Bargain shoppers are pros when it comes to buying items at the best prices. They typically look at multiple sources for the same item before making a purchase.
Does this sound like you or someone you know? If so, you'll want to read this article (and pass it on to your bargain hunting friends) for ways to save and earn from helping others with your favorite shopping past time.
If you're the kind of person who lives for deals, you will be amazed to know that you can earn by doing what you're already doing. And you'll love the companies in this article that allow you to get cash back and more, each time you shop.
You might already know about and use these companies, but here, we will highlight additional ways you can take advantage of their perks to bring in extra money to your household. If you're skeptical about how they work, and whether they are safe to use, read this article about how they work to help you save money.
You can use them to not only find bargains for yourself, but you can help others find deals as well.
Video: Work From Home Ideas for Bargain Shoppers
Watch the video below for an overview of the cash back systems that are discussed in this article.
The bottom line with these companies is in helping you keep more of the money you already have in your pocket. Finding the best deals, makes necessary purchases cost almost nothing in many cases.
This article will show you how cash back sites can work to help you and your friends save money and make money each time you shop online and take other actions.
You'll also have an opportunity to take a deep dive into several strategies designed to work with these cash back sites to boost the amount of money you get back.
Whether you're an extreme couponer or someone who just loves finding a good deal, here's a way that you can get cash back into your account each time you shop. And it's very affordable (in most cases free) to join all of these programs.
Shopping is a Necessity
Shopping is something everyone does on a regular basis. We routinely shop for groceries, home decor, items for household maintenance, personal care, clothing, shoes, outerwear and more.
We'll talk about sites and apps that will make shopping less expensive.
If you're not familiar with these sites, they offer cash back and other perks when you perform various tasks. These tasks include shopping, dining out, buying groceries, and traveling.
The great thing is that in most cases (especially the first 4 programs) you get "cash", not coupons, rebates or vouchers, real cash that you can spend on anything. In the last program, you earn rebates, but you have the option to receive cash as well.
This is an update to the article I did a while back on my other blog, My Natural Green Life. The reason I placed the update on this blog is because these programs can help you save lots of cash as well as earn lots of cash when you use them with a strategy.
I'll also invite you (below) to earn how to maximize the savings you'll receive when you use them. So I've added a twist that you can learn about if this is of interest.
These sites have changed over time to offer new and improved perks that will help you put more money back into your wallet.
Swagbucks, More Than Just Fun and Games
I took at look at Swagbucks a while ago and at first glance it looks like all you do is play games and take surveys. However there is much more to the app than meets the eye.
If you're looking for a way to earn money and gift cards, while having a little fun in the process, check out our article that tells you everything you can do to earn Swagbucks (SB) that translate into cash.
Once you sign up, they'll send you deals that can earn you a nice amount of money that you can use for bills, spending money etc.
Plus when you make referrals, you can earn 10% in SB from the activities of people you refer, as long as they are active on the platform.
Rakuten, a Popular Cash Back Site
Rakuten is free to join and offers cash back when you shop with your favorite retail stores, dine out, buy groceries and travel. You can (1) earn a percentage of your purchase or a flat fee when you take these actions.
Plus, Rakuten offers various "flash type" deals that last for a limited time. They remind me of the "blue light" specials Walmart used to offer. For example, they are currently offering (2) a double cash back bonus on certain stores. On another day, they may offer triple cash back.
Plus you can use any savings offered by your favorite retailers. For example, if you shop with Kohl's, you can use their (3) weekly ads, sale and clearance prices and use Kohl's cash, and in addition to getting cash back with Rakuten.
As if that is not enough, they also have a (4) referral program that pays $30 to you for making a referral when the person you refer joins and makes a purchase. They will also pay the friends you refer $30 when they spend their first $30 on the site.
So Rakuten gives you 4 different ways to keep more money in the first place, or get money back into your pocket.
BeFrugal Gives You Five Ways to Get Cash Back
BeFrugal offers (1) cash back when you shop with your favorite retail stores, dine out, buy groceries and travel. They offer cash back on each purchase. They also provide (2) bonus cash back.
Like Rakuten, they offer a (3) referral bonus of $10 when you invite your friends to join and they obtain their first $10 cash back.
Save with (4) weekly ads, coupons, in store programs, etc., and get cash back with BeFrugal in addition to those savings.
To get the money from BeFrugal to your account, you can use a process called cashing out. Once your purchase has been verified and the required number of days has passed, your money will be ready to send to you, or cash out.
You can cash out by Direct deposit, PayPal, Venmo, Zelle, and gift cards to popular retailers. When you choose to cash out to a gift card, BeFrugal will reward you with a bonus of 1% - 6% when you use this option.
(5) Instead of cashing out, you can choose gift cards and get even more cash in your pocket.
With BeFrugal, you will have at least five ways to get cash back.
iBotta Offers Cash Back When You Use the App or Browser Extension
iBotta.com offers cash back when you shop with your favorite retail stores, dine out, buy groceries and travel. This site has made improvements that make it easier for you to earn cash back. They used to require that you make a purchase and scan your receipts to them before getting your cash.
However, now they make it easier to get cash back when you use their app on your mobile phone. It's also easy to use your desktop or laptop when you add the ibotta browser extension to Chrome or Firefox.
Whether you’re buying groceries, clothing, electronics, or wine and beer, Ibotta will pay you cash for your purchases. Whether you're online or in-store, including grocery and book stores, pharmacies, home improvement and sporting goods stores, clothing and beauty shops, pet supply stores, and more.
Grab a gift card for your favorite shops and restaurants and get cash back on the entire amount instantly. Use now, save for later, or give as a gift, it's up to you! Browse retailers in the "Gift card" category on the home screen to get started!
Got a wallet full of store loyalty cards? Link them in the Ibotta app and start earning cash back at stores you visit all the time. Shop and use your loyalty account at checkout as usual to save on qualifying offers. You’ll see your cash back earnings from purchases made with your loyalty account in your Ibotta earnings within 24 hours!
More than 400 retailers list offers in the Ibotta app. That’s a lot of savings! Before you shop in-store, add offers in the app. Then, submit a photo of your receipt in the Ibotta app and earn cash back on your qualifying purchases within 24 hours.
You can also earn cash back on mobile and online purchases for airfare, hotels, rental cars, event tickets, and food and meal delivery services, as well as in-store cash back on restaurants and entertainment.
They also have a referral program, and for every person you refer, they’ll give you $10 when the person you refer submits their first receipt. They'll give them $10, too!
TopCashBack Makes Deals Easy and Profitable
TopCashBack.com is a site that offers tons of opportunities to earn cash back when you shop.
You would shop by selecting the company you want to buy from, choose the get cashback link and that link will take you to the retailers website where you make your purchase. Once your purchase is complete, your shopping trip will be credited to your account and you'll earn as stated in the offer.
When your cash back shows as 'payable' in your account, you can withdraw and choose from a wide range of payout methods such as bank transfer, PayPal, or any of our 20+ gift cards for extra bonuses. For most withdraws, we usually pay you within a couple of working days.
It can take up to 7 days for your cash back to show in your account as ‘pending’. They wait until the retailer confirms your purchase which can take on average of 1-3 months. Once they have your cash back, it'll become ‘payable’ in your account.
Top cash back also has an affiliate program that allows you to earn when you promote their offers. If you have a marketing platform, like a blog, YouTube channel or podcast, it will make it easier to be accepted to an affiliate program. Learn more about affiliate marketing by clicking here.
Up to 40% Off on Hotel Stays with Dosh
Dosh offers cash back when you shop with your favorite retail stores, dine out, buy groceries and travel. You can earn up to 10% cash back at Dosh’s partner restaurants and retailers, and they offer up to 40% cash back on hotel stays.
Dosh scans the transactions on the credit card (debit cards don't work as well) you associate with your account and finds the ones eligible for a cash back offer, then puts the cash straight into your Dosh wallet. Once you accumulate $25 you can cash out to Venmo, Paypal or your bank.
Dosh doesn't have a referral program but it does offer the ability to earn cash back. You can get started by downloading the app from the iOS or Google Play stores.
There are a few ways to get cash when you shop with the sites in this article. You'll either receive (1) a one time percentage, (2) a one time flat fee or (3) regular monthly payments.
With all the sites we've mentioned in this article, you will earn a one time percentage or flat fee each time you take the desired action, with an exception of the shopping membership described below.
Those one time fees can add up whether it's for something you buy each week, or something you buy once a year.
But regular monthly income is the best cash back ever... having regular income can help to balance out your earnings and it can provide a great foundation to make your cash back earnings the icing on the cake.
Wellness Pays, as Well
A Shopping Membership - This shopping membership is a great way to get the benefits of wellness while saving money and generating regular income.
This U.S. based manufacturer offers a membership that promotes wellness with products that are non-toxic and safer for your home and family. It's a new place to shop for household necessities, that you're already using, without the toxic ingredients found in many popular brands.
Their program offer a combination of cash and rebates. They offer a (1) referral program that allows you to earn residual income in the form of cash when you tell your friends and they become a shopping member.
You can also earn (2) rebates when you shop in their store that's packed with safer, healthier products, and (3) earn even more rebates when you shop with your favorite retail stores, dine out, buy groceries and travel.
When using their shopping portal (similar to Rakuten), you can use the retailer's (3) weekly ads, coupons, in store programs, etc., in addition to the rebates you'll receive that allow you to save when you shop in their wellness store for safer, healthier products.
And finally, (5) they have a credit card that offers rebates when you buy groceries, gas, dine out and travel.
Some Useful Tips on Getting the Most from Cash Back Sites
- Pricing changes daily. Cash back sites are constantly changing, and it's hard to tell which site will give you the best deal. Here is a tool called Cashback Monitor that will tell you which site has the best deal for that particular day.
- Read the fine print. Some, not all of the deals are for specific products, so it's important to read the fine print for each store. This criteria changes over time so make sure to check each time to have a good understanding of the percentage and types of products that qualify for the discount.
- Use a credit card. When shopping online, it's important to have a credit card, not a debit card associated with your accounts. You don't want anyone to gain access to your primary bank account to minimize your risk for data breaches, and hacking. Have a lower credit limit on your card, so that if you are hacked, the crooks wont get as much money.
- Check that your trip is registered. Once you have made your cash back eligible purchase, it's important to go back to the cash back site and check to ensure that your shopping trip has been registered.
- Contact customer service. If you find that your transaction is not listed, contact their customer service team to make sure they log your activity. You might want to reconcile your account each month to ensure that you received all the cash back that you were entitled to.
- Your cash can take time. It also takes time to cash out on these sites. Some have a waiting period of 60 - 90 days to make sure you didn't buy a product, get the cash back and return the product.
To eliminate those kinds of misuses, they hold on to your cash until the respective store's return period has passed.
Start a Blog
If you really want to start earning from bargain shopping, learn more about this niche and create an online platform to share your knowledge, tips, tools and resources with your audience. To start your blog, follow a video and step by step instructions on how to build a WordPress blog.
Once you've got your blog installed, take our free Blogging Basics course to learn how to turn your blog into an online business.
Create Courses on Bargain Shopping, Saving Money and Finding Deals
If you're a pro at saving money, using coupons, and using these cash back sites, use your knowledge and skills to help others. Create a basic course that you charge a small fee for. In this course, you can teach people how to save money with bargain shopping.
Help others save money by sharing your tips and tricks and earn by helping others.
Become an Affiliate, Promoting Your Favorite Tools, Resources and Retailers
Once you have a platform that you can use to advertise, (your blog, YouTube channel, podcast, email list, etc.) you will find brands that will partner with you to promote their products and services. Brands (sponsors) will also reach out to you to have you promote their products and services.
When you share your knowledge and skills with your audience, you can earn money each time you refer a new customer to your sponsor's site. Learn more about affiliate marketing here.
Start a Podcast
If you really want to start earning from your bargain shopping interest, create an online platform, like a blog, podcast or YouTube channel.
A podcast is a great way to reach an audience of people who are on the go, with your tips, resources and insight.
You can even have guests on your show that provide their success stories, tips and resources.
If you would like to learn additional strategies that will allow you to maximize these cash back programs and get more cash in your pocket, sign up below.
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