Tips like these helped us pay off $127K in debt. You can read our story in Slaying the Debt Dragon: How One Family Conquered Their Money Monster and Found an Inspired Happily Ever After.
Oh how I love Amazon. When the Princess Youngest was a wee babe, I purchased most of our diapers there. Of course, I love buying books there, too. And music. And workout gear. And gifts. Seriously, if it’s made, it’s on Amazon. However, Amazon can also be a slippery slope that causes us to overspend if we’re not careful. So if you have a weakness when it comes to the U.S.’s largest online retailer (China’s Alibaba.com is #1 in the world), then avert your eyes. If not, I’m sharing 5 Amazon Subscribe and Save deals that I’m snapping up this month.
First, a wee bit about my method of snagging the deals, though.
Buy What You Need
Since Amazon is a dangerous place, you do need to purchase items you actually need. Stuff on sale is still stuff and you have to have a place to store whatever you purchase. I always begin with a list of what we’re running low on.
Search Amazon Coupons
In 11 Top Secret Ways to Save Money on Amazon, I shared that Amazon has a large number of coupons. These coupons can be viewed by category, including only looking at those available on Subscribe and Save products. I typically begin some of nosing for deals by looking at the most popular (you can set a filter for this too), Amazon Subscribe and Save Coupons. I do this simply because I know that there are amazing deal bloggers out there, sharing all of the best deals, which pushes the best coupons to the top of the list.
Buy Items That Usually Suck You Into the Store
Raise your hand if you’ve ever run out for “just one thing” and ended up in the checkout with items you didn’t need. I know I am SO guilty of this! After all The #1 Way to Save Money at the Store is not to go. So when I can, I purchase Amazon Subscribe and Save deals that will keep me from doing just that. At the top of my list are toilet paper, Kleenex, and paper towel. I also purchase toothpaste, shampoo, cosmetics, razors, and other toiletries. I’ll be honest, I *might* be able to coupon some of the items a little bit cheaper (I am a coupon ninja, after all); however, I know my weakness is going into the store and sometimes saving time outweighs the drive to coupon.
Think Ahead
Amazon Subscribe and Save orders are only delivered once a month. So if you need toilet paper NOW obviously, you’re going to be out of luck. However, if you can plan ahead, then you can stock up and always be prepared. Plus, it allows you to bless other people. I may have sent some friends home with an armload of TP one night when they mentioned they needed to go to the store to get some.
Think Outside of the Box
Want to know the weirdest thing I’ve bought on Subscribe and Save? Clarinet reeds. The Princess Eldest needed them and I was shocked to see I could get them at a better price than the store. I’ve also purchased Egg White Protein (it was waaaay cheaper than in the store), vitamins, cereal, and more.
Always Buy At Least 5 Items
You get an additional price break of 15% off when you purchase 5 items or more. So be sure to buy at least 5 during the month to maximize your savings. Sometimes, I’ve added floss or a cosmetic item that was less than $3 to bump my overall price down.
Monitor Your Subscriptions Every Month
Subscribe and Save prices are not locked in. So you might have a coupon or a awesome price one month that’s gone the next. Typically Amazon will send you an e-mail before something ships as a reminder. Then you can get back into your account and decide whether or not the price is the best value. If you can’t trust yourself to do that, then cancel the subscription as soon as the item ships. That way, you won’t automatically receive it again. Otherwise, you will be billed and receive the items again.
Earn and Use Amazon Gift Cards
On Sunday, I shared 7 Great Rewards Programs You Should Be Using! One of those programs is Swagbucks. Over the years, I’ve routinely used Swagbucks to score Amazon gift cards for a couple of reasons. 1) It’s the “cheapest” gift card reward. 300 Swagbucks gets you $3, 500 gets you $5 which you can easily do in a month or two. 2) I can actually use the gift cards to buy things we need. Believe me, I’d rather have the Starbucks but I’m going to get the TP from Amazon.
Here are 5 deals I’m picking (thanks to the above strategies and criteria) this month:
Sparkle Paper Towels, 24 Giant Rolls, Pick-A-Size, White
Hefty Odor Block Tall Kitchen Trash Bags, Scent Free, 90 Count
Kleenex Ultra Soft Tissues, White, 120ct, Pack of 8
Scrubbing Bubbles Toilet Gel Rain Shower, 1 Dispenser and 12 Gel Stamps
Banana Boat Sport SPF 50 Family Size Sunscreen Lotion, 12-Fluid Ounce
You may or may not have a different tax or shipping rate but the numbers on the above items should work out to be roughly about the same amount.
My book is now available: Slaying the Debt Dragon: How One Family Conquered Their Money Monster and Found an Inspired Happily Ever After. You can also check out Inspiration to Pay Off Debt: 30 Days of Encouragement from the Queen of Free
This post contains an affiliate link. That means when you get a great deal or maybe even something for free, you also help our family pay off our mortgage early. And for that, we royally thank you!
