As student loan is about to come in I thought I would share some online shopping tips with you all as I know online shopping is one of the first things some students do when they get their loan!

ORDER TWO SIZES

How annoying is it when you’re online shopping and can’t tell what size to get in a particular item? As simple as it sounds, stop stressing and order two sizes and return the other size after you’ve tried them on. I’ve guessed my size so many times and have had to return the item because I needed a bigger or smaller size and I never used to think of ordering two sizes. This is a good tip if there is a deal/promotion on for a limited time because by the time you order and try on, the deal may have expired by the time you go to order your other size.

LEAVE THINGS IN BASKET

If you’re just browsing a website and see something you may want to buy in the future, just add it to your basket and leave the website – make sure you’re signed into your account. By doing this you’re going to get an email offering 10% off or something similar to persuade you to buy the item(s) in your basket, depending on which website you’re shopping on. I know River Island is good for this, which is good because they don’t offer student discount.

ORDER ENOUGH FOR FREE DELIVERY

I don’t know about you but I HATE paying delivery.  Most online shopping websites offer free home delivery if you spend a certain amount. So my next tip/hack is to order enough in order to get the free delivery and then return the extra items you don’t want. I know delivery isn’t too much nowadays however those £3 & £4 slowly add up and it’s even more frustrating when you pay for delivery for one or two items, which you end up returning for whatever reason.

BIRTHDAY DISCOUNT

It can be annoying being flooded with emails from online shipping retailers however they can be very useful. Often these emails send exclusive offers to those who signed up for things such as your birthday. The way to go about this is to make an account with your favourite online shopping sites and make sure you add in your birthday. When your birthday approaches they will send you exclusive % discounts – yay! If you want to be extra like me and have more than one email, make two accounts and set your birthday 6 months before and after, that way you’ll get two sets of discount codes a year!

LOOK FOR COUPON CODES

If you haven’t managed to get hold of a discount code through emails, just type into Google ‘* name of online retailer * discount code’ followed by the month and year to bring up the latest offers and codes that others have shared online. There is almost always something there to help save some ££££.

STUDENT BONUS* - CHECK UNIDAYS

Unidays is a must have app for students. Simply sign up and check the website/app to see what discount codes they’re offering. They cater for all sorts of deals whether you’re after clothes, food, or electronics.