“A penny saved is a penny earned.” — Benjamin Franklin
DISCLAIMER: The content provided on this blog is for informational and entertainment purposes only. The views expressed are solely those of the author(s) and do not constitute financial advice. Readers should not consider any information on this blog as a substitute for professional financial, investment, or legal advice.
Any actions taken by the reader based on the information provided on this blog are taken at their own risk. The author(s) and/or publisher(s) of this blog will not be held responsible for any losses, damages, or consequences that may arise from following the information, advice, or suggestions mentioned herein.
Please consult with a qualified financial professional before making any financial decisions.
This post is a bit of a grab bag — but in a good way. These are the random, low-effort tactics we use to save extra money online without turning it into a full-time hobby. If you’re someone who wants to save money but doesn’t have hours to research deals, clip coupons, or optimize spreadsheets, these are for you.
None of these require extreme discipline or major lifestyle changes. They’re mostly tricks or things you can try in a few minutes and move on with your day.
Let’s jump in.
Abandon Your Shopping Cart (On Purpose)
This one probably drives businesses crazy — which is why I love it when it works.
We’ve received:
- 5–20% off purchases
- $5–$10 off coupons
- Gift cards toward future purchases
All for doing… basically nothing.
How it works:
- Add everything you want to your cart
- Go to checkout and enter your shipping, billing, and credit card info
- Wait about five minutes
- Close the browser or tab
- Wait 24–48 hours and see if an email shows up
According to multiple sources, about 70% of online shopping carts were abandoned in 2024 (SellersCommerce, inventora, stripe), resulting in roughly $18 billion in lost revenue (SellersCommerce). Companies really want to claw some of that money back — and one way they do that is by sending discount offers to people who almost checked out.
It doesn’t work every time, but when it does, it’s an easy win.
Credit Card Offers (The Ones You Have to Activate)
Most people know about credit card points, miles, or cash back. Fewer people realize that many cards also offer extra, targeted deals that you have to manually add.
Both Chase and Amex do this (and I’m sure others do too).
Linked Offers
We’re a Chase family, so we log into the app/website and click on “Offers.” At the time of writing, we have:
- 117 offers on our Chase Sapphire Preferred
- 144 on our Freedom Unlimited
- 145 on our United Explorer
- 126 on our Freedom Flex
These usually range from:
- 3–15% cash back
- Or a flat $10, $20, or even $100 back if you spend a certain amount
And this cash back shows up as a statement credit, on top of your normal rewards.
Anna took advantage of one of these recently for Ulta. Ulta was already running a “spend $100, get a free gift” promo. On top of that, TopCashBack (referral link) was offering 6% back. So far, we’ve earned $509.97 from Shopping Portals (previous blog) in fourteen months.
So the stack looked like this:
- $10 back from Chase
- $7.06 from TopCashBack
- 118 Chase Ultimate Rewards points
- A free gift (which she later sold)
Those little stacks add up quickly.
So far, we’ve earned $282.18 just from Chase offers:
- Chase Sapphire Reserve – $106.85
- Chase Freedom Unlimited – $133.55
- Chase United Explorer – $41.78
If you are interested in one of these cards, we’d be so grateful if you used one of our referral links.
- Earn 125,000 bonus points with Sapphire Reserve® or 75,000 bonus points with Sapphire Preferred®. I can be rewarded if you apply here and are approved for either card.
https://www.referyourchasecard.com/19u/FN37QQ2142 - Earn cash back with the Chase Freedom Unlimited or Chase Freedom Flex credit card. I can be rewarded if you apply here and are approved for the card. Learn more.
https://www.referyourchasecard.com/18d/T5X4UJYCOL - Choose any United MileagePlus® credit card that is right for you. I can be rewarded too if you apply here and are approved for the card. Learn more.
https://www.referyourchasecard.com/215j/DL2DO2N427
Targeted Offers
Credit card companies randomly select people to receive special offers. In the past, we’ve gotten offers for Starbucks and HBO Max. Others have gotten them for grocery stores, hardware stores, and furniture retailers.
The frustrating part is seeing people online post, “I just got X offer!” and realizing… you didn’t.
We’ve received two targeted offers in the last four years. I still check every week, hopeful every time.
There are apps and websites that will automatically check for targeted offers if you give them your account details. Personally, those make me a little nervous — it’s a convenience vs. security tradeoff you have to decide for yourself.
Chase My Bonus (Not a referral)
Try to Cancel your Subscription
I discovered this one completely by accident.
I clicked what I thought was a “cancel changes” button… and it turned out to be cancel subscription. When I clicked it, a message popped up offering 25% off if I stayed.
I awkwardly accepted and pretended I knew exactly what I was doing.
I tried it with another annual subscription, and that one didn’t offer a discount — it just canceled future renewals and set an expiration date. That experience gave me anxiety, and I probably wouldn’t have tried it intentionally.
That said, if you’re feeling brave, it’s worth a shot. If it works for you, let us know in the comments.
Ask for a Discount
This one is a little nerve-racking because it involves talking to an actual human. I’ve had better luck with service-based purchases than products. Product sellers will usually price match competitors, but not go beyond that. Services, on the other hand, often have more flexibility.
My approach:
- Find a competitor offering something similar
- Spend about 10 minutes understanding their pricing
- Call the original company
- Explain you’re considering switching and ask if they can beat the competitor
This saved us $120 per year on internet service.
It also worked at our local hardware store when I joked that I heard you could get two knives sharpened for the price of one. To my surprise, she only rang me up for one.
That sharpening also happened to be paid for with a gift card that I bought at our local grocery store which earned fuel points — fuel points have helped us save $307.61 on gas in 2024 and $340.25 in 2025. (More on fuel points in a future post.)
Not every attempt works. I once tried this with a large financial institution and failed spectacularly. They offered to “match” a bonus only if we signed up for managed services that would have cost us more long-term. Hard pass.
Calling a real person usually works better than chat. It’s easier to build rapport and be clear about what you want.
Library Extension
This one is a bit niche, but too good not to mention.
Anna and I love reading, but most books we only read once. Paying full price every time adds up quickly.
There’s a browser extension called Library Extension. When you look up a book on Amazon (show in the green box below), it checks your local library to see if it’s available — physical, ebook, or audiobook.
Our library offers all three. I prefer ebooks because they’re portable and don’t take up space, so I check out a lot of library ebooks now.
We’re Android users, and Google has an app called Google Opinion Rewards (Not a referral). You get short surveys (usually under 20 seconds) asking things like:
- Did you visit this place?
- Did you make a purchase?
- What do you think of these search results?
They pay between $0.10 and $1 per survey. It doesn’t sound like much, but over 12 years I’ve earned $409.33 in Google Play credit — mostly used for books that weren’t available at the library.
There’s an Apple version too that pays via PayPal, though I haven’t used it.
Facebook Marketplace
Before buying something new, we usually check Facebook Marketplace.
We regularly find items for 25–75% off retail. The biggest savings for me:
- $300 off (50%) a balance board for my standing desk
- 80% off a discontinued keyboard I absolutely love
There are plenty of resale sites out there, but Marketplace is usually the first place we check.
Wrap Up
For now, that wraps up this mini-series on how we save money while shopping online. None of these tips require extreme effort — just a little awareness and a willingness to try.
I’m sure we’ll have more posts like this as we learn new tricks. If you have any tips or ideas, please share them in the comments. We’d love to try them and pass them along.
In the next post, we’ll talk about ways we’re saving money inside the house.
Talk to you next month. 👋
