I recently had an experience that perfectly illustrates the concept of stacking multiple discounts so I had to share it with you.
I’ll first detail the transaction itself and then list the savings methods used in this purchase.
Of course this process can be used on a variety of purchases (and I often stack multiple discounts), but this one is especially good.
Nike Clothing Savings
I like Nike products. I wear them both to workout as well as in most of my life (I joke when I go to board meetings for a local non-profit that I wear my good sweat pants and tennis shoes those days). 馃檪
In other words, I’m in Nike clothes most of the time.
What I don’t like are their prices. That’s some expensive stuff! So I only buy when I can get a deal.
And boy did I get one recently.
Nike Savings Specifics
Here’s how it went down:
- I wanted a new Nike running shirt (I don’t run, but like the shirts) and knew the retail was $65 (which is what they sell them for at places like Dick’s).
- We went to the Nike Outlet near our home where their retail price was $55.
- One of the best parts about this store is that they always have several clearance racks. I found a running shirt there that I liked for 30% off. Now the price was $38.50.
- I had a $10 coupon from a survey I filled out last time I was at the store. Now the price was $28.50.
- I paid for the purchase with gift cards I bought at our local grocery store. They had an offer in December for $10 off groceries when $50 in Nike gift cards are purchased. I’ll credit this purchase with its fair share of the savings, so that’s an extra $5.70 off. Now the price was $22.80.
- And of course I paid for the gift cards with a 2% cash back credit card, so that’s an extra $0.57. Now the price was $22.23.
In the end, I got a $65 shirt for $22.23 or for a 65.8% discount. Not bad, right?
Stacking Multiple Savings
Let’s review the savings methods I stacked on this one:
- Shop at a store with good prices. Outlet stores have better overall prices than Nike stores or Dick’s Sporting Goods.
- Buy on sale or clearance. Make a good price even lower.
- Use coupons. These can be physical or electronic — we use both.
- Take advantage of special promotions. This is a broad category but in this case it involved gift cards. During the Christmas season our grocery store offered a ton of deals with gift card purchases. I also bought $40 in iTunes cards and saved $5 off on my groceries.
- Always use cash back credit cards. Why not get as much back as possible? 2% here and there really adds up. And in most years the Chase Freedom card gives 5% back on groceries for at least one quarter, so my savings could have been greater.
That’s the latest and greatest deal I’ve accomplished by stacking discounts. Do you have one you’d like to share with us?
photo credit: regan76 New Shoes! (#4915) via photopin (license)
Erik @ The Mastermind Within says
When I go clothes shopping at Christmas time, my mom does something similar at Macy’s for me. She usually has multiple coupons + the sale percentage + her Macy’s rewards card. This always results in some great savings!
Thanks for sharing ESI
Fritz @ TheRetirementManifesto says
I don’t have the patience to hunt down that level of discounts. I focus instead on minimizing purchases. I try to only buy things when there’s a real need, or if the “want” has been lingering for >a few months.
I’d have saved an additional $22.23 on that Nike Tshirt by not buying it. Tee hee (not being snarky, just never buy Tshirts. I’ll get 10 years of use from every tshirt at FinCon17!).
ESI says
1. Hahahahaha.
2. If you’re into free t-shirts, I may have something for you…stay tuned.
3. I bought this shirt with the money I saved by not buying that fancy running watch you showed the other day on Facebook. 馃槈
4. This is a clear example of moderate and selective frugality:
https://esimoney.com/moderate-and-selective-frugality/
I save on one thing, you save on another.
5. You do eat, right? You could apply these same principles to grocery shopping. Or any other category for that matter (as evidenced by the other comments).
Megan says
My husband recently wanted a Fitbit Blaze for his birthday. It retails $200 but we found a sale on Bloomingdales website for $150. I bought through ebates, so extra 2-3% back eventually with a discounted gift card I bought through CardCash. $138 for a $150 gift card. And I paid for that gift card with my credit card that pays 2% back. I’m still not exactly sure how much I ended up paying in the end, but I’m guessing around $130 for a $200 birthday gift.
The magic bean counter says
Definitely some nice savings. As much as we all save and invest, sometimes its good to go out and spend a little bit, especially if its a product that you really like. As a runner myself, I know how important a good running shirt is. well done on the discounts!
-Stafford
Financial Panther says
I try to always buy discounted gift cards using the Raise app. The good thing is that you can basically buy them on your phone while you’re at the mall and they usually pop up in your app instantly, so you don’t have to plan them out in advance. These are usually good for some additional savings since you can also buy the gift cards using credit cards and getting rewards through that.
Cody @ Dollar Habits says
Now that’s how to shop! I try to do something similar when shopping for new clothes. My family usually gives me gift cards for Christmas or my birthday when a little birdie tells them my current ones have been rode hard and put away wet. Even though I have gift cards to spend, I still try to use coupons or other store discounts as well.
We also use the Chase Freedom card. I want to follow your lead this coming quarter with buying gift cards at the grocery store to get the 5% cash back.
Jenzer says
My stacking strategy includes all of the above, plus rebate portals and rewards programs.
Ebates is the portal I’ve used for many years. I’ve installed the Ebates Cash Back Button on my Firefox browser, so when I visit shopping sites where rebates are available, the Cash Back Button will start blinking to alert me. Earned rebates accrue to my Ebates account, and then deposit automatically to my Paypal account a few times a year.
TopCashback is another portal that works much like Ebates and offers even higher rebate amounts for certain merchants. I’ve stuck with Ebates simply due to inertia. If you want to sign up for one or the other, I recommend comparing the rebates available for your favorite merchants before you decide which portal provides a better deal for you.
Rewards programs are a very occasional savings for me. Since I don’t shop/spend much, I accumulate reward dollars very, very slowly. Every so often, though, I earn enough to get a decent coupon or gift card.
Yesterday I bought a rain coat from Eddie Bauer’s web site. I stacked a 40% off sale with a $10 Eddie Bauer Adventure Rewards certificate, a 2% rebate through Ebates (TopCashback would’ve earned me 4%), and a 2% reward from my Fidelity Visa card to get a $99 raincoat for $46.95.
K D says
Yes, I love stacking discounts. I do occasionally buy gift cards at the grocery store when they have a promotion or via Raise. I also buy some gift cards at SAM’S Club (they are always a few dollars less, if not more highly discounted) plus Discover has offered 5% cash back rewards there a lot lately. When we do eat out we like to pay with gift cards (to avoid handing a credit card over or carrying a lot of cash).
I too use on-line rebates. If I remember I check CashbackMonitor or CashBackHolic to see who has the greater rebate among the few I have accounts with (eBates, Discover, Southwest, etc.).
This stuff really adds up, over time.
Laurie says
Just wanted to add this idea to the conversation. My honey recently introduced me to Honey, an extension you can load to Chrome to automatically hunt for discount codes if you’re buying online. Here’s the link if you’re interested. It saved me some money at JCrew Outlet online (ok, it would have if I’d bought the clothes. I was just “window shopping”). https://www.joinhoney.com/
Ken Howes says
Back in 2000, I was at a department store and they had 10% off everything. I brought 4 items up to the counter and the (probably new) sales person rung them up. Then they counted the 4 items and said that I get 40% off. I just said okay, paid, and walked away. I’ve always wondered what would have happened if I would’ve had 10 or even 11 items.
Finance Patriot says
The other things you can do, online, are always shop through a cashback portal like chase rewards mall or ebates. Second, instead of using a cash back card, like we used to do, travel hack instead. Always use a credit card that you are working towards a sign up bonus on. These are great ways to combine frugal living with a love for travel.
Congrats on retiring, my boss makes boatloads of money and is 62, retirement isn’t even on his radar oddly (he prefers a country club membership he doesn’t have time to enjoy)
Wall Street Physician says
I second Jenzer’s suggestion of using portal sites. I’m a big fan of TopCashBack to save money on online purchases.
Bad_Brad says
Something my wife and I do is use a site called cardpool.com … basically it’s a site where you can buy or sell gift cards. Generally, people who get a gift card given to them for Christmas or a birthday (etc) but don’t want the card go there and sell the card, which the site turns around and resells to someone who wants that gift card at a margin (the site might buy a card for 80 cents on the dollar and sell it for 90). We use this for some regulars like Target, Home Depot, etc. If we know we’re going to spend $200 for something at Home Depot, for example, we’ll go to the site, buy $200 of gift cards for 3% off, and we saved $6 (of course, we also use coupons and we have a 2% cashback card). At Target, the discount is 6%. We’ve also used this for Jiffy Lube, Southwest Airlines, Best Buy, Hyatt, etc, etc, etc. Just like with regular coupons, it’s extra spending if you’re just doing impulse buys, but if you were going to spend money somewhere anyway, might as well save some money in the process. Super-easy.