Cashback websites really work! I’ve been a member of several cashback sites for years, using them to shop with my favorite retail stores. I'll be honest, at first I didn't really use them consistently.  However I just happened to use Rakuten when making a purchase and that was an eye opener. 

I made a recent purchase for office equipment and furniture. And when I saw my big fat check (that's what Rakuten calls your cashback payout), I realized just how much money I was leaving on the table by not using these sites each time I shop. 

That buying experience was a great lesson and eye opener. Because at first glance when you see 8% here, 2% there you think it doesn't really amount to much. However when you think about all the purchases we make on a regular basis, the cash can quickly add up.

And these days, as more money is rolling out of our accounts, it's nice to know that we can have some of it rolling back the other way into our accounts each time we shop.

Did You Know That You Can Stack Savings?

The savings really add up when you're buying a lot of smaller ticket items on a regular basis like groceries, clothing, decor, home repair and improvement, car maintenance, items for parties, holidays and events, and especially when you buy larger ticket items like appliances, travel, hotels, computer equipment, furniture, and other higher priced items, you can stack the savings. 

Here are all the ways you can save: with (1) the retailer's ads, with a (2) credit card that offers cashback, and (3) cashback deals from these apps. 

Consider how much you've spent on things like back to school, birthdays, shower and anniversary gifts, vacations, home decor and improvements. And then consider the amount of cashback you could have received for those purchases.

The great thing about these sites is that you get cashback, online and in-store, even when you take advantage of a retailer's sale, clearance or loyalty program.

So for example, if you're shopping at Kohl's and they are having a 20% off sale, plus you have Kohl's cash, you can get those savings, in addition to whatever percentage Kohl's is offering for cash back. That goes for items in the store as well as items you purchase online. Stacking the savings with cashback offers is the best way to shop with your favorite retailers. 

You're shopping for groceries, dining out, traveling (hopefully at some point soon) and household necessities anyway. You might as well get a percentage of that back in cash.

And with the holiday season fast approaching, now is the time to get as much cash back in your wallet as possible.     

Skeptical? I Was Too...

It makes sense that you wouldn't want to blindly go out and join something without knowing what it is or how it works.

If you’re skeptical, it might be largely because you may have never heard of these companies, how they work, or better yet, how they make money. Read on for more insight into how these companies work.

What's In It for Them? And... How to They Work?

Consumers benefit by signing up for a free membership and regularly using the cashback website as their personal shopping portal. As a member, rather than going directly to a retailer’s website, you would first log in to your preferred cash-back site, click on a link that would take you to that retailer’s site, and then complete your shopping as usual.

Cashback sites make money by receiving a negotiated percentage of the each purchase for referring new customers to retailers. Some of that percentage goes to the shopper and the site keeps the rest.

So, they basically operate as affiliates, only on a grander scale.  If you’re wondering how affiliate marketing works, take a look at how to get started with affiliate marketing as an individual business owner.

How Does the Company Know That You Have Made a Purchase?

If you're like me you've probably wondered how they could possibly track all my purchases. If you're wondering whether something weird is going on behind the scenes, relax. The stuff behind the scenes this is actually how they know when you've bought something. But there's nothing weird going on.

These sites use a very common tool that stores and most other websites have used for years to track your activity, cookies.

When users make a purchase through a cashback site, the site places a cookie to track the purchaser’s activity.

According to Norton, the antivirus company, cookies are text files that store information like the site name and a unique user ID.

Contrary to popular belief, tracking cookies won’t damage your computer or other devices and won’t place malware or adware on them.

Cashback sites use cookies to remember the link you used to get to the retailer’s site from the cashback site. This link is vital to your cashback journey.  Without a cookie, the cashback site and affiliate network can’t confirm your purchase or your referral.

Common Misconceptions

The speed at which you actually receive your cash back varies between retailers.

To ensure that you don’t just buy an item, get the cash back and then return the item, many of the cashback sites have a waiting period that exceeds the retailer's return period.

For example, Rakuten only distributes big fat checks once per quarter. The time period for receiving your payout varies by cashback site.

On the positive side, as long as you go through the cashback site for purchases you need to make anyway, using these sites can be more lucrative than shopping with other rewards products.

I invite you to try out one of the most popular cashback sites, Rakuten to see how it works.  If you want to learn more about cash back sites and how you can use them to keep more money in your pocket, subscribe to our YouTube Channel. 

When you sign up for Rakuten and spend $30, you get $30 back. You actually break even, so you have nothing to lose when you take a test drive.