Stop paying taxes on your Amazon purchases....

Recently I bought a $999 electronics item on Amazon.... during check out I realized buying through Amazon and using my Prime it was going to cost me over $77.67 in taxes. Because Amazon has a physical operation in the state I live in, all purchases are subject to being taxed as I'd pay taxes on those items had I gotten them at a brick and mortar.

Amazon will always feature it's items first. There is usually a note like, "Note: Available at a lower price from other sellers, potentially without free Prime shipping." Be sure to click that other sellers link and see what options exist. You need to be smart though, and not just buy the lowest shown price, now all vendors are created equal. And you have to take into account the shipping cost and the potential of being taxed.

What I do is first assess the prices from other vendors, the condition (I strive for New), and the delivery cost. Typically items with lower prices lose their low price when you add in shipping. HOWEVER, you can click the left hand side bar and choose Prime, so only Prime offers are showing if you have Prime. Otherwise, Amazon has a nice little hidden drop down that shows "Price + Shipping" and "Price + Shipping + Tax." Why they wouldn't default to P,S, and T, is beyond me. But likely due to their items would never show up.

As you can see, not only did I find a lower price, but it's free shipping with my Prime AND no taxes from a vendor with good reviews. Don't have Prime? Not a problem, just click "Free shipping" and see what results are yielded. In my case, it shows an even lower total price option.

In short, you can and should learn to be a smarter online consumer. This is just on small lesson of the greater knowledge you can have as a consumer. To increase your savings, you could use Ebates to get cash back on your purchase. And you could even get a reduced price Amazon gift card for more savings. And maybe there is even a promo code to apply.

Let's Help Each Other Save Money

Together, we can collaborate using technology to save money on everyday and ordinary purchases. As well as some of the out of ordinary purchases. Brands and services know there is an audience of shoppers who are willing to spend the money when they can also save money. I use several services to do this, however the primary tool I use is Ebates. I have always been frugal by cutting coupons, using in store offers and other methods. However, I never understood sites like Ebates until last November. Heading into Black Friday I told myself I need to save money or make my dollar stretch further during the holiday season.

What was a one time project is now part of my purchasing routine. I use Ebates for all sorts of my purchases, because the destination of where I am purchasing does not change. I still use target.com, hotels.com, etc. I just start at Ebates website or app, then click the store or business I want to purchase something from. You can even load items into a cart and return to the site after linking through ebates to make the purchase and receive cash back. Or get fancy, and add the ebates browser extension and be reminded when you're online shopping of potential savings by cash back and promo codes.

Since November, I have earned over $275 cash back. $200 of that is from purchases from places like groupon, hotels.com, walmart.com, target.com, macys.com, amazon.com and I could go on. The other $80 has come from teaching friends how to save money using ebates. Each of those friends received $10 instant cashback after their first use of ebates. All four of those friends gave me great feedback and gratitude for introducing them to savings. I want to help you save too. Yes, I get a small referral bonus because ebates is generous and rocks, but truly, there is no risk to you or I in this process. Ebates does not ask for your credit card information, they can mail you a check quarterly or direct deposit the cash back. Your first big fat check as they call it will be sent to you after you have earned $12, and considering your first purchase earns you $10 bonus cash you would see your ebate pretty darn quick.

I am an open book, I can screen shot my ebates account to show you my success. And remember, you never have to pay to use ebates. They make their money by driving traffic to partner businesses listed on their site and sharing the kickback with you.

Questions? Need help? Message me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tenderyoursavings/
 
How to start saving:

1. Sign up for Ebates here - This link will give you a $10 sign up bonus!
2. Find the store you are intending to shop at online e.g. nike, walmart, groupon.
3. Always review the terms to make sure your purchase qualifies. Amazon typically makes it challenging for purchases to qualify, but other sites are much easier. 
4. You CAN use promo codes too while receiving cash back. 
5. Make your purchase. 
6. Within 24 hours you should see a credit on your account.
7. Once you love saving money, get the browser extension.
8. Repeat steps 2-6

Ebates has a help section, don't hesitate to check it out. Please do return to this page to sign up. That is the only way I can assure you that you get $10 after your first purchase. Ebates "How to Join" help page. 

Here's my most recent display of savings:

Save money with casual travel planning...

Do you want to travel more and for less? If so, there are many secrets to share, however this is a huge shift in mentality for most consumers. This requires patience, strategy and a bit of luck. Didn't lose you yet did I? Ok good, why I say all of this is because when you want to travel more and for le$$, you have to be open to going somewhere you may not have thought of or been considering. You should always strive for somewhere new, or within the region or category you were seeking (i.e. beach destination, Europe, big city, anywhere other than home, etc).

How do you go about this? There are MANY ways to do this. You can try to do plans last minute or you can be on standby for follow some great travel blogs dedicated to finding you deals.

Part 1 - Research

1 - Head to google.com/flights and put in your home airport code and some dates. The map feature here will show you all sorts of cities and options around the globe. Typically highlighting the best fare. The other crazy fun site is Skiplagged. The airlines hates that site, which means if they hate it then you must be benefit big from it. Google Flights as of December 2016 lets you track the price of tickets and get updates when the price goes down.

2 - I faithfully follow Thrifty Traveler by email and Facebook. This site has an incredible ability to navigate the backwaters of travel deals. Often finding people 50% savings and up on flights to Europe. This tactic requires date flexibility, but it's worth it I promise. Even if you think you've got a pulse on travel deals, these folks will beat you to the bunch nearly every time. For example, I am a dedicated Delta Amex holder, they alerted me to Paris flights for 40k miles, a huge discounted amount compared to the 80k+ round trip fares usually require. So for 80k miles, we booked 2 round trip Paris flights.

3 - Use an app such as Hitlist, Skyscanner, Skiplagged & Fareness to track and evaluate cheap opportunities. Now that Google Flights has this feature, it will eliminate the need for some apps. These are all great apps that I use routinely anyway, and they're free.

Part 2 - Make the Buy

Waiting and looking for the best fare is part 1 and surely very important. However once you've identified the flight and airline you want to book there are a couple things you want to do before making that purchase. And remember, you have the legal right to cancel ANY flight you book within 24 hours of the purchase.

1 - Use Ebates to book with Expedia, Orbitz, Travelocity and more and you can earn upward of 10% cash back. That $750 trip just may give you $75 back, and if it's business travel, that's free money!!
You won't earn huge dollars on your plane ticket, however you vacation package (hotel plus flight), hotel stay, car rental or cruise booking could really yield some cash back.
 
2 - Get an Airlines credit card to earn miles and receive perks like free baggage and higher priority boarding. I have the Delta Airlines card (an Amex) and the American Airlines card (a Mastercard) and I love it. While they do have a $100 fee annually, I save that easily with baggage and earning miles. I earn not only through card spend, but also using rewards dining network.

How Coupon Cabin can save you BIG

With so many coupon websites out there, how can you navigate which ones are legit, current or worth your time? Simply stop re-creating the wheel and rely on bloggers to do that work for you is what I say. Should you blindly trust bloggers? No, there is usually something in it for them too (ad impressions served to you, referral bonus for driving traffic, credit card sign up bonuses, etc.)

However, bloggers typically have done the homework to know what's a great site. One of those sites is Coupon Cabin. This site is robust with a cashback bonus like Ebates and Honey, except sometimes it's larger for a brand and sometimes it's less. They provide a clean user interface (10x better than their old site) which has holiday gift ideas, promo codes, printable coupons, grocery coupons, free samples and more!

 

Let's Talk Cash Back vs Competitor Sites:

Pros: The cash back arrives potentially sooner than Ebates. With Ebates it's once a quarter, however with Coupon Cabin it's every 45-60 days once you've hit over $7. They have several stores and websites that Ebates and Honey do not. For example, Chewy.com, a site that can save you money on pet supplies compared to the brick and mortars.

Cons: There is not an in browser or app feature. They seem to have more rules and stipulations for qualifying purchases.

Expert Saver Thoughts: This is a must have site for your back pocket. We suggest keeping Ebates as your primary, however if you have the time, be sure to cross check with Coupon Cabin for who has a greater cash back offer. If a site or business does not appear in one, check the other. Between the two, surely the site is covered unless it's incredibly niche or small town recognized.

Earn When You Dine, It's Free to be Rewarded

For many years I have been a member of Rewards Network dining reaping rewards casually from dining out at my regular restaurant faves as well as checking out some new ones. There is no cose to join, this is a win-win for you and the restaurant. For me, I earn miles back on my two preferred airlines frequent flier miles. I've earned VIP status through meeting the number of dines per year which gives me 5 miles per dollar instead of 3 miles per dollar. Cumulatively I have earned over 20k miles on Delta. That's a round trip airfare!

How does it work? You choose a rewards program you want to tie a credit or debit card to and any time you use your card at a business in the program you earn points, miles, credit etc. You can belong to several, however you can only use a card for one program. I use my Delta card for Skymiles, and my AAdvantage card for miles there. I also have my debit cards and other credit cards tied to the Skymiles account.

You can get started and earn an immediate bonus with Skymiles. Feel free to click the image above and explore other programs related to reward programs you're already a part of. 

NerdWallet values Delta SkyMiles at 1.8 cents a piece on average, your rewards rate can be as high as 9% if you’re a VIP member.

Starbucks or Caribou, 50% off savings this week.

Whether you love just one of both, Starbucks and/or Caribou have a couple offers you cannot resist.



Starbucks is giving you $10 when you reload your App balance using Visa Checkout with $10 or more. Personally, I have Visa Checkout within the app, so I reloaded my balance with $15 and they emailed me a $10 gift card the next day. This is the second time they've done this promotion.

Caribou has a fantastic offer on Groupon right now. Spend $10 on a Caribou egift card and they send you a second gift card with $5.

Make the most of your money by heading to Ebates, then searching Groupon within Ebates for an additional 6% cash back.
 



What Ebates show for Groupon. Make life easier by adding Ebates to your browser extension.