How I Save When Shopping at Kohls.com

{GCM is not sponsored by or affiliated with any company. I'm just sharing what I do!}

When I tell people that we are expecting our fourth boy, I often get a look of pity, quickly followed by a smile and a chipper version of, "Well, at least you can save lots of money on clothes!" While it's true that some things pass down well (dress shoes, in particular, seem to be making it down the line), a lot of clothes don't make it past the second child. Shirts tend to fall victim to stains. As for pants, our oldest son, Shane, has loved Hot Wheels since toddler-hood, and wears out the knees in his pants like crazy. If the pants somehow make it to Conner, they're pretty much in shreds by the time our little acrobat-climber is done with them. So. Logan needs pants.

I made a rare solo-trip to Kohl's tonight in search of athletic pants for my oldest and youngest, and I struck out. They were sold out of Logan's size of athletic pants in every color, and I couldn't even find the athletic pants for Shane. (I miss the days of when he was in the boys 4-7 section. The clothes are so much cheaper and easier to find!) I finally gave up and made my way to the store's exit, when I passed a super-cute LC Lauren Conrad outfit. While part of me wanted to buy it in my non-pregnant size and hope for the best, the frugal side of me won out, and I left it there. Although I did heave a giant sigh, I have to say, though, given the choice between my giant pregnant belly and a closet full of cute clothes, I'd take the giant belly any day. I'm so thankful for the wiggly little guy in there that not being able to wear my usual size for a season hardly even seems like a sacrifice.

Anyhoo, disappointed in my shopping adventure, I headed back to the van intent on using my trusty method of online shopping when I got home. (But first, I played a game of Pandemic with Dan and the older boys. You'll be happy to know that we saved the world on the very last turn. You're welcome.)

Now, I'm sure I could save even more money if I went to rummage sales or shopped sites like VarageSale, but, sometimes you just have to pay a price for convenience. At this time of my life, convenience wins, but I also have to make sure we stay within our budget. Here's what I do to save as much money as I can when shopping online at Kohls.com:

1. If you don't have an account with Ebates and/or ShopAtHome, I highly recommend doing so. Using these two sites, I've racked up a decent amount in rebates. Before I check out of any online store, I always check both of these sites to see if they are offering rebates and, if so, who has the best one. I was shopping at Kohls.com, so I searched each site to see who was offering the best rebate. During this shopping "trip," Ebates was offering a 6% rebate, while ShopAtHome was offering a 2% rebate. Obviously, Ebates was the winner. I clicked on the big orange bar that says, "Shop Now" and was taken to the Kohls.com website. When I checked out using this window opened by Ebates, I had a 6% rebate automatically added to my account. (Woo-hoo!) I didn't have to do anything else. The other nice thing is that, when the new window is opened, all the items in my cart remain intact, so I don't have to start over. FYI - Some stores do not offer rebates through these sites ever, such as Pottery Barn, but I think it's always worth checking!Here's what my cart looks like after I click over from Ebates:

   

2. At this point, I had everything in my cart that I wanted, so I continued with the checkout process. Kohls.com automatically applied some savings codes for me, but they were not good enough! Whenever Kohl's offers a 15%, 20%, or 30% sale, I've always been able to find a code for 30% (even if the flyer I received in the mail gave me a code for only 15% or 20%). I just do a Google search for Kohl's code, and I've generally had the best luck with RetailMeNot. I do have a Kohl's card, so I can use the best codes they've got. As you can see, using the better code saved me an additional $18.57. Another great thing about shopping online at Kohl's is that you can stack up to four promotions.
3. I still wasn't done stacking the savings! Kohl's sent me a $10 promotional gift for my birthday, which is good my entire birthday month. After I applied that, I saved another $10, which gave me a total savings of $132.32, much more than the total applied to my card. (I'm not including a screenshot of my final order, though, because I figure y'all don't need my credit card or contact information. 😉 )By the way, Dan and typically I try to follow Dave Ramsey's recommendations for our finances, but we still keep a few credit cards. We are just always very careful to make sure they are paid off immediately, so they act like cash for us, but we can still keep the rewards the cards offer.
4. As a potential bonus, I also received $10 in Kohl's Cash. A couple warnings about Kohl's Cash: I try not to spend mine before I'm sure I'm going to keep everything in my order. If I spend my Kohl's Cash and decide to return a pair of pants, for example, I may lose my Kohl's Cash, and they will make an adjustment on my monthly bill. I also make an attempt not to use my Kohl's Cash unless a) it is applied to something I would buy anyway, even if I didn't have the Kohl's Cash or b) I stay under (or super-close to) $10. If I feel pressured to use my Kohl's Cash to buy a new FitBit that I wasn't otherwise going to buy, I'm not really saving money. I'm actually spending more than I otherwise would have, which I believe is the whole marketing idea behind Kohl's Cash.

What are your favorite tips for saving money when shopping online?