Three Ways to Help Save Hundreds Shopping for Your College Dorm

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So you want to save money while college shopping, but you have the biggest shopping list you’ve ever made. What do you do?

I’ve been there. It’s tempting to just give up and go for it. Prioritize and just buy what you can and hope its enough. Only buy the very cheapest items and maybe have some money left over. Throw caution to the wind. But friends, it doesn’t have to be that way!

You can get quality products and still save money. Why should you trust me? Because I did it!

Below, you will find the three tools I used to save hundreds of dollars while shopping for my dorm. Let’s get started!

The Target App

Alright this is something I thought everyone knew about, but apparently not. If you go to Target even semi-regularly, get the Target app! Cartwheel is a part of the app that has exclusive in-store Target coupons for just about everything. Coupons used to be in the Cartwheel app, but Target has combined its two apps into one! The storage on my phone is probably grateful.

Now when I say there are coupons for just about everything, I mean it. The other day we were out of syrup and it had a coupon for 15% off syrup. That’s 15% we wouldn’t have saved if we didn’t have the Cartwheel app! My favorite coupon is 20% off my favorite dairy free ice cream. It’s like buy four get one free! I’ve seen anywhere from 5-25% off, and I just browsed the app to see what coupons are currently available. Guys, it’s everything from Neosporin to office supplies to yogurt to bedding to air fresheners!

Target has great sales for back to school anyway, and a ton of essentials! A lot of these items have extra coupons for app users, so be sure to double-check your coupons before you check out to make sure you’re truly getting the best deal and saving as much money as possible. You can even combine coupons and sales! I mean, what’s better than that? Some deals include free products or gift cards when you buy a certain amount of product. I got a $5 Target gift card just for having a coupon from the app and purchasing shampoo and conditioner! They often have these deals on household goods, so be sure to take advantage of them while shopping for your dorm.

You can see some of my Target finds from last year that are still available in this post!

If you need to go for a Target run, there’s probably a coupon for at least one thing on your list. When you’re shopping back to school, there are so many coupons just waiting to help you save money! How can you pass this up? The Target app will help you save money now, and throughout the school year.

Ebates

Shout out to Julia from Julia Does for creating my Ebates obsession. If I’m buying something online, I’m buying it through Ebates. The only way I’m not is if Ebates doesn’t have the store I’m on, which is rare. Let me tell you how Ebates works, because hey I understand if you’re skeptical. I was skeptical at first too.

When you shop through Ebates, you get cash back. The amount varies depending on the store, I’ve seen amounts from 1% all the way to 30%. At the end of the financial quarter, Ebates sends you a check with all of your cash back you’ve earned in those three months. And we’re not talking about just a bit of change, I usually receive at least $1-3 for every purchase I make using Ebates! My current lifetime cashback is over $300. I joined in March of 2017 – just over a year ago! That’s $300 more than I would’ve had if I was buying the same items without simply using the Ebates browser.

I used this on major purchases like my mini fridge and microwave, as well as my hairdryer and my laptop! Using Ebates for my custom HP laptop saved me $188.50. And they had a coupon for a free printer with laptop purchase. Yep – I received $188.50 cashback just for my laptop alone, and got a free printer along with it just by using Ebates!

The Ebates app has special deals and double cash back days that aren’t available through the normal web browser, so I typically find what I want on a larger device, and then order it from the app on my phone! Another cool thing about Ebates is that they often carry every coupon available on each site, as well as Ebates exclusive coupons! This is the sort of tool you can’t afford to not use!

Bonus: if you sign up with this link, you’ll get $10 bonus cashback just for signing up! That is literally free money. Your first “big fat check” will be on its way before you know it!

Amazon

Amazon Prime Day treated me well. I was able to get quite a few things I needed, such as an external charger, heating pad, desk lamp, and more! Some of these items were discounted by 50% or more, which lead to major savings.

What is Prime Day? Amazon Prime Day is a huge day of sales that occurs mid-July, with both general and hourly sales. It can be a bit overwhelming but if you know what you need and you know what you’re willing to pay (and what you aren’t) for those products, you can have great success. The only catch is that it’s for Prime members only.

If you’re a Prime member, you need to take advantage of Prime Day. Not a Prime member? Then I have some great news for you: college students get 6 months of Amazon Prime free when they sign up with their valid university email address. That’s right, there’s Prime for Students! And after those six months, its 50% off per year while the university address remains valid. 6 months free is already $50 in savings, and then another $50 for each year you have Prime as a student! Followed by savings on shipping and whatever deals you get while shopping Prime Day. In my book, that’s a major win.

Not a student and don’t have Prime? Click here to start a 30-day free trial! Prime Day 2019 has been stretched to two days, July 15th and 16th, sign up now to make the most of Prime Day savings!

In conclusion?

If you are a Target shopper you need to get the Target app.

Online shoppers? You need Ebates. It’s a must! You can start getting cash back now by following this link, and signing up!

Amazon shoppers need to take advantage of Prime Day! If you’re a college student or have a college student in your household there are 6 months of free Prime just out there waiting for you. What are you waiting for?

At the end of the day, shop smart! Shop the sales. Take advantage of coupons. Know when you need a quality product, and what you should splurge on before you walk into a store. Have a budget and stick to it.

Good luck, and happy shopping!