Live Like a Super Saver With These 10 Tips

With the cost of everyday living on the rise, it’s important to save money wherever possible. Savings on one thing means more cash for another part of your budget or stashing it in a retirement plan or emergency fund.

Super savers are a special breed of consumers who search for discounts in every transaction. 

Whether that’s buying clearance items, stacking coupons or another combination of tactics, they always find a way to save.

But how can you live like a super saver? Here are 10 ways to stretch your dollar.

10 tips for living like a super saver

Super savers find savings in nearly everything they do. These tips will help you to live like one and watch the savings add up.

Making shopping lists

Super savers don’t go to the store without a shopping list — especially the grocery store. They’ve already reviewed the weekly ad, know where the specials are and added those necessary on-sale items to their list. This helps them avoid impulse spending. Super savers go to the store, buy only what they need and get out with their budget intact.

Buying discounted gift cards

Super savers use gift cards differently. Instead of giving them as gifts, they purchase unwanted gift cards online at a discount and use them to pay for the things they need. 

For example, a super saver will head to a site like CardCash and save up to 2.8% on a gift card from Whole Foods or 2% on one from Kroger. You can also buy discounted cards directly from people on sites like eBay.

While these savings sound small, that can add up when you consider a family of four may spend $940 to $1,528 per month on food.

Clipping coupons

Couponing isn’t as lucrative as it once was, but it still can play a role in a super saver’s life. While going through the weekly ad, a super saver finds coupons that match their shopping list. This ensures they’re getting the best possible price on everything. They’ll also find matching coupons from the manufacturer and the store that they can stack at checkout to save even more.

Using rebate apps

Super savers find savings everywhere and get many of these savings via rebates. They sign up for mobile device apps like Ibotta, Rakuten and Capital One Shopping, which offer percentage rebates at a wide range of sites online and in stores. Much of the cash back is in small percentages, like 1% or 2%, but sometimes, there are promos in the double digits for super savings.

Accessibility to these savings isn’t immediate, though. You generally have to wait until you reach a certain payout threshold, then the company will either send you a check or a PayPal payment.

Raking in credit card rewards

Credit cards get a bad rap because of their high-interest rates and potential to bury you in debt, but they can be beneficial if used responsibly.

Super savers often use their rewards credit card for daily purchases to accumulate reward points and then pay off the full balance by the due date. This ensures they get points but pay no interest because they paid off the credit card balance within the interest grace period.

It takes discipline to pull off and avoid overspending, but it can lead to valuable rewards, such as gift cards, hotel stays, airfare and even statement credits.

Saving on gasoline

You can also save on gasoline with mobile device apps, such as GasBuddy or Upside. These apps show you where the cheapest gasoline is near you and offer special cash back and per-gallon discounts at select gas stations. Gas station franchises, such as Exxon Mobil and Shell, offer rewards and discount programs.

Saving at the deli

While deli meats and cheeses don’t often have deep discounts, some grocery stores offer the ends of sliced deli meat at deep discounts because they’re too small to slice. You can cut these ends at home or cube them for use in soups and other meals. You may have to ask for these ends, but some stores will place them in a special cooler near the deli counter.

You might also be able to get leftover bones free or at deep discounts and can use them to make broth.

Checking the clearance aisle first

When you head to the store, check the clearance aisle first. You may find the exact item you were looking for — at a dramatically reduced price because it was returned or the packaging was damaged — including best sellers that are rarely discounted. Always thoroughly inspect the item before buying it to ensure it’s not damaged or missing components.

Hitting discount stores

Discount outlets purchase overstocked, returned and unwanted inventory from stores and manufacturers at deep discounts and resell them for less. Shopping at outlets can save you a lot of money over time as long as you’re selective and research pricing before buying.

Stacking savings

Finally, the true sign of a super saver is stacked savings — combining multiple savings opportunities for maximum results. For example, they may buy a clearance food item, use a coupon on that item, claim cash back from Ibotta and use a rewards credit card to pay for it.

Individually, those four savings opportunities are small, but when combined, they can add up to significant money saved.

Live life like a super saver and stretch that budget

With budgets seeming to get tighter every day, saving on everything you buy is becoming more important. Super savers are experts at digging up savings on just about everything, ensuring they have plenty of money to live on. By following the 10 tips above, you can live like a super saver too and make your budget go farther.

If credit card bills are making your budget hard to manage no matter how good of a super saver you are, the Tally† credit card debt repayment app can help. The app helps you manage your credit card payments, and Tally offers a lower-interest personal line of credit, allowing you to efficiently pay off higher-interest credit cards. 

†To get the benefits of a Tally line of credit, you must qualify for and accept a Tally line of credit. The APR (which is the same as your interest rate) will be between 7.90% and 29.99% per year and will be based on your credit history. The APR will vary with the market based on the Prime Rate. Annual fees range from $0 to $300.