This was something that I found out about a while back, but never quite understood how useful it could be. This is especially useful if you’re able to think ahead a little bit.
Think Ahead And Save Money
This is basically how I use Raise. Let’s say I get invited to a particular place for dinner next Friday. In this case, the place is Olive Garden (it could be a number of other restaurants).
At this point, my schedule is clear to attend the dinner and I would like to join the lovely people that invited me. I respond that I’ll join them and I proceed to mark my schedule as “busy” for that time.
Now that I know that I’ll be attending the dinner at Olive Garden next Friday, I can do a search for “Olive Garden” on https://www.raise.com/ to find a gift card at a reduced price. Once I’ve purchased the gift card(s) on Raise for a rebated price, I’m already getting more for my money.
More Upsides!
Another upside to using this strategy is that you can usually use coupons or even Groupons in conjunction with the gift card(s). Thereby stretching your money quite far.
As far as the details on the amount of the gift card that you buy and the percentage off, those will vary.
I use this same strategy for day-to-day items as well. Things that I’m 99% sure I’m going to use in the future, but I don’t know when I’ll use them (i.e. home improvement, toiletries [drug stores], etc.).
Also, when it comes to Raise, they can sometimes get the e-Codes to you right after purchase – in a matter of minutes! No joke! I did this at Office Depot a while back:
I walked into the store, saw something that I liked on clearance, purchased an Office Depot gift card on Raise for 15% off, I received it a few minutes later (via the app), then used it to check-out with an extra 15% off on top of the clearance price.
Save Thousands
Over time, the above strategy can work for you in saving quite a bit of money. I’ve already saved thousands! On some places, I consistently get 30% off (sometimes more).
I routinely shop at a particular drug store. Raise consistently has gift cards to this drug store for 30% off! Saves me a bundle!
Patience and the ability to think ahead are quite useful when it comes to using the above strategy, or saving and investing in the long-run, for that matter.
