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Wednesday, February 23, 2011

How to Shop Online and Save!

When shopping online, have you ever thought, "Gee it would be nice to get back some of this money I'm spending!" Even if the thought hasn't crossed your mind, you should get in tune with Cash Back concepts of shopping online. All smart shoppers should use this tactic, and here's how...

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GET CASH BACK
'Cash-back shopping' is usually through a connecting website, (Ebates.com, Fat Wallet.com or others) that have active links to your favorite online stores and then provide you with a percentage of your total amount spent, returned to you either by mailing you a check or through PayPal.

First log-in and create an account with a Cash-Back program. I recommend starting with Ebates.com and also possibly FatWallet.com. You can sign up through these links:


GET ONLINE CODES/COUPONS
Next....browse through their thousands of coupons and online stores that are available. They provide all the current coupons online for extra savings!

Once you click on the link to your desired store, the connecting cash-back site keeps a log of your shopping activity and total dollar amount spent. That percentage is then sent to you by mail (in a check) every three months as it accumulates! What a great concept! You can stick with your preferred cash back stores or switch among the competing Cash Back Connections, by looking up which company offers the highest percentage for you desired store.
FREE SHIPPING
For example, I was buying scrapbooking supplies at JoAnn.com, because there was a "Free Shipping" coupon and my nearest JoAnn Fabrics is nearly in Morton Grove which requires a very long drive down Golf Road (under construction and a total pain to get to!) My general rule of frugalness is this; if I can get it shipped to me free, I will choose that rather than wearing out my car and driving to the store, so overall it's a better deal! Also, getting things shipped free is more economical over driving there yourself means you won't risk your car getting bumped, wrecked, which means you are a safer driver generally and thus, you will have lower costs for auto insurance rates! Okay, back to JoAnn Fabrics!

Ebates.com was offering 5% cash back, but I checked on a site called 'CashBackWatch' (cashbackwatch.com) and saw that FatWallet .com was offering 6% cash back. An extra percent is worth it, so I quickly logged into FatWallet.com's Cash Back link, searched for JoAnn Fabrics and clicked on the connecting link taking me directly to JoAnn.com. I selected my items to buy and checked out (with free shipping of course!) and voila, it was easy and much cheaper than going in store, completed from my living room computer and best of all, there was no wear and tear on my car!

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