Does your brain naturally think to check Plastic Jungle before making a purchase? Turning your brain on Plastic Jungle autopilot will soon require little thought and will save you literally hundreds of dollars this year.

Don’t be like my friend Emily.

Usually on a Friday night, Emily calls me and says, “Hey I have a baby shower (or wedding) tomorrow.  What’s the best way to get discounts on the gifts?”  My reply?  “Call me last week.”

If you get an invite to a wedding or other special event in the mail, and you decide you are definitely buying a gift for the occasion…

1.  Check on the invite or event website to see where your friend is registered.

2.  Go to Plastic Jungle and order a gift card for the value you (or a group) intend to spend at one of the registered stores.

Why should you plan at least a week in advance?  To pay up to 35% less, Plastic Jungle electronic gift cards (eCODES) take 1-2 business days to arrive and physical gift cards take a week to ship.

Ask before you buy.

Without fail, once a week I get a message from a friend asking, “How do I save at such and such store?”  I’m happy to provide suggestions, but often my answer starts with “Plastic Jungle?”

Earlier this week, my friend Phil stopped to think before he made a Fandango purchase…

Teach yourself to ask, “Plastic Jungle?” before making any purchase, be it online or in-store.  Maybe you should put a post-it next to your computer screen that says, “Did you check Plastic Jungle?”  Another great way to remind yourself to check Plastic Jungle before making a purchase is to set up Alerts for stores you frequently or likely shop.

The early bird catches the worm.

Did you ever stop to think about what this saying means?  The early bird gets the worm because he knew he wanted to eat and planned ahead on how to get food.  In the same way, if you plan ahead on what you intend to buy you can order discount gift cards and catch dollars of savings.  For, “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail,” at least in terms of increasing your savings!