3 Ways to Save Money Instantly Online

One of the great benefits to shopping online is the various coupon, rebate and dollar-back programs available. If you click through a link, or use a coupon code, your savings can be substantial. In addition, you get all the other benefits of shopping online - no children to drag through stores, no gas costs of traveling there and back, and no hassle of dealing with crowds.

So, once you're convinced to shop online, where can you find the savings? There are several ways to save money online.

Coupons

This is a fairly standard. Go to one of the many coupon sites and look for the store you want to shop with, or search by category, depending on your needs. Be sure to click "apply" when you enter the coupon during checkout.

Although in the early days of online shopping, coupon codes were plentiful and generous, but good coupons these days are hard to find. Some stores will rarely offer coupons while others often offer free shipping on any size order. When you order, or even if you don't order, be sure to sign up with the website either by registering or signing up for coupons. These direct-email coupons are often some of the best you'll ever find.

Here are some excellent coupon sites to get you started:

MyBargainBuddy.com
FatWallet.com
MyCoupons.com

One note: If you are looking for a code for a certain store, don't assume that if it's not available at one website, it doesn't exist. There are different codes at different sites. Visit several coupon sites before giving up hope that a code does in fact exist for that store. 

Rebates

Here's how the big daddy of online rebate programs works. Go to Ebates.com and sign up for an account. Then, when you go shopping, check Ebates before heading directly to an online store. Even if you have a coupon from another site, click through the store link on the Ebates page for more savings.

Points

Not everyone knows about the various point programs available, but since you can earn points without doing any shopping, the points programs are worth knowing.

Visit MyPoints.com and sign up for an account. My Points will send emails (sometimes daily, sometimes several in one day). You click a link in the mail and automatically get 5 points. Sign up for an offer or make a purchase through that link and earn even more points, from hundreds to thousands of points per offer.

My Points is most useful, however, when you're shopping online. It's like Ebates in that you click through a link on the My Points site, and you get points for your purchase. Most stores offer a certain number of points (2 to 4 on average) per dollar spent. Once you have at least 1,000 points, you can redeem the points for gift certificates for restaurants, gas, travel and clothing.

You can't use Ebates and My Points in the same purchase, so if a store is linked through both Ebates and My Points, you have to decide which is the better deal for you. Whenever possible, try to combine a coupon code with the My Points or Ebates deal.

PLR