My daughter Sydney turned me on to Ebates about a year and a half ago.  I was skeptical, but if you are an online shopper, this little app will earn you cash back.  Since over the past 18 months I’ve earned a total of $175 in rebate money.  I do a lot of online shopping, so it pays off for me.  At first, it doesn’t seem worth it – earning just 2%-5% on transactions with certain retailers.  But the truth of the matter is it does add up over time.

Registering is easy.  You can use my referral link here, or just go to the Ebates site yourself and sign up:

https://www.ebates.com/r/TGOODA23?eeid=28187

You can choose to have checks mailed to you, or have the money directly deposited into your PayPal account.  Payments are posted in May, August, November, and February.  All you have to do is shop at participating merchants like Macy’s, Target, Lowes, Ulta, Old Navy, Best Buy, and many, many more via the Ebates website or by using the Ebates app on your mobile device.  There’s a browser plug in, too, so if you visit a retailer by going directly to their website instead of through the Ebates portal, the plug-in will bring up Ebates and start your shopping trip.

Another cool thing about using Ebates, is it will apply available coupons to your purchase, so you don’t have to track down online coupon codes.  This is especially helpful for stores like Old Navy and LOFT that frequently send out limited time coupon codes for online purchases.  Additionally, you can set up a wallet on your account and enable certain credit cards to earn in-store cash back deals when you aren’t shopping online.  They also have days where certain retailers offer double cash back.

I made sure to use Ebates when I purchased appliances for my new house, and also when I did my Christmas shopping.  Hey, it’s nice to be rewarded for spending money!  And it’s a nice little surprise when that money shows up each quarter!