Looking for the best app that can save you a lot of money? Then you need to know about Groupon deals (if you don’t already!).
Groupon has launched nearly a decade ago and has become one of the most used online platforms for heavily discounted local deals. For example, you can save on beauty services, restaurants, and events in your local area at 40-60% off regular prices.
How?
Groupon is able to do that by attracting many local businesses who want to get exposure to new clients. In order to enroll with Groupon, a business has to provide a large discount on their service or product to new clients who purchase a Groupon deal. As such, local businesses get exposure to new clients, and new clients receive a hefty introductory discount as an incentive.
All you need to begin using this saving app is to open a free Groupon account. You can either do it on their website or by downloading Groupon app to your mobile device. If you don’t feel ready to open an account yet but want to check the deals available in your area, you can do so on the Groupon website. Select the city you are in, and either browse Groupon deals by category or search for a specific term in the search bar.
Here is a screenshot from Groupon that shows their simple-to-use interface and categories available.
To make online purchases, you will need to add a credit card to your Groupon account. In order to maximize savings with this app, make sure to add a rebate credit card.
If you check out my post about Rakuten cash back app, you will learn how to save an additional 3 – 6%, which will make you feel almost guilty for getting local deals for nearly nothing! Of course, you should not feel guilty. Advertising through Groupon deals is part of typical marketing costs that businesses bear to build awareness and grow their business. If you combine Groupon deals and Rakuten cash back together, your savings will be substantial. The only thing you have to remember is to log in to your Rakuten account prior to making a purchase via Groupon.
One word of caution about using Groupon deals app to save money. If you want to stick to your monthly budget, please don’t build a habit of simply browsing on this app. This way you can avoid the trap of buying items you don’t actually need just to get a good deal. In order to save money with Groupon, you need to:
- Know what specifically you are shopping for before you even open the app
- Remember to get additional savings by logging into your Rakuten account
- Use a rebate credit card to make your purchases on Groupon
- Buy only those local deals that your monthly budget can easily accommodate
I make approximately one or two purchases on Groupon each month. Each of these purchases saves me at least a combined 70% off on each local service or product. I only buy what I would have bought that month even if Groupon did not exist. For example, hair salon services or an occasional meal at a restaurant.
As you can see on the screenshot above, there is one Groupon category called Goods. This is where you can easily waste money instead of saving it. This category is full of impulse-buy items, which means you have to avoid it at all cost!
I also viewed Groupon Getaways category for hotels and vacation packages and found it to be pretty unexciting in terms of savings. Most deals have very limited dates (most of them being week days), and you can save way more on hotels and traveling through other online platforms (stay tuned for a blog post on that).
In summary, if you approach Groupon wisely, you can easily stretch your monthly budget and get more done. Groupon made it possible for me and my daughter to enjoy some great local deals that would have been too expensive otherwise. Simply remember the steps I described above to optimize your savings and enjoy discovering some of the best local businesses at huge discounts!