Three Ways to Spend Less on Amazon

The last handful of years Amazon has felt like a virtual Target to me. You walk in thinking you just need this one thing, but end up leaving with way more than you came for (and maybe not even the one thing you needed in the first place). Can you relate?!  In a perfect world we would all have the mental strength to not even type “Amazon” into our browser, but alas, if you’re anything like me, you might be a bit weak in this area.

So how can we stop spending so much on Amazon?!

Delete your credit card information

This is a big one! Do NOT save your credit card information within your Amazon account. It’s all too easy to add an item to your cart and then two clicks later it’s on its way to your house. Each time you make a purchase on Amazon, and this goes for other online shopping as well, don’t opt to save your information for future use. When you create situations where you need to type your credit card information in manually, it gives you more time to be mindful of what you are about to purchase and therefore spend your hard earned dollas on!

To delete your credit card information from your Amazon account, simply:

1. Click on ‘Account & Lists’

2. Under ‘Ordering and Shipping Preferences’ on the left side of the screen, select ‘Payment Options’

3. This will pull up a page titled ‘Your Amazon Wallet’ where your credit and debit cards, as well as any checking accounts, will be listed.

4. Find the card you would like to remove and select the down arrow, and then hit remove.

5. A small window will pop-up asking you to confirm the removal of the card. If you’re sure (you know you are!) select, ‘Confirm remove’.

6. View ‘Your Amazon Wallet’ and see that the card is no longer saved!

7. Proceed to do this with the remaining cards that you have saved.

Cancel the Amazon Prime subscription

DEEP BREATH. Let’s think about this one logically. If we aren’t going to be purchasing as much (or anything!) on Amazon anymore, then we probably don’t need to be paying the $119 annual fee for no reason. I know it’s hard. As you click the ‘cancel’ button you will probably see the hopes and dreams of could-be-purchased items fluttering away with the subscription.

All drama aside, you’ll be less likely to purchase items when you know you don’t have free shipping. Without Prime, Amazon becomes less enticing.

Shop on other websites

For some reason it seems much easier to make purchases on Amazon than on other sites. Anyone else feel this way? Maybe it’s because you can buy literally ANYTHING! If you prefer to do your shopping online, try making your purchase on the manufacturers site. Type what you are planning to buy into google (instead of just browsing through the Target site… woooof that can be a hard one, too!), and then see what options come up. Plenty of sites offer free shipping, no matter your minimum purchase. Take advantage of the free shipping on other sites and you might find you have an even better deal than you would have if you shopped on Amazon (since we cancelled Prime, remember?).

…but sometimes Amazon is still great

With all this being said, when used with self-control and for certain people/situations, Prime can be a fantastic resource. Recently Amazon has started a program where you an order clothes to try on at home and then send back what you don’t want. How stellar for folks that don’t have much time on their hands, mommas with kiddos at home, etc.

The struggle comes when we mindlessly browse for items we don’t need, resulting in us spending money we don’t have (or just shouldn’t be spending on random shit). Maybe you’ve found another way to stall your Amazon shopping? Share your tips with us below!