I personally love all those “daily deal” sites: Groupon, Living Social, Google Offers, and even a local one called Daily Deal Omaha are a daily source of interesting deals. The ones I watch for most, of course, are deals for local restaurants, preferably 50% off or better, particularly for expensive venues I might not be able to afford otherwise or places I’ve been wanting to try.
I’ve racked up a couple dozen of these deals already, and now comes the point in learning how to use them without wasting the money I was supposed to be saving. Granted, most of the sites will allow you to redeem at least what you paid for a coupon if it does expire, but it’s much better to take advantage of the deal in the first place. Here are a few tips:
- Keep track of your deals: know when they expire and make plans to use them. I keep a spreadsheet with each deal, its location, and expiration date. Then I sort them chronologically so I can plan to use them. Timing helps — when you have an anniversary or birthday coming up, you can use the coupon as a gift. Date nights are also especially fun (just as long as your significant other isn’t offended by your frugality).
- Don’t buy deals if they’re out of the way. I have a couple Groupons located some half-hour away from my home, and nowhere near anyplace I usually shop or travel. Thus, using one of them becomes a special trip in itself. Is there any reason for me to drive half an hour to save $6 on a burrito? I don’t think so.
- Only buy what you’d probably use anyway. That restaurant you’ve been wanting to try, or a discount to a baby store when you’d just had your first kid — if you’re going to use it anyway, get it. Just be aware that spending $15 instead of $30 is still more money out of your pocket than $0.