I do the majority of my shopping at the thrift store, but when I need to shop elsewhere I almost always use the internet. With seven kids and a 15 passenger van that does not get the greatest gas mileage, I truly believe online shopping saves me money.
I only shop when places offer free shipping. Amazon usually runs great free shipping specials, especially around Christmas time.
Another way to save this Christmas is to shop online through Ebates. Click through the Ebates website when shopping at your favorite online stores and earn a cash back on each purchase. To sign up, all you need is an email and a password. You can also earn cash for referrals, so tell your friends and family about it and earn even more.
Alyssa just introduced me to Shop at Home, which is similar to Ebates, in that you earn cash back when you make purchases. You get $5 in your account just for signing up. You receive your payment when your account reaches $20. The cash back received varies with each store, and on Black Friday there are even better deals. I have not used Shop at Home, but I plan to start using it soon.
Thanks to Swagbucks, our Christmas isn’t going to cost us a dime this year. I hope all of you are using Swagbucks for web searches. There are two main ways to win Swagbucks, the first is to download the Swagbucks toolbar and start searching. I usually win a swagbuck or two each day from searching. The second way to earn is to tell your friends about Swagbucks, when friends you refer search and win, you win a swagbuck too! A buck a day doesn’t seem like much, but after a year you could have over 300! You can cash in your swagbucks for electronics, music, or my favorite – gift cards.
While shopping online this December, don’t forget about Price Protectr. This website allows you to enter the url of the product you purchased, then if the price drops you receive an email alert. With so many stores offering price matching and price protection, this is a great tool to save you money!
The best thing about all these programs is that they are totally free! It costs you nothing to participate, and if you are shopping online, why not earn a little cash back in the process?
I so wish Swagbucks would open up in Australia… You think they’d mind if I signed up as an American?
Do any of these work in combination with UPromise? I have the UPromise toolbar on my browser and when I do online shopping I often get a contribution into my daughter’s 529 account.
I have no idea! I have emailed them many times about opening up Swagbucks in other countries… hopefully they will soon!
Toni
I will find out if you can combine them with UPromise and let you know! Thanks for asking.
Toni
Keep in mind with Swagbucks that you are limited to how many like prizes you can redeem per month! I was not aware of this and planned on redeeming my 12, $5 amazon GC to use for Christmas Shopping this month .. I could only get 4
I could always purchase one of the larger Amazon GC but they end up costing a lot more!
Wow! These are some great ideas! I’m gonna have to check them out. Thanks for another great post!
I need to get going with many of these.
I use MyPoints.com and it’s great. You just search through them for the store you want, rack up points and then you can get gift cards. They were doing it before Swagbucks and I like them much better.
Jessica
We love(!!!) Amazon. I rarely have time to go out and shop for things and the Amazon prices will meet or beat the stores every time. We order so much from them that we signed up as a Premium member. I think it’s about $75 per year but you get free 2 day shipping on any order with the “ships Amazon Prime” check box on it (which is pretty much everything). While that may not be a great deal for everyone, if you order a lot throughout the year you will definitely save.
I agree, there is a limit to how many you can redeem. I use to save my swagbucks, but now I am cashing them in as I go… thanks for sharing that reminder!
Toni
Thanks Toni, can’t wait to hear what you find out.
I was going to sign up for swag buck but then read the terms and conditions. How do you feel about this paragraph:
“COMPANY may use my name, likeness and/or voice in connection with advertising and/or promotional activities related to this contest on COMPANY’s Web site, as well as in other promotional material that may be developed and distributed in any medium by COMPANY. ”
Do you feel ok giving them those rights? It makes me a little nervous…
What they do is use your first name and last initial on their site when you win a buck. I have never had any issues with them…
Toni
Toni — what is your swagbucks referral code? I’d like to give you credit when I sign up!
Don’t forget to look for non-Amazon products that still qualify for Free Super Saver Shipping. I wrote about it here:
http://moneysavinghabits.com/2009/11/20/30-sec-to-save-20-at-amazon
I’ve been swagging along and definitely need to take a look at SHop at Home and Price Protectr.
I’m all for a good deal!