The Secret For Getting Freebies and Discounts
Even if Walmart is already a place with affordable prices, there are still things that you can get for free. Believe it or not, with the right strategies, you can walk out of the store with a bag of essentials without spending a dime. We have some tips from shopping experts who love to share their new discoveries, and we are more than happy to share them with you. These seasoned savers have spent years mastering the art of the deal, turning a regular shopping trip into a rewarding financial exercise. Read further, and stay tuned if you want your next grand total at your favorite store to be up to $0. It’s not just a fantasy; it’s a goal you can achieve with a little bit of knowledge and planning.
1. Trade an old gadget.
You have at home some old game consoles or multiple cell phones, maybe your first laptop you kept as a trophy, and many other gadgets that take up too much space in your house without bringing something in return. Think about that drawer filled with old smartphones, the dusty gaming system in the attic, or even old tablets and smartwatches. These items are depreciating in value every day they sit unused, but they still hold potential value that you can unlock.
Well, bring them to Walmart! This is how you’ll get gift cards and save some cash you plan to use for your groceries. Walmart’s gadget trade-in program is a fantastic, sustainable way to declutter your home and subsidize your shopping. That gift card can cover your weekly grocery bill, a new outfit, or essential household supplies, effectively turning your old tech into tangible, useful goods.
There is more to tell. Don’t go in there blind. If you want to estimate what your gadget is worth, go to Walmart’s Gadget to Gift Card homepage. This online tool is easy to use and gives you an instant, no-obligation quote. Depending on the model and their condition, you can get up to $300 for a good phone that’s outdated. Even non-working items can sometimes fetch a small amount. If the amount you can get is pleasant and you decide to go further, you will need to mail the device, and once it’s been assessed, you will get a Walmart e-gift card. Before you mail anything, be sure to perform a factory reset to protect your personal data. The process is secure, and the e-gift card arrives directly in your email, ready for your next shopping trip.
2. Rebate sites
Any fanatic couponer knows that rebates are the key to scoring big at Walmart. These services are essentially a modern, digital version of mail-in rebates, but much faster and more user-friendly. There are uncountable sites where you can submit receipts and get cash back, for example, Shopmium, Swagbucks, or Ibotta. Other popular options include Fetch Rewards, which gives you points for any receipt, and Checkout 51, which has weekly offers similar to Ibotta. The key is finding one or two apps that work best for you and using them consistently.
Usually, you get $2 to $4 back, and you can also win free products. This may not seem like a lot, but doing it constantly brings for sure a change. Think about it: if you earn just $5 in cash back every week, that’s an extra $260 in your pocket each year, all for a few minutes of effort scanning your receipt. Many apps have “free after offer” deals, where you buy a specific product and get the full purchase price back as a rebate, making the item completely free. Or you can get some other product you want, as a cosmetic product, for example, with the money you get back and check some of your wish list points.
You can follow an online community of couponers, as they are regularly sharing their best strategies. Search for couponing groups on social media platforms or dedicated money-saving blogs. These communities are invaluable for learning about unadvertised deals, upcoming promotions, and how to combine different offers for maximum savings. They do the hard work of finding the deals, so all you have to do is follow their lead.
3. Stack your coupons.
What you can do is visit P&G Good Everyday before going to Walmart to check if they have any coupons for the products you plan to buy. This site, and others like Coupons.com, are treasure troves of printable manufacturer coupons. If you do find your products there, print the coupons and bring them with you. The real magic happens when you “stack” these savings. This means using a manufacturer coupon in conjunction with a store sale or a rebate app offer. In the clearance section and travel-sized products section, you can find products with low prices that you can get for free by submitting the purchase to a rebate cashback site. For example, a travel-sized toothpaste might be $0.97, and a rebate app might offer $1.00 back, making it a freebie!
Another simple idea is to Google a product or the brand, adding the word coupon, and this is how you see if there are any existing coupons for the item you need. Often, brands will have printable coupons directly on their own websites that you won’t find anywhere else. It’s a quick search that can save you several dollars on items you were already planning to purchase.
If you want to get them even cheaper, you can get the item for less money with the coupon and scan the receipt to get cash back on one of the sites mentioned before. Here’s a perfect scenario: A shampoo costs $4. You use a $1 printable coupon at checkout, paying $3. Then, you submit your receipt to Ibotta for a $1.50 rebate. Your final cost is just $1.50 for a $4 product. This is the art of stacking, and it’s how savvy shoppers save 50-75% or more on their purchases.
4. Walmart App
Using the Walmart app is going to save you a lot of money. It’s an indispensable tool for any serious Walmart shopper. You can scan the items while you’re in the store to see them online. Frequently, items are listed for less on Walmart.com than on the store shelf, and Walmart’s official policy is to match their online price at the register. This simple act of scanning can instantly save you money. You can make a price adjustment and pay less in the end. The app also features a robust shopping list creator and Walmart Pay, which allows for a fast, contactless checkout using your phone.
“Many times a scanned price will show up for less money,” said Jodie Filogromo, founder of Jodie’s Touch of Style, which shares how to get great deals on clothes and other items. “However, then you want to get a sales associate to have them change the price for you before you go up to the cashier. Don’t wait until you’re at the front of a long line. Politely show the associate the online price on your phone, and they can typically approve the override right there in the aisle, making the checkout process smooth and simple.”
Let’s go further with some discount hacks that are going to save your pockets: Now that you’ve learned how to get items for free, let’s explore the powerful discount strategies that will dramatically lower your expenses on everything else.
5. Buy on the First Day of Sales
Be aware of sales every week, not just on Black Friday or other big events. Consistent vigilance is the key to deep savings. This is how you’re going to get the best deals. If you want to ride the wave of sales like a pro, make sure you visit the site or the app to see the weekly sales. The weekly ad is typically released online late Tuesday or early Wednesday, giving you time to plan your shopping list before the sale officially starts. You will save the most money by buying on the first day of sales because the most popular, high-value items are often in limited supply and sell out quickly.
The strategy used by the stores has the goal of getting the highest return on the first day of sales, which is why they offer the best deals that will allow you to save more money. These initial “doorbuster” style deals create a sense of urgency and buzz, driving foot traffic early in the sale week. By being one of the first to shop, you get the best selection and ensure you don’t miss out on the most significant markdowns on groceries, electronics, and seasonal products.
6. The Clearance Rack
Clearance products are an amazing deal, but Walmart has the habit of hiding them, and it’s helpful for you to know some simple hacks to find clearance items easily. Keep an eye out for price tags that are yellow or red, as these almost always signify a markdown. Try to find the day-old bakery rack, which is often tucked away near the main bakery, for incredible discounts on bread and pastries. Around this, you can watch out in space for the display areas at the end of the aisles where discounted and promotional items are placed. These “end caps” are prime real estate for clearance.
For some reason, Walmart tends to keep them out of reach by keeping them in glass cases, so make sure you open them to see what’s inside before you do all your groceries. This is especially true for high-value electronics on clearance. Don’t just walk by; always look closely at the price tags inside. You can easily check if an item is on sale by looking for the product online before buying. Another pro tip is to look for seasonal clearance. The day after a major holiday like Christmas, Valentine’s Day, or Halloween, the seasonal aisle becomes a gold mine with discounts starting at 50% and going up to 90% off within a week or two.
7. Purchase appliances
You can go for it but with great caution. While Walmart offers tempting prices on small kitchen appliances like blenders, coffee makers, and toasters, it’s an area where you need to be a particularly savvy shopper. This is not always a straightforward win for your wallet.
Walmart has the opportunity to create less expensive versions of appliances by using cheaper materials. This is why they can offer lower prices to their customers by buying items from manufacturers who are cheaper than their competitors. Sometimes, a major brand will produce a special, lower-cost model exclusively for Walmart, which may not have the same durability or features as the standard model sold elsewhere. Do your research before you buy.
This can be seen as a deal, or it can leave a customer with a lower-quality product for a cost that’s not so much lower than the average. A toaster that burns out in six months is not a bargain, no matter the initial price. So, when it comes to buying appliances, you should look for specialty stores and appliance-focused retailers. Before committing, always check online reviews for the specific model number on Walmart’s website and other retail sites. Compare warranties carefully, as a longer warranty can be a good indicator of a manufacturer’s confidence in their product’s quality.
8. Major Savings Items
There are some iconic items known to be better deals at Walmart than in other stores. Experts in savings talk about cereals, dried spices, and school supplies. These categories consistently offer some of the best value available anywhere, making Walmart the go-to destination for stocking up.
You can find a wide variety of spices from Great Value for as little as 98 cents a bottle. This is a fraction of the cost of name brands like McCormick, which can often cost four to five times as much for the same basic spice. Walmart offers excellent quality-cost deals for organic and generic spice options generic and organic spice options. The other praised item, the cereals, is sold in huge bags, which means bulk buying. Always check the price-per-ounce on the shelf tag; you’ll often find that the large Great Value bags or family-sized name-brand boxes offer significant savings over standard supermarket sizes.
This is a good idea if you manage to keep them at home in storage containers. And the last product that has a star reputation is the school supply. During the back-to-school season, their prices are unbeatable, and you can provide your grandchildren with notebooks that only cost 25 cents. It’s not just notebooks; you can find crayons, folders, glue sticks, and pencils for 50 cents or less. This is the perfect time to stock up for the entire school year, a home office, or even to purchase extra supplies to donate to local schools and charities.
9. Walmart’s Private Labels
There are private labels owned by Walmart that allow you to find better-priced items comparable to name-brand items. Opting for these store brands is one of the easiest ways to cut your grocery bill without sacrificing quality. Some popular brands are Equate, Mainstays, and Great Value. You will find Great Value in the grocery section, Equate for pharmacy, health, and beauty, and Mainstays is the brand for what they sell as furniture, kitchen, or bedding items. Additionally, look for Parent’s Choice for baby items, which offers huge savings on diapers, wipes, and formula.
Let’s break them down. Great Value covers a massive range of food products, from pantry staples like flour and sugar to dairy products like milk and cheese, and even frozen meals and snacks. Many of their products consistently win blind taste tests against their more expensive counterparts. Equate is your go-to for health products; by law, the active ingredients in their over-the-counter medications are identical to the name brands, so you’re getting the same relief for a much lower price. Mainstays offers affordable solutions for home goods like towels, simple bookshelves, lamps, and storage containers, perfect for a first apartment or a college dorm. If you are currently looking for items in these categories, choosing these brands would help you save some money significantly on every shopping trip.
10. Use Walmart’s curbside pickup for groceries.
If you want to avoid crowds or save time instead of navigating through the store, you should know that Walmart offers curbside grocery delivery. This free service has revolutionized grocery shopping, but its biggest benefit might be financial. By ordering online, you completely eliminate the temptation of impulse buys. Stores are expertly designed with enticing displays and end caps to make you purchase things you don’t need. Shopping from a list online removes that entire element of temptation.
By using this service, you will only buy the groceries that you need and keep disciplined with your planning without being distracted. You can save time and money. Your only needed action should be to drive to the designated area in the parking lot, and an employee will come to load your groceries. The process is incredibly efficient. You choose a one-hour pickup window, receive a notification when your order is ready, and use the app to check in when you arrive so the team knows you’re there.
You can take advantage of this option by ordering groceries through the Walmart app or shopping online, and it’s all free of any cost other than the products. Be aware that there is often a minimum purchase amount, typically around $35, to qualify for the free pickup service. This is an excellent option for busy parents, professionals, or anyone who wants to make their shopping more efficient and budget-friendly. It truly is a game-changer for sticking to your list and your budget.
Read next: 12 Easy Ways To Receive Gift Cards for Free
