Ways I Save Money at the Moment | brokeGIRLrich
So life has been a little weird the last few years as an American living in the UK, while going to school, and I was thinking, for today’s post, I would share some of the ways I save money (not huge amounts of money) but that still work over here.
Cashback Rewards
If you don’t already have these installed in your browser, you’re just throwing away money. I’m not saying it often makes a huge difference, but with a click or two these browsers applications will automatically scour the web for coupon or cashback deals. I have found that all three still work, but the Rakuten one sometimes gets a little wonky, asking where I am.
Honey – A browser extension that automatically finds and applies coupon codes at checkout when you shop online. It also tracks price history and offers rewards (“Honey Gold”) at select retailers.
Rakuten – A cashback app and website that gives you a percentage of your purchase back when you shop through their links at partnered stores. Payouts are sent via check or PayPal.
CapitalOne Shopping – A browser tool that compares prices across retailers, finds coupon codes, and highlights better deals. It also offers reward credits that can be redeemed for gift cards. You don’t need to be a Capital One customer to use it.
Rewards Credit Cards
I do not recommend this if you do not pay off your balance every month. Rewards cards have very high interest rates. But since I do, I continue to do a small amount of rewards card hacking, and even when I’m not specifically trying to do that, I put everything on one of my cards that I keep continuously, which still gets me some points.
At the moment, I’m trying to reset my ability to open cards (some of the best ones will only let you open a certain number of cards per year/per two years) in the hopes of using miles for a trip to Japan in a few years. But the first year of my PhD I paid my tuition and visa fees using a few rewards cards and managed to cover a two month stay in an AirBnB when I arrived with those rewards, get an extra flight home and pay for some of my summer travels.
So, if you also pay off your balance every month, this can be really useful. I just watch carefully to make sure I’m only opening cards with no foreign transaction fees these days, which is a lot of them.
Loyalty Cards
If I shop there regularly, I’ve got a loyalty card for it, from Lidl and Starbucks to the little coffee shop I study in sometimes by my campus and the coffeeshop around the corner from my house that I flee to when I need just somewhere else to study.
Most importantly, I use them. I keep them somewhere logical. Quite a few are digital, which is great, but both of those coffee shop ones live in my backpack, since I’m unlikely to head out to study without it.
Too Good To Go
This is app is awesome if you are not a picky eater. Too Good to Go is a social-impact mobile app (available on iOS and Android) that connects you with restaurants, cafés, bakeries, and supermarkets selling surplus food at large discounts, typically ⅓ of the original price.
There are also several nurseries around us that add plants to this app, which is wild to me. Fortunately, they are too far away for me to easily walk to or our apartment would be a jungle. I particularly like if I’m headed into London a little later in the day that the food places at the train station, past the ticket gate, have really big sales between 10-1 PM selling off their breakfast foods, which I’m perfectly happy to eat for lunch.
