Are you an Amazon Prime SLP?
I live (pretty much) in the middle of nowhere. We have a Wal*Mart and Marshall’s. That’s about it. The closest Target and Michael’s are about 45 minutes away. So needless to say, Amazon Prime IS.MY.JAM!
Over the last few years, I’ve learned some great Amazon Prime hacks that help save money and other hacks that just make me happy (I’m not here to sell you a Prime membership or anything like that. I’m just here to share tips and tricks to save you MONEY).
Here are my favorite Amazon hacks:
1. www.smile.amazon.com – If you use smile.amazon.com, Amazon will donate .5% of your total purchase price to a charity of your choice. When you sign up for it, you pick your charity. There are TONS to choose from! I currently donate to the dog rescue we adopted our dog from. Here are some SLP charities you can pick to donate to – Apraxia Kids, Smiles for Speech, Organization for Autism Research, United States Society for AAC, the Special Olympics in your state, or the school you work at. Many schools and local charities are on the list! 🙂 The hardest part about using the site was just switching from using the app to the website. I made smile.amazon.com the second tab in my browser on my phone and I have left it like that ever since. Now, whenever I want to shop on Amazon, I just go right to my second tab; it’s always there. Once you shop this way a few times, it will eventually start to become habit to go right to the site instead of the app. To learn more about smile.amazon.com CLICK HERE.
2. Honey for Amazon – Honey is a program that will automatically try any coupon codes it can pull from the internet when you go to checkout while shopping online. I think you may only be able to do this on desktop when you add the extension to your web browser, but that’s not actually the best part about Honey…that’s just a little added bonus. When you set up your Honey account, you can have it sync with your “save for later” list on Amazon. It’s syncing to create a “droplist” for you. Anytime any of those items go on sale, Honey will send you an email notifying you that the price has dropped from $X to $Z. Sometimes the price change isn’t all that much, but other times you can save MAJOR cash with these alerts. I’ve saved about 50% or more on books, games, and office supplies for school. If you don’t have any items saved for later, go fill up your Amazon cart with anything you may need for therapy/home. Then click the “save for later” button under each item in your cart. Here is an example of what a Droplist email might look like –
ANOTHER bonus with Honey – when you shop on your desktop, there is an option to view price changes. When you click this, it shows you any changes in price that may have occurred over a specified period of time. Here is an example of price changes for a book I bought. I knew from the price changes I should wait to buy it until it dipped down to about $8.00. It was listed at $17, I got a Price Drop email from Honey and scored the hardcover version for $7.72!
3. Late Package Credit for Prime Users – This one is simple. If you have a Prime membership and your delivery takes longer than 2 days once it’s shipped, you can contact Amazon Customer Support and get a credit. They used to give you a free month of Prime, now they typically give you a $5 credit. The credit automatically comes off of your next purchase.
4. Amazon Credit Card Hack – First of all, if you don’t have an Amazon credit card, I’d highly suggest looking into it. I use mine for every purchase I make. You get 5% cashback on all Prime purchases and different cashback rates at other places as well. HERE’S THE HACK – when you get your cashback, you can opt for an Amazon gift card credit that is applied to your account or you can have it direct deposited into your bank account. ALWAYS do the direct deposit – here’s why. Let’s say you earned $50 cashback and you got a $50 Amazon credit automatically applied to your account. When you use that credit, you’re not earning cashback on it. So if you buy a $50 item with your store credit, you earn nothing back. When you spend $50 on a Prime item using your Amazon credit card, you will earn yourself $2.50 cashback. Does that make sense? Don’t short yourself out of free money. ALWAYS do the direct deposit!
5. Amazon Wish Lists – These are a great way to share some things you could use in therapy. Some schools have a special speech therapy page on their school website where SLPs are allowed to share their list. Aside from that, if a parent or PTO ever asks if there’s anything you could use, you can simply send them the link. Always check with your admin before you share your list. Some schools don’t allow any type of supply or wish list to be sent. If you’re a parent, you can make wish lists for each of your kids. This makes it SO convenient for friends and family to shop for them. They can save your children’s wish lists and can pull them up right from their own account. This makes shopping for holidays and birthdays so easy.
***** Those are my favorite Amazon hacks 🙂 People are always asking me how I score different deals or save so much with Amazon…now my secrets are out! I hope you load up on great deals using these easy Amazon tips and tricks.
Now, with all these Amazon Prime hacks, let’s do some shopping! Below are some affiliate links for my all-time favorite Amazon finds for speech-language therapy! I’ll only add my favorites so you know you’re getting the good stuff. 🙂
- XL rubber bands – These were made to hold together large items. They work great for sensory bins and games so they don’t spill in your car or therapy bag! (Click here to see how I use them)
- Paper slicer – If you don’t have one, you seriously need one. They are an SLP game changer! (Click here for a video tutorial I made that answers lots of questions about this paper slicer)
- Storage pouches – I ordered these at least 3 times. I use them to store TONS of materials. (Click here to see how I used them with Chipper Chat box sets)
- Rolling cart – I’d be lost without my rolling cart! I travel between 6 different schools, so I have to lug my materials with me everywhere I go. This is a necessity!
- Pitch counters – This has got to be the easiest way to get to 100 repetitions. Just pair these with some dice and word lists, you’ll be good to go. My students are obsessed with these!
- Mini items – I had a few people ask where I got my mini items. They’re mostly from random suppliers on Amazon or from DinkyDooDads.
- Water beads – I’m almost embarrassed to admit that I just discovered these this year. You get one small container, but they expand SO MUCH! You can make a bunch of water bead sensory bins with just one of these packs.
- “There Was a Speech Teacher Who Swallowed Some Dice” – Okay, if you can get past being called a “speech teacher”, this book is amazing! It incorporates many speech & language goals, plus materials you may use in speech. It’s great to use during the beginning of the year to start conversations about goals and expectations.
- Personal Laminator – I’d be lost without my laminator! These are the lamination sheets I use. They frequently go on sale for about $10. I wait until they dip to this price then buy a pack or two.
- Iris Photo Storage Cases – I am OBSESSED with these! I won’t even tell you how many of these sets I have (because it’s A LOT). Just a heads up though, these cases frequently go on sale. If you keep your eye on them, you should be able to get one for about $15, either from Amazon or Michael’s. Don’t ever pay more than about $20. You’ll definitely be able to get them cheaper than the full price. (Click here to check out my mini BINGO boxes or click here for printing tips for these storage containers)
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Do you have any Amazon tips or must-have Amazon items? If so, please share them in the comments! 🙂
