process easier than ever. Simply search for your store and click through to save. We’ll even automatically alert you if you can save money at the store you’re browsing using Cashback, Coupons, or Discount Gift Cards.

How do I apply the Lululemon discount?

Great question – because the lululemon sweat collective discount isn’t a promo code, lot’s of people wonder how to actually apply it to checkout.

It’s actually tied to your email address, so once you’ve joined the collective and have logged in the discount will automatically be applied.

Now you might be wondering how strict the sweat collective is…

The answer? Go for it. At the end of the day, Lululemon’s need and budget for influencers fluctuates and you’re never going to know if it’s not such a great time to apply or if it’s the perfect time.

You’re odds are definitely better with the larger following you have. It’s quite common for coaches of large sport teams to get accepted where a small running group may not, but it’s always worth the shot.

The post The Lululemon Professional Discount – Sweat Collective appeared first on The Checkout Saver Blog.

This is a how-to guide on combining every tool possible to save yourself insane amounts of money when you shop online.

I’ve been using these techniques myself for years, and now I’ve started a business in order to automate parts of the process for myself and everyone else. I’ve even developed my own money saving hacks which I’m giving away to you for free.

1. Credit Card Cashback

Everyone is familiar with Credit Card Cashback, but it’s important to give it it’s own recognition and to separate it from Affiliate Cashback.

Credit Card Cashback is simple and automatic. Just pay for your purchase with a credit card and get a % back in your credit card account.

I typically recommend the Citi Double Rewards card which essentially gives 2% back on every purchase.

It’s important to note this type of cashback can be stacked with the other methods below, such as Affiliate Cashback.

2. Affiliate Cashback (My #1 Money Saving Hack)

Most people are less familiar with affiliate cashback, but it’s quietly been saving people billions over the years. It’s pretty simple: retailers spend a lot of money on marketing, and some of that budget goes towards affiliate commissions – they pay other people to send them sales. Some affiliates send that commission back to YOU, the shopper!

Checkout Saver has partnered with hundreds of retailers, and when you use our links to check out, we get paid that affiliate commission, which we pass on to you (after taking a small commission).

3. Citi Price Rewind

Citi offers a pretty cool perk with some of their cards: they track the purchase price of things you’ve purchased, and if the price drops within 60 days they credit you the difference.

There are a lot of catches here, like you have to manually input your purchases and their database of price lookups can be limited, but it’s a really neat way to add up to $1,500 / year back into your pocket.

Update: This is hard for me to say, but Price Rewind is no longer active as of 2019. RIP beautiful savings.

4. Paribus – Price Drop Tracker

The perfect replacement to Citi Price Rewind! Paribus monitors your purchases and fights on your behalf to get cash back if the price drops in the near future!

This is a freebie way to claw back some extra bucks, but individuals who value privacy (hopefully all of us), may have concerns about allowing a 3rd party access to all their emails.

5. Coupons

You knew this one was coming! Yes, coupons are one of the easiest and most rewarding ways to save some money when you shop online. There are some awesome extensions out there, like Honey, which automatically test all known coupons for you at checkout!

I highly recommend it, but please also be aware Checkout Saver will be offering coupons at checkout as well, and we’re a super small business in the USA dedicated to saving people more than ever, and changing the world. When you support us, you’re helping us fight climate change, use renewable energy, supporting my dreams, and more.

One-Time Coupons are going to change the couponing world. Soon, we’ll be the first platform to offer you unique coupon codes, provided by other users, which can only be used once. These rare gems will be available at a cost which still leaves you with savings, and the coupon provider will get paid for providing you the code.

6. Discount Gift Cards (My #2 Money Saving Hack)

I bet you’re not currently using a lot of discount gift cards at checkout, but you should be. Did you know you can buy gift cards to sites like Walmart.com on the Raise.com marketplace?

For instance, if you’re checkout out a $30 shopping cart, you can see if any $25 gift cards are available for purchase for $22 or so. Purchase it, and use it against your basket, and you’ll save $3!

Checkout Saver was started to automated this process and make it easy! We want you to be able to be checking out, and we’ll pop up an alert for you to purchase and auto-fill a gift card to save a few extra dollars.

This money saving hack could be what helps you afford those missing things in your life!

7. Store Price Comparison

Another simple one that can have a dramatic affect on how much you pay. Comparing different retailers for the same item could payoff big, and it could take you less time than you expect using a tool designed for this purpose, such as BuyVia (mobile device app) to compare sites like Amazon, Target, and Walmart.

You can also scan barcodes in a store to figure out if you’re getting the best deal, using an app like ShopSavvy.

8. Timing a good deal

This one’s a bit trickier and requires effort and patience. While some tools exist which can track historical prices at Amazon, not many can do it for other sites or let you know to expect a sale on the horizon. This requires getting familiar with the retailer, or hunting down information on forums. We’ll keep you posted if we find a tool that makes this easier, but for now just know we’re working on it, and Target has an annual sale of 10% off gift cards on December 8th every year.

All of these techniques can be combined together to save you a staggering amount of money. Checkout Saver exists to combine Cashback, Coupons, and Gift Cards – the first extension of it’s kind to do so.

We hope you found this guide informative, and we hope it helps you save some money. Again, we’re a small business trying to change the world, and your support would make a huge difference. Please consider downloading our extension today.

9. Dosh (BONUS!)

Dosh is an awesome cashback tool that works seamlessly will all the other methods here. For this mobile app, you link up your credit cards, and when you use them to make a purchase at supported retailers you automatically get cashback to your Dosh account.

I love this one because it’s so simple you forget about it, you just get alerts when cash hits your account. I also love it because it works at lots of stores that don’t have any other discounts, like my local Cuban restaurant and Papa Johns!

https://link.dosh.cash/JUSTINW384 – sign up with my code and we BOTH get $5 when you join!

10. Bumped (BONUS!)

Bumped gives you stock/equity in the company when you spend there. Sign up, then choose your selected retailer for a particular category. When you spend there, it’ll automatically track the purchase from your credit card and pay you your stock dividend as a form of cashback!

I love this concept because it’s unique, and it can be stacked with all the others! https://bumped.com/?ref=64ce8f0b

How Does Affiliate Cashback, The Greatest Money Saving Hack of Them All, Work?

So far I’ve dropped a few bombs with all the techniques and unique savings opportunities, and I realize you may not be familiar with some of them.

While getting paid cashback when you to shop seems like an outright scam, it actually makes a lot of sense. Let me clear things up.

Behind the scenes, when you use Checkout Saver to visit your favorite retailers, you’re being redirected their using our Affiliate Link.

Because we referred you and a sale to the retailer, they pay us a commission.

We turn around and pass almost all of that commission on to you (we keep a little bit to turn a profit and bring you these awesome opportunities). So that’s what’s in it for us – we get paid when you make a magazine purchase.

It’s in our best interests to help you save as much money as possible, which is why our service is completely free. You can sign up and start saving today.

Our new browser extension makes the process easier than ever. Simply search for your store and click through to save. We’ll even automatically alert you if you can save money at the store you’re browsing using Cashback, Coupons, or Discount Gift Cards.

The post Combine 8 Money Saving Hacks to Save BIG appeared first on The Checkout Saver Blog.

Papa John’s Coupons

Want to get the best deal on a Papa John’s pizza? There’s two huge saving techniques you need to be applying at every purchase.

Coupons reign supreme just like a Papa John’s pizza. Check out these pages which shortlist all the coupon deals, and be sure to check papajohns.com and their newsletter.

• https://www.joinhoney.com/shop/papajohns
• https://www.retailmenot.com/view/papajohns.com

Papa John’s Own Specials Page

The best way to find existing specials, and some of the best deals, is directly at papajohns.com. Check out their specials page, dedicated to giving you a filling meal at a great price.

Papa John’s Discount Gift Cards

You’ve probably kept up by now, but now I’m going to throw you for a loop. Bonus round, for insane savings you’ve been leaving on the table for years.

There are massive amounts of gift cards available for sale at cheaper than face value, and there always seems to be a healthy supply of gift cards to pizza joints.

As I’m writing this, Papa Johns Gift Cards are available for sale at a 4% discount at Raise.com. But there’s a catch – while instant email delivery is the goal, it can often times take up to an hour to receive your gift card. Not ideal when hunger is on the line.

Checkout Saver provides discount gift cards to Papa John’s right at checkout, via the extension. We’ll pop up with an alert that will let you purchase and autofill the discount gift card right into checkout, ensuring you get the absolute best deal possible.

Common Papa John’s Coupon Codes

In a rush and dont have time to look up coupons? The papa is notorious for using simple codes like “SAVE25” and “30OFF”. Pick a few numbers, add “OFF” at the end or “SAVE” at the beginning and voila – instant coupon code that makes you feel like you’re winning the lottery.

Of course, you can always use the Checkout Saver Extension to automatically apply coupons and check for discount gift cards.

Papa Johns Cashback – The Ultimate Secret

As it turns out, there’s a way to earn Papa Johns Cashback and I almost guarantee you’ve never heard of it.

On top of the 2% cashback I earn on every transaction with my credit card, I earn an additional 4% when I shop using Dosh.

UPDATE: As of 2020 this method is no longer working, but Dosh still provides seamless cashback when you shop at plenty of other pizzerias!

Get Automatic Papa Johns Cashback Using Checkout Saver

Download our free browser extension! While getting paid cashback when you to shop seems like an outright scam, it actually makes a lot of sense. Let me clear things up.

Behind the scenes, when you use Checkout Saver to visit your favorite retailers, you’re being redirected their using our Affiliate Link.

Because we referred you and a sale to the retailer, they pay us a commission.

We turn around and pass almost all of that commission on to you (we keep a little bit to turn a profit and bring you these awesome opportunities). So that’s what’s in it for us – we get paid when you make a magazine purchase.

It’s in our best interests to help you save as much money as possible, which is why our service is completely free. You can sign up and start saving today.

Our new browser extension makes the process easier than ever. Simply search for your store and click through to save. We’ll even automatically alert you if you can save money at the store you’re browsing using Cashback, Coupons, or Discount Gift Cards.

The post Combine Papa Johns Cashback, Coupons, and Discount Gift Cards for the Best Deal Possible appeared first on The Checkout Saver Blog.

Whether you’re looking to save money for your own education or if you’re thinking ahead to saving for your future children’s education, saving money for college is important. Besides, your bank account will thank you later for the work you put in up front.

Student Loans Exist. Why Should I Save Money for College?

Yes, you’re right, student loans do exist, and they can be a great option to supplement your college fund. But student loans have to be paid back, and their interest rates are…not small, that’s for sure. According to nerdwallet, the interest rate for federal student loans for undergraduates is 5.05% for the current 2018-2019 school year. For parent loans or graduate loans, those numbers go up to 7.60% and 6.60%, respectively. These numbers are also the minimum amounts – actual interest rates could be a lot higher than this.

You might be able to find an interest rate on a private student loan for less than that, but typically you need outstanding credit for that.

Here are some actual numbers: Let’s say you took out a $13,000 loan at this 5.05% interest rate with a term of 10 years. Your monthly payment would be $138.20, and you would pay $3,584 in interest. So over those 10 years, you would pay $16,584. 

Obviously these numbers vary by person, college, and situation, but this can give you an idea. Nerdwallet has a calculator on their site that can give you an estimate based on your situation.

Okay, So I Don’t Want Lots of Loans. Now What?

Start saving money now. Whether you want to find an app that rounds up your debit card purchases and puts the extra change in savings or if you want to add a line item on your budget, it doesn’t matter. Just start putting money aside now. 

If you’re looking for an easy way to make some extra money online, remember our services here at Checkout Saver. Whether you’re looking for cashback on online purchases or a way to earn some extra money through selling gift cards or one-time coupons, we have lots of options to help you generate some extra money. You can put that money directly into a college savings account, and your future self will thank you.

What About Saving While I’m in College?

There are some great ways to save money on little things while you’re in college.

• Find the cheapest places to purchase textbooks. (Hint: it’s probably not the official bookstore. Check places like Chegg and Amazon, or see if your book has a PDF available online.)
• Use your meal plan if you have it, or shop wisely at the grocery store. It might not be fun to go to the dining hall on Saturday instead of out to eat with your friends, but you (or maybe your parents) have already paid for that meal plan. If you definitely want to go out, don’t let that meal swipe go to waste. At least grab some fruit or something you can take to-go from the dining hall.
• Walk anywhere you can, or consider buying a secondhand bike. First of all, you need to be safe, so if that means getting an Uber when it’s late at night and you have a long walk ahead of you – put your safety first. But if it’s the middle of the day (yes, even if it’s raining), make an effort to walk where you need to go instead of paying for an Uber or other ride-share service. If you know you have long treks to work or class, consider purchasing a bike – either new or used. You won’t have to pay for the expensive car parking permit, and you’ll be able to get where you need to go more quickly.

If you end up taking out student loans, make sure you pay them off as soon as possible, even if that means starting to pay them off while you’re in school. The sooner you can be debt-free the better.

Do you have money-saving tips for college that we missed? Let us know in the comments below!

The post Tips to Save Money for College appeared first on The Checkout Saver Blog.

If you haven’t heard, emergency funds are really important. An emergency fund is a separate savings account that has at least six months of living expenses. If you’ve got a lot of debt, it’s okay to start small – start saving towards $1,000 in an emergency fund in case of the unexpected. Once you’re out of debt you can build that up more. 

But what if you don’t have debt, but you are on a budget or want to focus on saving for retirement, a vacation, a new car, or anything else? Assuming you have at least a baby emergency fund of $1,000, there are a few ways you could handle the situation.

1. Give to the Emergency Fund First

I know, your upcoming wedding or that new house in the next neighborhood may look a lot more attractive than an emergency fund, but the smartest thing to do is build up that safety net. Emergencies can arise at any point, whether that’s an unexpected layoff, a car engine breakdown, or a broken pipe in your home. Having a solid emergency fund will decrease the stress of that situation.

Pro Tip: Set up automatic contributions to an emergency fund, preferably to a separate savings account you don’t have to watch carefully. Online savings accounts, like Marcus by Goldman Sachs or CIT, have great yields and are perfect for an emergency fund.

2. Save for Your Vacation/Car/House First

Putting money aside for the fun purchases is a lot more exciting and motivating. You have either an exact number or a good estimate that you’re trying to reach, and you’ll have a reward once you’ve hit your goal. Whether you’re looking to buy a new home because your family is growing or if you’re planning that trip to Paris you’ve been dreaming about for years, you are more likely to follow through on saving, or make small sacrifices in order to put money away.

3. Build a Retirement Fund First

Ah, yes. Retirement. This can almost feel like a mix of the first two. It’s fun, because you can envision a time in your life when you won’t be working out of necessity and you’ll be able to do what you like. It’s also somewhat boring, like the emergency fund, because there’s no immediate return. You might have a time you’d like to retire, but that’s not a guaranteed countdown. However, saving for retirement will definitely pay off in the long run, and it’s best to start saving for retirement as early as possible.

Save for All Three, at the Same Time

“What?! But that’s too much to save for! How could I possibly save for all three?” Take a deep breath, it’s okay. There’s a fairly easy way to save for all three at the same time, but it might take a bit of money out of your budget. Make sure you’re not going into debt, and then consider this approach. 

1. Emergency Fund: Consider this a line item in your budget. How much can you afford to give to your emergency fund each month? Is it $100? Is it $1,000? Is it $10? Whatever it is, commit to building your emergency fund until you reach at least six months of living expenses.
2. Fun Savings: This is something you’re excited about and looking forward to, right? Make a small sacrifice, whether that’s making coffee at home instead of going out, spending Saturdays at the park instead of the movies, or any other small change you can make. Put the money you would have spent toward your fun savings. If you’d rather not make sacrifices, find a way to bring in a little extra money on the side. Complete online surveys for money, create a blog with passive income, or find a way to get cash back and sell gift cards and one-time coupons, right here at Checkout Saver.
3. Retirement: Many employers provide a retirement savings match program for their employees. At the very least, give to your retirement fund the amount your company will match, otherwise you’re leaving “free money” on the table! If you’re self-employed or if your company does not offer this, make a line item in your budget for retirement savings, just like you did for the emergency fund. The earlier you can save for retirement, the more your money will grow with interest. If your employer offers a match, it’s best to setup automatic contributions to at least get the match (typically 2-4% pre-tax from your paycheck).

Automatic contributions are the key here. No matter what your goal is, setting up recurring automatic contributions (try for every payday) to a separate savings account is one of the best things you can do to achieve your goal. 

It is possible to build an emergency fund, save for retirement, and save for fun purchases at the same time. It might take some sacrifice or a little extra work, but it’s certainly possible. Be sure to take a look at how Checkout Saver can help you save more money than any other platform by combining cashback, discount gift cards, and one-time coupons to your online purchases. Let us know how we can help you save for your goals!

PS. Want a super cool trick to earn a little extra cash? Check out this post on selling your coupons for cash.

The post How You Can Build an Emergency Fund on a Budget appeared first on The Checkout Saver Blog.

1. Pay with Cash, Not Card

Studies have shown that we are often less likely to overspend if we pay with cash. In fact, one study in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied showed that consumers tend to treat credit, debit, or gift cards like “monopoly money.” It is psychologically more painful to hand over cash than a credit card. Challenge yourself to use cash whenever possible for the next 30 days and see how many purchases you change your mind about before buying.

2. Consider Your Card Payments

You might be thinking, “that’s great, but what about my online payments?”. True, there are certain times it’s incredibly inconvenient or nearly impossible to pay by something other than a credit card. That’s okay. If that’s the case, and if we’re not talking about a utility bill, take 24 hours before you make the purchase. Leave the item in your online cart and think about it. If you still think it’s a good idea 24 hours later, make the purchase. Again, see how many purchases you decide not to make in the next 30 days.

3. Cut the Extras

If you’re someone who loves going out to eat or getting a fancy coffee every morning, consider taking a break this month. Buy ingredients in bulk at the store to save money (you can freeze if you have more than you need!), and try out a new recipe. My best recipe hack is referencing Hello Fresh recipes – over 2,500 simple, quick, delicious and cheap recipes available online with picture instructions FOR FREE. Make a big batch of soup or salsa chicken or whatever sounds good to you on the weekend and use that to meal prep for the week. Not only will you save money, but you’ll save time, too!

4. Get Cash Back

For those purchases we mentioned above that have to be made with a credit card, consider harnessing the power of Checkout Saver. You’ll save some money on each purchase you make, on qualifying websites, so you can feel a little better about using your card. (Remember, no other tool saves you money with Cashback, Auto Gift Cards, and One Time Coupons)

What money saving tactics do you use after the holidays? Or did you have some pre- or during-holiday saving plans? Let us know in the comments below! 

The post 4 Ways to Save Money After the Holidays appeared first on The Checkout Saver Blog.

How would you like to generate more passive income from the blog you’re already maintaining? If you’re a blogger and you’re not already generating passive income, you are missing out. There are so many ways to generate income, so let’s take a look at a few here:

Sell Advertising

Advertising is actually one of the more difficult ways to make income, because you need to have a fairly high, consistent amount of visitors to your site. That said, if your blog consistently ranks on Google, you could certainly sell advertisements to companies.

Sell Information

If you’re an expert in something, or even if you are passionate about something, consider selling your thoughts. E-books, online courses and membership sites are all hot ticket items right now. These typically take a lot of work upfront in creating the products, but once that’s established, you can market and bring in money.

Affiliate Programs

Being an affiliate is one of the best and easiest ways to make money passively, especially if you already have a good-sized following. Simply endorse products, brands or companies, and if someone from your audience purchases using your link or code, you make a commission. This is one of our favorite passive income methods here at Checkout Saver, so we created a version of affiliate commission of our own!

If you want to go this route, we recommend one of the following affiliate networks to get started with: ClickBank, CJ Affiliate, and Share-A-Sale

Refer Checkout Saver and Earn Money

Let’s face it – everyone wants to save money, especially if it’s easy. So no matter what your blog niche is, chances are high that you will be able to find a way to offer Checkout Saver to your readers and maximize your earning potential. Here’s how it works:

Inform your followers about Checkout Saver, and offer them your referral code to use when they sign up on our website. This code will either be a link or an actual code they can enter at registration. Using this code gives your follower $5 just for signing up, and when they make their first purchase we’ll send you $5!

Why?

Well, we’re a lean startup and funding is minimal until we grow our platform. We want all of our users to love this platform, and you can help us promote our brand while you bring in some extra cash! And we’re not talking about pennies here. If you invite 20 people a month this year that would be an extra $1,200 that you can withdraw to your PayPal account. And all you did was tell your followers about Checkout Saver and helped them save money.

Ready to Get Started?

So do you want to earn passive income? Sign up now, before this feature disappears! Eventually the referrals will generate a set dollar amount rather than percentage, so lock in this awesome opportunity now!

The post How to Generate Passive Income with your Blog appeared first on The Checkout Saver Blog.

Next time you’re at an online checkout, take note of that gift card field.

Soon, our browser extension is going to alert you at hundreds of the largest online retailers, offering to auto-fill a discount gift card into that field for you.

So, how does it work? It’s stupid easy.

1. First, Sign Up for an account at CheckoutSaver.com (it’s free).
2. Install the browser extension (It’s a very simple + lightweight app which lives in your browser, only waking up when it’s time to save you money)
3. At checkout, click the Checkout Saver icon and you’ll have the option to purchase an available discount gift card. We’ll always display the best price, say, $20 for a $25 Gift Card.
4. Purchase a gift card using your Checkout Saver account balance or credit card with a click of the mouse.
5. The gift card will be auto-filled into the checkout form.
6. Pay the remaining balance on the order, and you’ve just saved money!

Let’s say you’re buying $30 of avocados at Walmart.com. At checkout, you use Checkout Saver to purchase a $25 Gift Card for $20 (a 20% discount!). The gift card is automatically applied with a single click, and the outstanding total is cut to $5. You finish paying however you’d like, and smirk at all those free avocados*. (Note: The way things are going, a savings of $5 may only represent a single free avocado, not plural as the punch line suggests. Still, a free avocado in 2019? That’s cause for celebration)

The post Announcing Auto Gift Cards appeared first on The Checkout Saver Blog.