I recently did a fun story with Jimmy Rhoades from The List TV about “Secret Discounts” that you probably had NO idea existed. Such great out-of-the-box ways to save that I knew I had to share them here on my blog as well. While these tips are somewhat obscure, they will undoubtedly help you save money on travel, dining out, health, entertainment, grocery stores, and at retail stores too.

1. Senior Discount When You’re Not a Senior

Did you know you don’t have to be 50 or older to score an AARP membership? Crazy, huh?

Turns out you only need to be 18 to get an AARP membership and all the Senior discounts that go with it.

Great discounts at a bunch of national restaurants, grocery stores, and even retail stores.

Even health and wellness discounts at places like LensCrafters, Kroger Pharmacy, and CVS.

Pay just $12 for your first year and $16/year after that.

Heck, use it once at Outback Steakhouse and CVS and it’ll probably pay for itself.

2. Employee Perks When You Don’t Work

Many employers offer an “employee perk program” to their workers.

You might already be familiar with the program and discounts that your job offers.

The biggest player is a company called Entertainment Benefits Group (EBG) as they service over 40,000 corporate clients and 500 million employees.

BUT….did you know that most of these perks extend to your spouse and family members as well?

Another employee discount program gaining traction is Corporate Shopping and the cool thing about them is they allow you to invite friends to be members as well!

Have your spouse ask about it where they work and start taking advantage today if you can.

See Also: Looking for Work? Know These 60+ Employee Discounts

3. Student Discounts When You’re Not a Student

Most student discounts these days require you to have a .edu email address or valid transcript.

In the past you could simply buy a .edu address but that practice has been cracked down on in recent years.

These student discounts are significant too: Free 6 months of Amazon Prime Student, 15% off at Banana Republic and J.Crew, 15% at TCBY, and 10% at Arby’s to name a few.

So the takeaway here is to have your college student do some shopping for YOU so you can take advantage of the sweet discounts too.

This is especially true with Amazon Prime Student. Have them do your Amazon shopping for you and get free 2-day shipping without having to pay for a Prime membership.

4. Military Discounts Extended To Immediate Family

Military discounts aren’t mandated. There’s no law. They’re at the sole discretion of retailers, which means they can vary pretty drastically.

But many of them extend to the families of active military. Some even extend to family of veterans.

For instance, Jimmy was able to join USAA because his wife was already a member. And she was a member because her dad was a member. And her dad was a member because he’s a veteran. You might be able to get the same discount domino effect.

Another example is at Lowe’s. They give a flat military discount of 10% to all active and retired military personnel.

It is also worth noting, from the Lowe’s website, that “immediate family member(s) of someone with a valid military ID Card” are also eligible for the 10% discount. Click here to enroll.

For all other vets, Lowe’s gives a discount on Veteran’s Day, 4th of July, and Memorial Day.

Ask the Reader: What “secret discounts” did I miss? Let me know and I’ll get them added to this post, thanks.

By Kyle James

Photo credit to Terry Johnston.

Kyle James( Owner/Founder )

I started Rather-Be-Shopping.com in 2000 and have become a consumer expert and advocate writing about out-of-the-box ways to save at stores like Amazon, Walmart, Target and Costco to name a few. I’ve been featured on FOX News, Good Morning America, and the NY Times talking about my savings tips. (Learn more)