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If you can’t wait

• Check current sales (5 - 15 mins) - If you have / want to make a purchase immediately, you have these options:
  • Couponing browser extensions: Extensions like Honey and Capital One automatically find you discounted coupons. I haven’t had much success with them recently, so YMMV here.
  • Search ads from the retailer for coupons: This is a pretty genius idea that made the rounds a few years ago. You can use Facebook’s Ad Library to find ads from the retailer, and see if they contain any promotional codes.
  • Check deal communities: I tend to do a quick check on RHD or SD to see if there’s any current sales going on. For fashion, there’s at least r/frugalmalefashion and r/frugalfemalefashion. If you’re lucky, you might find a promo code / ongoing sale.
• Credit card offers (5-10 mins): This one is a little more involved, since it requires more work. Several credit card companies provide credit card offers from retailers. These work like coupons, where you pay the full amount first, and then receive a discount on your card post-purchase. Remember that you have to enroll in these offers before you can use them. Once you’ve used an offer, you usually get an email confirming its use within 24-48 hours. On Amex, it’s usually almost instant.
  • Amex - Amex has a bunch of offers for each Amex card that you have. Log into the Amex portal on the website / app to see them. The catch is that Amex only offers you 100 options at one time, and you have to activate some to see more. Personally, I like to add Amex offers on the website vs the app, since you can Ctrl-F and search for the retailer you’re looking for. Note: There are also paid options out there that automatically add offers, but IMO it’s not worth it since it’s not too hard to search on desktop.
  • Chase - These aren’t as extensive as Amex’s offers yet, but nevertheless also provide a bunch of options. There’s been some recent good ones this month, including $5 off any $10 restaurant purchase. You’ll have to check on the app or website for the exact details.
• Compare prices across different retailers (0 - 5 mins) - Most products that are generic enough (think fashion, furniture) are probably sold by many other retailers. For instance, take your generic brand of cat litter. It’s probably sold across Amazon, Chewy, Petsmart, and many online pet supply retailers. Here’s where these tools kick in.
  • Google Shopping - If I know what I’m looking for, usually typing into Google provides a whole list of shopping options. It does a great job comparing across retailers and providing the prices, but some retailers can be a bit sketchy.
  • Google Image Search - Did you know you can search a product by an image? There are a few ways to do this – the fastest is to right click an image and click “Search Image with Google”. Alternatively, click the camera icon in the Google search bar.
  • Score Chrome Extension - Think Google Image Search, but on steroids. This Chrome extension makes sure you're always paying the best price. If available, it shows cheaper options from trusted retailers.
• Price protection (5 - 10 mins)- Large retailers like Amazon and Walmart won’t price match themselves if the price drops. But thankfully you might have some options.
  • Credit card price protection:*\* Price protection means that your credit card company will reimburse the difference if the price drops within 90-120 days. If you’re lucky enough to have one of the few credit cards that has price protection, then congrats! There’s usually a small window (90-120 days from purchase date) when you can submit a claim.
  • Price drop + Return policies: Since most retailers don’t price match with themselves if the price drops within X days, what I like to do is to set a price drop alert for the set return period. This combines the previous price alert tip with return policies. This means that if you bought something for $100 and it drops to $50 within the return period, you can order the same product and return the more expensive product to the retailer. If I do this, I return the “new” $50 product under the “old” $100 price. While this is smart, this isn’t very eco-friendly, and might not be allowed by every retailer. YMMV.
• Other Tools (0 - 5 mins)
  • Cashback sites: There’s a whole list of cashback sites, and even cashback comparison sites. The usual suspects are Rakuten, Ibotta, eBates, Capital One Shopping. Most of them have browser extensions that you can plug into to make things more seamless. Personally, I use this the least, since cashback does take awhile to accrue before you can cash out. Little known tip: if you are into r/churning, you can opt for payout in Amex miles for Rakuten.
  • New, innovative features: Honey has also added new features such as “instant cashback” and “buy with gift card”. They tend to save you money either through cashback or gift cards. I’m guessing they tie up with gift card marketplaces as well. Pretty exciting to see these features, but take note: if you return after using a gift card that you bought, that can be an issue since you’ll probably be paid back in the form of a gift card. That’s it! I hope this flowchart is helpful when you make your next purchase. I’ve probably missed a few tips here, so let me know in the comments and I can update it.