My Prime Day Shopping List is Boring. Yours Should Be, Too

If you have Amazon Prime, Amazon Prime Day is worth checking out. This year’s annual shopping event takes place on July 16 and 17 and will offer tons of flash deals and price cuts on items across the site.

Prime Day’s big-ticket items are appealing, but Prime Day also offers something you may not have thought of: a way to keep your everyday budget in check.

Here’s how you can shop strategically to use Amazon Prime Day for more than just the fun stuff.

How to take advantage of Prime Day to stick to your budget 

It can be easy to spend extra money on Prime Day, but the sale can also help you save money if you look for the right deals. Search for discounts on items you would need to buy anyway throughout the year to hack your budget and keep annual spending lower. 

Stock up on essentials

Many of the items you have to buy all the time — like household supplies, over-the-counter medication and cleaning products — are on sale for Amazon’s big event. Taking advantage of Prime Day deals on everyday essentials can help you spend less on these items. You can put the money you save towards savings goals like growing your emergency fund or taking a vacation. 

Here are just some of the deals you can find on everyday purchases this Prime Day:

Household essentials

Skincare

Toiletries

Baby and kids supplies

Car parts and maintenance

Home maintenance and repairs

Pet supplies

Office supplies

School supplies

Stock up on gifts

You know you’ll need gifts throughout the year for events like birthdays, anniversaries and holidays. Prime Day can help you purchase giftable items at a discount. Keep them on hand for gifting occasions, and you won’t need to worry about last-minute shopping stress. 

Here are some examples of Prime Day sale items that could make good gifts:

How to maximize your Prime Day savings

These strategies can help you score the biggest savings on Prime Day:

• Sign up for a free Prime trial. You must be an Amazon Prime member to access Prime Day deals. If you aren’t, you can participate by signing up for a 30-day free trial of Prime. You won’t have to pay any fees if you cancel your membership before the trial ends. 
• Pay with your Amazon Prime card. If you have an Amazon Prime Visa card, you can earn cash back by using it on Prime Day. Cardholders earn 5% cash back on all Amazon purchases. (Just make sure you pay your card off in full to avoid interest charges.)
• Get the Amazon Prime Visa card. Don’t have an Amazon Prime Visa card? When you apply and are approved for one, you’ll receive an instant bonus: a $200 Amazon gift card, which you can use for your Prime Day shopping.
• Use online shopper tools. Download browser extensions that alert you of deals and track pricing. For example, Honey automatically gives you coupon codes when you check out online. These may help you apply extra discounts to your Prime Day orders. Karma allows you to set alerts so you can find out when the price drops on items you want to purchase.