25 ways to save money and bargain shop in small towns and rural areas: Part 4
I read tons of great blogs that tell you how to save money and coupon at stores in big cities. These deals are great, but what if you live in a place where none of these deals exist? How do you save money and bargain shop when you DON’T live in a big city?
Even if you live in the middle of nowhere like we do (100+ miles from any “city” of 20,000 or more), it is possible to save money and bargain shop.
- This is part 4 in a series explaining super easy ways to save money and “coupon in the country”: (and yes, you can still use these tips if you live in a city, lol).
- You can read the rest of the series here.
16) Use Swagbucks and iRazoo for your daily online searches. You earn free gift cards and prizes just for searching online (Swagbucks) or for rating websites (iRazoo). You honestly won’t believe how this will add up over time, espzecially if you refer your friends and family to these sites. (We have earned enough to buy a laptop for free, and still have money left over!) You can get Amazon gift certificates for FREE from these sites and use them to purchase food and other necessities from Amazon.
17) Look for coupons from the Sunday paper at your local library. Some libraries put coupons from the Sunday paper in a huge bin where everyone can look at and take coupons. If your library doesn’t do this, ask them what they do with the coupons. They may be willing to let you have old coupons, or start a coupon bin for patrons.
18) Let’s talk about coupons for a minute. Are they worth the time and effort to cut and organize if you live in a small town or rural area? As a general rule, NO! Let me explain: It is worthwhile to look at the paper to see what coupons are available. If it is a product you will use anyway, then by all means, keep the coupon. But if not, don’t bother organizing and clipping all the coupons from the Sunday paper. You will not be able to get good deals on these items unless you’re planning a trip to the big city soon. Spend your free time making extra money online instead!
19) Buy a deep freeze. Wait until it goes on sale. We got ours around Memorial Day last year, which seems to be a good time for sales on these. You can use some of the extra money you’ve made from online surveys and such towards this purchase. You can also ask friends or relatives to contribute toward the cost as a gift for you. (Christmas gift, birthday, etc.). You can even ask your friends and relatives if they have an extra deep freeze. You might be surprised at how many deep freezes some people in the country have (speaking from experience, due to all the hunting and trapping, etc.)! A relative may have an unused one that s/he is willing to give you, making the total cost free. You can use the deep freeze to store the yummy bulk cooking meals you make!
20) If you have a consignment shop in your town, clean out your closets and take some of your stuff there! You will be amazed at how much you can earn at consignment shops. Some are free to consign your items, plus you get around 50% of the purchase price (varies by store).
We have more great tips to share with you, and we will include the other 5 tips for saving money and bargain shopping in the final article in this series. The rest of the series is here. If you like this series, please share it with your friends and family!
Be sure to subscribe to our free blog updates so you don’t miss the rest of this series!
- We would also love to hear from any of you that live in small towns or rural areas. How do YOU bargain shop and save money? Post a comment or send us an email at momma AT gmx DOT com to let us know!
Grant says
Interesting concepts! Thanks!