What is the first thing you do when you don’t know the meaning of a word? If we had asked this question a few decades back, the most common answer would have been to look for the word in a dictionary. But it’s 2016, and Google has replaced dictionaries, encyclopaedias, books and almost everything else to become the most trusted search tool to all our problems.
What came first – the chicken or the egg? Google knows it! Why did the chicken cross the road? Google knows it! Is there life after death? Answers lie with Google. The world’s best search engine, Google, knows all the secrets of the universe. There is literally nothing that Google doesn’t know. From aerospace to medicine to every other field under the sun, everything is hugely influenced by Google.
When it’s about money, Google is unanimously considered to be everyone’s most trusted pal in the world of finance. With search results for your query popping up on your screen within a few milliseconds, Google is the fastest way to know about different financial offers too. While Google tells you the best techniques to save money and make it grow considerably, its tool, known as Google Alerts can help you save money in the most unexpected ways.
Additional Reading: 6 Lazy Habits To Build Your Savings
Google Alerts is a tool that detects changes in results matching users’ search terms and immediately notifies the users by sending emails. Google Alerts ensure that you don’t miss out on any important deals and offers that help you save money. We’ll tell you how! Today we will throw light on cool and unique ways to save money with the help of Google Alerts:
- Price drop alerts: A new mobile phone hits the market and it catches your eye. You love its design and features but the price seems too high. You decide to wait till the prices drop but by then you have already long forgotten about it. This is a common case among most gadget lovers out there. But by setting a price drop alert using Google alerts, you can be assured that you will be notified as and when the prices drop. Set an alert by putting a search query with the name of the product you wish to buy along with the price range that you are looking for. Make sure to start and end the search query with quotes. When the price of the product falls into your specified range, you will get an email notification. Thus, you never miss out on the price drop of your desired product. This is a smart way to save as you don’t just buy the product by shelling out a fortune but wait for the prices to fall in your range. Cool, right?
- Free event alerts: The best things in life are free. How would you like to eat at a restaurant or hang out at a music fest for free? This may sound too good to be true but the trend of crowdsourced events as well as promotional events is catching up. You will be surprised to know that you have been missing out on so many free events just because you are unaware of it. Not anymore! With the help of Google alerts, you can set an alert for free events by typing the name of your city, the kind of activity you are interested in along with the keyword free. So if a newly opened restaurant in your city is hosting a free event, you would most likely be there, thanks to the email notification sent to you by Google Alerts.
- Coupon code alerts: In this era of online shopping, coupon codes or discount codes are the new tools for buying products at a lower rate. Each brand has its own unique discount code that is valid for a day or two. But sussing out these coupon codes are not that easy as they may or may not be available for a particular day. By setting a Google alert for coupon codes using search query, including the name of the store, name of the product along with the keyword coupon code, you will get an email notification as soon as a new discount code hits the market. This Google alert will help you buy the product at a discounted rate by telling you when it is the right time to make the purchase.
- Lowest price alerts: Best deals in online shopping are often associated with cheap prices. But finding the best deal on a product by comparing the prices across various websites is a cumbersome process. Google Alerts can make your life a lot easier by emailing different price quotations of a product from different websites. Once you have all the data in one email, it becomes a lot easier to compare the prices and choose the best deal with the lowest price. All you need to do is type in a search query that includes the name of the product, brand name, model number, colour and any other important specification.
- Product reviews alert: Confused between two models of the same product within the same price range? This happens way too often and most of us don’t know which one to buy. This occurs a lot when the models of the product that you are eyeing are new and thus they don’t have any sufficient reviews. However, you can solve this problem by setting product-reviews alerts by entering a search query that consists of the name and model of the product, and the keyword product review. So, as and when the product reviews start hitting the market, you will receive an email notification about the same. Reading these product reviews will clarify your confusion and help you choose the better product between the two. Google Alerts ensure that you get good value for your money.
These are 5 simple but effective techniques to save using Google Alerts. One of the drawbacks of Google Alerts is that it keeps sending email notifications even after you have made the purchase. So if you feel like your email inbox is spammed and that you don’t need the particular alert anymore, then please don’t forget to discontinue the alert. If you change your mind and want to include new factors to an existing Google alert, then go ahead and tweak it according to your needs.
Now that you know all about saving using Google alerts, go ahead and experience the difference in your savings! Well, everything you save can then be invested. So, save and earn more! How cool is that? Go start saving already!
Additional Reading: Difference Between A Current And Savings Account