BackHow to become a deal digger and save big on expenses
You can save big on regular expenses by planning prudently and looking for better deals
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Gopal Gidwani is a self-declared deal digger. The 37-year-old blogger manages to save thousands each month with just a few clicks. His modus operandi is simple. He is always on the lookout for good bargains. “I have always been interested in deals, offers, discounts, cash-backs and reward points. Earlier, I used to save through direct discounts from stores, freebies and reward points on credit cards. But since online players have come in, cashbacks are the best way to get a good deal," he said.
Gidwani is not alone; there are plenty of people who are good deal diggers. Here are a few easy ways to save big on regular expenses.
Ticket to fly low cost: Flight ticket prices vary widely depending on the time and date of booking as well as travel. The fares also change several times between going on sale and the date of departure. But there is a way to increase your chances of getting the best rates.
According to an analysis by travel fare aggregator site Skyscanner, which took into account the flight booking trends of Indian fliers over two years, the best way to save on flights is to book well in advance. For instance, the same analysis revealed that passengers could save 51-60% on flight tickets, both domestic and international, by booking 23 to 25 weeks in advance. For domestic flights, on an average, the fares don’t seem to change significantly till before a month prior to departure. The real difference is made in the last 30 days. The lowest fares for a Delhi-Mumbai flight on 31 August was ₹ 4,000 (which could go up to ₹ 6,500) if booked a week in advance (on 24 August) on Makemytrip.com, and if booked a month in advance, then it was close to ₹ 2,500.
Watch for discount days: Most movie theatre chains have a ‘discount day’, typically a weekday. You can also browse a whole range of cashbacks, combos and loyalty programmes when you book tickets online.
E-commerce portals like Amazon and Flipkart regularly have big blowout sales on designated days. Gidwani has been making the most of just such a deal for years. “I wait for the Amazon Super Value Days, which are the first two days of every month. I get great discounts on groceries, household items and personal care products. On an order value of about ₹ 5,000, I save a total of around ₹ 1,800," he said.
Travel off-season: Travelling off season can not only help you enjoy your destination minus the crowds, it can also save you a lot of money.
You can expect deep discounts on hotel tariffs ranging from 30% for budget hotels, to up to 50% for luxury hotels. The off-season period varies across destinations.
Do your research and try to plan your trip just before the peak season begins or just as it is ending.
“Being flexible with travel dates and pre-booking can help travellers bag premium hotels at lower costs. With lucrative deals at hand, people are travelling around the year; we have witnessed a surge of over 20% in booking during off-season periods," said Saujanya Shrivastava, group-chief marketing officer, MakeMyTrip.
Collect cashbacks and points: Increasingly, banks and e-wallets are offering cashbacks on purchases. Getting a cashback means part of your billed amount is deposited back into you e-wallet as balance. Many online portals list the various cashbacks and discounts as you proceed to billing. Keep an eye out for lucrative offers, like Gidwani did.
“Magster is a digital magazine aggregator that offers access to more than 5,000 magazines. Their annual subscription fee is ₹ 3,999. Through Cashkaro, they offer it for only ₹ 999. The icing on the cake is that I got a cashback of ₹ 955, which means I ended up paying only ₹ 44 for the subscription," he said.
If you are a loyal customer to a particular brand or service, join their loyalty programme. Membership cards keep track of the points you accumulate every time you shop there, and the exchange rate is not too shabby. For example, for both Shoppers’ Stop and Pantaloons, four reward points equal ₹ 1. When you have accumulated enough, you can redeem the points on a purchase.
Wait out the rush: Cab booking apps like Ola and Uber use dynamic pricing. Which means the fare you pay varies depending on various factors, including demand. Surge pricing kicks in when the demand for cabs in a certain area is high.
While prices usually surge to around three times the normal fares, they can go much higher. The demand for cabs skyrockets during rush hour. It can also spike in other circumstances, like around a movie theatre when a show ends or if it is raining. You can beat surge pricing on cab booking apps by waiting out rush hours, if possible. Another alternative is to move away from an area where a lot of people are looking to book cabs. Walk around a bit and you can often see a significant difference in the fare.
Engineering student Anant Patni (20) found this out by accident, “The first time it happened, I was just walking away to find other mode of transport since Ola’s estimated fares were much higher than usual. As I walked a little way off, I realised that the fares had dropped quite a bit. Now I try this whenever I see surge pricing kick in," he said.
Like costs, savings can also add up rather quickly. Even if you are not a deal digger, finding an extra minute or two to browse deals online or booking your ticket at just the right time can help you save without expending much time or energy.
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