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How The Internet Makes Saving Money Greener
This post comes to us from Planetsave.com. For more along these lines, visit Planetsave or some of its most popular categories: Global Warming, Science, Going Green Tips, Animals, or 10 Friday Photos.
In bringing consumers closer together at every turn, the internet has made it possible for us to compare retailers, better judge products, and collaborate for added savings, helping us to save money with each purchase we make. While freeing up extra cash and helping to keep expenses low, one of the less talked-about aspects of saving money on the web is the greening effect it has on our lifestyle — and our planet!
Everyone loves to save money, and everyone loves the Earth; combine these two passions by shopping till you drop after learning how the internet makes saving money greener:
Digital Coupons – Saving Trees
No matter how digitized our lives become, saving money never goes out of style, and this means that the classic coupon still plays a major role in the way that many of us shop for everything from groceries to electronics. The real difference? Today’s coupons are typically in digital format, allowing those who wish to use them to print them as needed at home, saving companies the need to print coupons en masse in the hope that someone will find them useful.
This does more than just save trees — it also reduces marketing costs at the corporate level, allowing the savings to be passed onto the consumer in the form of price reductions on commonly advertised items….
In theory, at least.
Ready to get started with digital coupons? Google will be an especially important source given the local nature of many coupons, but these international coupon websites are sure to have something that catches your eye, as well:
Comparative Online Shopping — Cheaper, and Gas-Free
One of the biggest boons of the public internet is its ability to bring us together for any number of causes, and, given that we’re all shoppers in one capacity or another, this togetherness stands to help us all to achieve better deals on everything we buy.
Whether we confer with friends on Facebook or head directly to one of the many price comparison websites out there, the combination of product reviews from people just like us, and price comparisons between hundreds, or even thousands, of retailers allows us to ensure that we get the best product at the best price, without ever having to leave home.
Between the money saved on the purchase and the negated need to consume gasoline in traveling from store to store, the savings can really add up. Tack on the fact that far less driving is needed in general when shopping today in comparison to the forced brick and mortar purchasing of a few years ago, and you’ve got a big benefit to the Earth, as well!
If you’re looking to do a little comparative shopping of your own, here are a few places where you may want to get started:
eBay and Company — Buying Pre-Owned Means Lower Prices and No New Materials
Second-hand shopping is nothing new, but the long tenure of eBay at the top of the online auction game has turned the art of getting a deal on pre-owned goods into one accessible to anyone with an internet connection, anywhere in the world. Kijiji offers a very similar benefit, connecting local people who wish to buy and sell items in an effort to encourage localized bartering and trading in the name of less overall consumerism.
Besides invariably saving you money, purchasing second-hand items, from clothing to computers, is a great way to ensure that one less new item is manufactured and eventually relocated to a likely already-overflowing garbage dump!
eBay and Kijiji offer each of us the ability to purchase almost anything in a pre-owned or refurbished state, but these aren’t the only options out there for deal-seekers! Here are a few other websites that are perfect for finding deals on second-hand items:
2012-11-17 17:40:19
Source: http://planetsave.com/2012/11/17/how-the-internet-makes-saving-money-greener/
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