I love to shop! Whether it’s strolling through the mall, perusing the aisles of Target, or making a special trip to the outlet stores, the search for the perfect item I didn’t even know I needed is such a thrill. I remember using my lunch break for my college summer office job to scarf down a quick meal in the car and spend the rest of my hour at Marshall’s, Off Broadway Shoes, Express, Ulta, or wherever else struck my fancy. I didn’t always make a purchase, but experiencing the smells, sights, and sounds of the stores would be enough to give me a boost for the rest of the afternoon.

But then I became a grown up. With a mortgage. And a budget. And kids. And a working lunch break.

That’s when my just-for-the-fun-of-it shopping trips disappeared. If you don’t understand why, just take one trip to a department store with a five-year-old boy and his two-year-old sister. For an extra challenge, try it at 5:15 after a long day of work/school/daycare when everyone is ready for dinner. Oh yeah, and did I mention that you have a $20 budget to get an entire outfit with shoes and accessories for that conference you just found out to you must go to…tomorrow?

The smells, sights, and sounds just got a lot less appealing, right?

Moral of this story is that my shopping habits have evolved over the years. Most of this is out of necessity, but some of it is because I realized how much money I can save if I do it the right way. We live in this amazing time where you can shop on your smartphone while in your pajamas on the couch eating popcorn and watching Netflix (after the kids have gone to bed, of course). I’ve picked up some tried and true tips over the years of ways to save and actually make money shopping online. Lucky for you, I’ve compiled some of them right here for you!

1. Ebates

This one is my favorite! My sister told me about this a few years ago and I was skeptical at first. But I signed up because she got some sort of reward and I got a gift card to Target (that was the joining bonus at the time). Basically, Ebates gets paid a commission by different retailers for sending their members to their stores. They give you a portion of that commission in the form of cash back.

So you start your online shopping trip either on their app or by going to their website. You search for the website you were already going to use, click on the link to shop at that store, and then you shop like normal online. After you check out, you’ll soon get an email from Ebates saying how much cash back you just earned. Each retailer has a different percentage of cash back, so you can compare to see which one is going to give you the most money if before you start. And did I mention they also have coupon codes right there so that you save even more?

There is no fee to be an Ebates member and it is legitimate. I’m sure they track your shopping history, but since everyone is already doing that anyway, shouldn’t you get paid for it? I joined back in November 2013 and have earned $462.87 as of today. They keep track and mail you quarterly checks. It’s awesome! When we were in the middle of our adoption, I put this money straight into our savings to bring our girl home.

Most of what I use Ebates for is online shopping, but they also have an in-store option that I have used as well. For this, you have to link a credit card and activate in-store savings before you shop. Then they give you the percentage back after you make a purchase using that card. I have done this too, but as mentioned above, my in-store trips are few and far between now. If you don’t want to add your credit card to another site, then you can skip this step. I just wanted to let you know that I have used it at stores like Buy Buy Baby, American Eagle, and Carter’s with success.

Convinced? Here’s a link to sign up and get started today! In full disclosure, I get extra cash back for signups, but so do you! As of today, you get $10 cash back after your first purchase of $25 or more!

2. Card Cash

Did you know you can buy discounted gift cards and use them to shop? Crazy, right? I found Card Cash several years ago and it is GENIOUS! Let’s say that Aunt Sally gives you a well-meaning Christmas gift card to Chick-fil-A because she can’t get enough of their waffle fries and thinks you would love them, too. Except you live in Vermont where this super-polite fast food chain doesn’t yet have a store. You could re-gift the card to one of your lucky friends, or you could cut your losses and sell your new gift card to a site like Card Cash. You’re happy because you’ve got some cash, and then I’m happy because I can buy your old $50 gift card for only $45.50 (or less when they run site sales!) and take my kid’s whole soccer team out for ice cream cones while I enjoy a deep-fried chicken sandwich with extra pickles and smile to myself for being an awesome mom.

(Note: I haven’t actually taken my kid’s soccer team out for ice cream, so this aforementioned smile was fictional. I just wanted to give you an example of a cheap card that is currently on the site so that you could imagine the possibilities. In all reality, if I had a $50 gift card to Chick-fil-A, I might not tell anyone and just have about 15 days of chicken minis for breakfast ALL BY MYSELF, but I digress.)

Card Cash has gift cards from dozens and dozens of stores, restaurants, gas stations, and more that you can buy. I once bought a bunch of Lowe’s gift cards at four percent off for a bathroom project. On an unexpected lunch date at Olive Garden, I bought a $25 e-gift card in the parking lot for $20.21 that I used right then. Teacher gifts? No problem with tons of options right at my fingertips.

They also offer a 45-day money-back guarantee if for some reason your card doesn’t work. I’ve used this a few times with no questions asked.

When looking for the best link to give you guys, I found out that they have a referral program where we both get $5 off our order if you use my link. I loved them before I knew about this and was going to recommend them anyway, but this is an added bonus for us both! Click here to get $5 off your discount gift card order!

3. RetailMeNot

Have you ever stopped at Buy Buy Baby to get the gift on your way to a baby shower, hangry baby on one hip, rifling through your purse only to find that your 20 percent off coupon expired yesterday? Me neither, of course…

But for the sake of argument, let’s say this happens to you.  What do you do? Just whip out your phone and open the RetailMeNot app and use their digital coupon. Problem solved!

This money-saving website has been around for years and claims to have 500,000+ coupons for 50,000 stores. I haven’t counted, but I know that they have TONS of coupon codes for both online and in-store shopping. Just type in the store, restaurant, or service before you shop and find out the offers they have available.

I have really only used them for coupons, but they also have cash back similar to Ebates and discounts on gift cards like Card Cash for more ways to save. If you have used either of those features of the site, let me know about it in the comments below. I’d love to hear your experience!

4. Paper Coupons

Remember back in the day when people got newspapers delivered to their house every morning? The biggest was always on Sundays because it was filled with tons of coupons. Even as a child, I would leaf through it to see if there were coupons for anything I thought we needed. But then gradually, people stopped getting the paper. (Unless you are my dad, who I think has three different subscriptions delivered to his house. Coincidently, he will never go online and read this blog…)

I used to get the coupons my parents’ paper each week, if they remembered to save them. I also have a friend who buys paper coupons from a coupon lady in town. But in my current stage of life, I simply don’t have the time or energy to drive around to gather coupons. (Plus, I use Walmart Grocery pickup for my grocery shopping and they don’t accept them. I’ll have a blog post about that soon.)

So why am I telling you to use paper coupons if I just said that I don’t have time for them?

Good question.

The answer is I just use the ones that show up at my house for free!

I’m talking about that “junk mail” that you usually toss without looking at. I take five seconds and see if there is anything worthwhile before recycling. We live a mile or so from a major shopping center, so I get coupons all the time for new restaurants or stores nearby. I’m also on the mailing list for several places that I have purchased from over the years, so they send me coupons in hope I’ll remain a customer. There is also an advertising book that comes every couple of months with tons of coupons for local retailers.

However they get to me, I take any potentially applicable coupons and throw them my coupon drawer. When I’m heading out, I’ll then dig through all the expired ones to find the right one. I’m not saying you should copy that last part exactly, but my point is that a lot of times coupons come straight to you with little to no effort your part. You might as well use this free money!

These four tips won’t make you a millionaire overnight, but they are tried and true ways that I make my budget go a little further each month. I intentionally chose these because they are quick and easy without creating more work for you.

Do you have any ideas to add? Leave them in the comment section below. I just may feature them in a future post.

Make it a good day!

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