Last August, my husband and I started talking about moving. We've lived in the same apartment complex for over 5 years, and were bursting at the seams. So we started looking around at different apartment complexes, houses and condos. We ended up deciding to stay in our current apartment complex, but move into the new phase they'd finished building. I was beyond over every piece of furniture in our apartment, and asked Charles if he'd be okay with selling some things and starting fresh. He said yes and the rest was history... I sold our bathroom furniture, miscellaneous chairs we never used, rugs, shower curtains, and even my husband's old desk.
I knew we wanted to buy new things, but started thinking about ways we could get the most bang for our buck. I'd heard about Ebates, Honey, and a few other websites that supposedly paid you to "shop and spend exactly how you usually do, but use Ebates Chrome extension." I thought it seemed too spammy and good to be true.
Man o man how I wish I would have started using it sooner. I downloaded the Chrome extension for Ebates, and while it IS kind of spammy, it is also pretty seamless. Anytime you go to a site that Ebates offers cash back, if you have the extension installed, it'll notify you of the chance for cash back, and you have the option to activate cash back. For me, it is a very simple, additional step in my online shopping that pays me to shop.
The first check I received from Ebates in September was for only $42 since I'd barely made the cut-off. (Ebates sends checks every 3 months). The next check in November was for $194.20. Hello Christmas money! I know if I'd started using Ebates in August, I would have easily made closer to $500.
If you are already an online shopper, you should be using Ebates. If you mostly shop in store, it might not be worth it for you. Go to ebates.com and click the "Join Now" icon in the top right of your screen. It'll ask you to create a login. It also asks if someone referred you. Here's my obligatory "if my website directed you to Ebates, please use my referral link (or e-mail of annab0824@gmail.com" Thank you!
Now, the best way to get the most bang for your buck is to:
1. Install the Chrome extension. Full disclosure: Like I said above, the extension can be kind of spammy since the cash back notification is a pop-up. I now mainly use Chrome just for online shopping. I use a different browser for work, and another browser for schoolwork. (I am too ADD to have that many distractions on all browsers!)
2. Whenever you go online to make a big purchase, go to Ebates.com home page, and click on "Double Cash Back Stores". The stores participating in double cash back changes weekly, and sometimes daily. If you know you want a set of white serving bowls, but are open to where you purchase them, you can go to this webpage, and see where you'd earn double cash back. I remember I was really close to ordering some cute organizing baskets from Bed, Bath and Beyond, but realized Pier 1 was offering double cash back, so instead of just getting $2 (1%) of $200, I received $20 (10%).
At the end of November, when we'd pretty much furnished and decorated most of our new apartment, I was so proud and excited when my first Ebates check came in! (My husband was pretty impressed too!)
If you have any questions, or you have easy money saving/earning tips, feel free to discuss them in the comments section below!
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