Have you ever put a chip in the dip, took a bite and then dipped again? You’re a double-dipper! But, are you a savings double-dipper? You should be. Here’s why:
Double-dipping is when you take advantage of multiple promotional offers for one purchase at the same time, and doing it can result in huge savings.
Manufacturers and retailers don’t plan on customers taking advantage of multiple money-saving offers concurrently. Honestly, not many people do. So, if you’re organized and patient, you can cash in on some incredible deals and huge savings.
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Here are the four steps to becoming a successful double-dipper:
1. Plan Ahead
Spend some time researching your purchase’s best price. I recommend Google Shopping, weekly sale circulars and the smart phone app ShopSavvy, which searches for the best price both online and in stores after you simply enter the product name or scan in a UPC code.
2. Map It Out
Review the following possible promotions, offers and discounts that exist for your purchase. (It might be helpful to write it all down.) Be sure to read the fine print on all offers so that you know about any limitations or exclusions, like discounts not applicable toward sale prices or a rebate that’s only valid with a certain size or variety of product.
• Cash-Back Sites: Purchases made through sites like Ebates and Be Frugal issue rebate checks for items from thousands of online retailers. To qualify for these cash-back offers, click on the merchant link from the cash-back site so that the transaction is tracked and credited to you.
• Manufacturer Rebates: These offers are typically listed in weekly sale flyers and on manufacturer websites. You can also check out my site, Freebie-Depot
• Rewards Programs: Many retailers (like Best Buy, OfficeMax, Walgreens) have their own loyalty programs where you can earn cash back, gift cards or merchandise. Check retailer websites or with their customer-service department for available programs
• Reward Credit Cards: Make all purchases with a credit card that have added perks like rewards, miles or cash back
• Discounted Gift Cards: You can purchase gift cards for national retailers for up to 30% percent off on eBay and popular gift card resellers like Cardpool and Raise.com.
• Promotional Discount Codes: The go-to source for online promotional codes is RetailMeNot or you can search Google for the retailer name followed by the phrase “promo code.” (e.g. ‘Kohl’s promo code’.)
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3. Make Your Purchase and Double-Dip
Apply the discounts, coupon codes, sale prices, rewards and more if you can! Keep in mind that retailers may limit your use of store-specific discounts like coupon codes and store rewards, but they can’t keep you from using discounted gift cards and reward credit cards. So, there are always opportunities to double-dip.
4. Reap the Rewards!
Here’s an example: Say you’re shopping for printer cartridges and they’re $50 at a national office-supply retailer, like Office Depot. Here’s how to double-dip (five times, actually!):
• Purchase with a discounted gift card (6%): save $3
• Use online promo code discount ($10 off $50): save $10
• Get cash back from online rebate site (3%): save $1.20
• Get cash back credit card reward (5%): save $2.00
• Use store loyalty card to earn rewards
TOTAL SAVINGS: $16.20 (32%) + rewards
That $50 printer cartridge is now only $33.80.
Added bonus: Saving money is fun, but you can also make money with these strategies.
Free-after-rebate offers become money-makers when combined with double-dipping. Apply multiple promotions (as in the example above) and you can walk away with a little cash in addition to the free item. You could make even more by selling the items in a garage sale or on eBay!
Likewise, free-after-rewards (as opposed to rebate) offers are ideal for double-dipping. Drug stores and office-supply stores frequently offer items that you purchase and receive the amount back in the form of a gift card. Use a reward or cash back credit card to purchase discounted gift cards that you can in turn use to purchase the free after reward item. Then, that will be a profitable transaction as well.
So, where’s that bowl of dip?
Photo credit: Getty/Mark Bowden
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