My Favorite Deal Sites

An integral part of my frugal nature is to buy things I want on when they are on sale. I rarely pay full price on my wish list. This does two things for me. One - it ultimately leaves items on my list for quite some time. This forces me to really consider whether I really want the item, or if I just wanted it in passing one day and can really do without. Two - I end up spending less than I anticipated which allows me the freedom to buy more things on the wish list than the original budgeted amount would have allowed. This system has worked for me on numerous occasions. I am happy with the purchases that I do make and get to make more of them than I usually anticipate.

How do I do it? I browse around deal sites and keep a section of my bookmarks reserved for "Deals".

Almost daily I stop by Woot! and see what they are offering as their daily deal. The real draw for me to their site is more my daily dose of humor than for shopping for a new gadget or thing. Woot! always provides an interesting product description that can leave you smiling for hours. They run their site on the impulse buy because their deals are only up for one day. Through their continued success they have expanded into five different venues. Shirts, Kids, Wine, and a portal at Yahoo! Shopping.
In the few years I have been stopping by - I have only purchased something that happened to be on my wish list. And this has only happened three or four times. It doesn't help your frugal nature to visit if you succumb to the impulse buy temptation. I once purchased some USB hubs and they mostly gathered dust. :(

Another daily visit goes to SlickDeals. This site is forum based with user submitted material. Once a thread becomes more active it can get promoted and if the deal is 'Hot' enough it can land on the front page for all to partake. This site is a great resource for finding decent deals on all types of products from all types of stores - both brick and mortar and online versions. It can also serve as a great place to find out what you should expect to be paying for a future purchase, finding freebies like magazine subscriptions, software free after rebate, etc.

I recently picked up a cordless drill and impact drill from Home Depot because I was alerted to a special deal and rebate combination that I would not have found by browsing the store in person or online.
The greatest benefit I derive from Slickdeals after finding a deal I like is to follow the commenters. They often have extra information and tips that has proved invaluable for me.

What if you know what you want to buy and are ready to purchase? RetailMeNot is the place to visit right before you place your order. You can check for coupon codes for 10% off or free shipping codes. This has saved me a bunch of money on several occassions.

Other avenues for saving while shopping?
Microsoft is heavily promoting Bing through their generous cashback program.
Newegg is a great place to find your electronics and computer anything for great prices. Combined with Bing or Slickdeals and you will find yourself very happy indeed.
Bensbargains.net is another site like Slickdeals except each find is an individual entry and always includes a photo.
BeatMyPrice is a wonderful resource for finding the lowest price on your item.
Amazon also has joined in on the daily deals fun, too, with their gold box deals.

The thing to remember about daily deal sites is that if that item wasn't already on your wish list - you shouldn't buy it. Sales and profits are often about that unintended purchase. Just think about how many extra items you bought the last time you went to the grocery store to just pick up some eggs and milk. You came home with two more bags of stuff, right? So remember to use these links as a resource. Otherwise, you may find that you are a valuable resource to those companies who keep offering you unbelievable deals.

What are your favorite deal sites? Where have you saved the most money? Where have you fallen victim and spent more than you should? :)