A quick recap: Part 1 shop for sales, Part 2 use coupons and coupon codes for added savings, part 3 use rewards programs to get an extra percentage back.
The final part of my Quadruple Dip Savings Strategy is using cash back rewards credit cards. Now I know many of my readers are completely opposed to using credit cards so let me put some parameters here. If you are a person who cannot control their spending you should not use or own a credit card. If you have tons of debt you should hold off on step 4 until you get out of debt. And, if you cannot pay the balance in full at the end of each month then you are getting charged interest and are defeating the point of using a rewards card.
That being said there are some pretty good deals on the rewards you can get from credit card companies. The main thing to remember when picking a card is to do the math. Some make the math simple while others do points programs which make it a little more difficult. Discover is the most well known for its 1% cash back on everything you purchase. They also have other cards that are specialized with extra cash back for purchasing in specific categories. The best deals on credit cards is widely disputed in the blogosphere. For me the Chase Freedom card was the best option. It gives you 3% back on the three categories you spend the most on (up to $600 in 15 total categories) and 1% back on everything else. The other card that bloggers like is the American Express Blue Cash card. You can see a great comparison of the two over at Free Money Finance.
Lets apply this final segment to yesterdays example. We bought a $1000 television from target and used the firs 3 strategies to get it down to $719.10. We pay for the tv with our Chase Freedom card. This means we get 3% back on the first $600 dollars and 1% on the remaining $119.10. That translates to $12 + $1.19 or $13.19. So now our television cost us $705.91.
In yesterdays example we had saved 28.1% and now we are up to 29.4%. We did all of this without having to negotiate the price. Now I will go into a store and flat out ask for a lower price but many of my family members, as thrifty as they are, just do not feel comfortable doing this. Using this strategy you would never have to leave your house except to pick up your purchase. I hope this series enlightened you to what can be accomplished with the internet and a little persistence. See you tomorrow for Free Samples and Coupons!
Good series on Quadruple Dip Savings. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.