Your internet browser is a lot more than a place to access Google, YouTube and your favourite streaming sites – if you set it up right, then it can also become a helping hand in the quest to save money. By downloading the right browser extensions, you can pack your browser full of tools that will make online shopping a little easier on your wallet.
Here’s our pick of three of the best for 2020. We’re specifically looking at tools that work with Chrome, as that’s estimated to have more than half of the market share, but many of these will also have versions for other browsers such as Safari.
Honey
Over the past year or so, Honey has burst onto the scene to make couponing simple. Gone are the days of trawling sites looking for active coupon codes: Honey does all that for you, instantly searching for relevant discount codes to add to your shopping basket as you browse your favourite stores. You’ll see a little notification telling you how many codes they’ve found, what they do and when it was last recorded as working.
You do need to sign up for an account, but we think it’s worth it – not least because you’ll also start getting cashback in the form of ‘Honey Gold’ when shopping with certain retailers. Just be aware that they won’t find a code every time, and it’s not always guaranteed to work.
Invisible Hand
Invisible hand also offers instant couponing, but it’s the second feature that we’re more interested in: automatic price comparison. It’s really important to compare prices from different stores when making any kind of large purchase such as electrical goods, furniture, or home appliances. After you install Invisible Hand, it will run your product searches through sites such as Amazon and eBay to find out who has the best deals.
We’ve heard that Invisible Hand is particularly good for travel, searching over 600 airlines and other holiday retailers to get good deals on your flights and accommodation. While you may be stuck at home this summer, it’s the perfect tool to start making plans for Summer 2021.
TopCashback Notifier
Cashback sites have long been one of our favourite things about internet shopping, giving you the chance to get money back when making your regular online purchases. There are plenty of good ones out there, but the TopCashback Notifier extension is what makes this the winner.
Since cashback sites only work if you follow the links that they give you to make your purchases, the Notifier makes sure that don’t miss out by looking out for cashback opportunities when you’re searching on Google or browsing online stores. When you search for products on Google, you’ll see cashback offers in a small bar at the top of the screen.
These aren’t the only money saving extensions available, but they’re our top picks: well-regarded tools that do exactly what they promise without wasting your time or asking for too much in return. Just remember that deals like cashback and couponing are only really a deal if you use them to purchase things you were going to buy anyway!
