If you enjoy online shopping – and if you are reading here then I assume that you do – then you should definitely investigate cash back shopping sites as a way to save extra money on your purchases. Sites like Ebates, ShopatHome.com, Mr. Rebates, BeFrugal.com and a host of others will send you a refund check for a portion of nearly all of your online purchases so long as you first stop by the site of your choice and log into your account.

The way that all cash back shopping sites work is that you head to your site of choice, search for the store where you want to shop and then click to the store via the cash back shopping site's interface. What this does is install a cookie on your computer that will keep track of your purchase, enabling the cash back site to issue you a refund on your purchase.

The cash back amount tends to vary both by site and by store. For instance, Ebates is currently offering 2.5 percent cash back at Target whereas at ShopatHome.com you can get 4 percent cash back. There is no set amount of cash back for any store and cash back sites will frequently offer short promotions where you can earn higher cash back amounts on certain days.

Earning money via cash back sites takes literally no extra time and the rewards can be great because the cash back you earn is in addition to any coupons or sales. If you are shopping a sale, have a coupon, AND shop through a cash back site then you are essentially getting triple the savings!

 

While the cash back amounts offered by the various sites may not seem like much, a little bit of something is better than a whole lot of nothing and the amounts tend to add up quickly! While it is a little late at this point in the year, cash back shopping sites are a particularly great way to save big around the holidays or whenever you are doing quite a bit of online shopping.

If you are interested in saving more via cash back shopping sites, here are 5 tips that will help you both save a bit and increase your overall spending power:

• Take advantage of sign-up offers that may be available. For instance, Ebates routinely offers a $10 gift card to the store of your choice when you register that will be paid out once you have earned $25 in cash back.
• Refer your friends! All cash back shopping sites offer rewards when you refer those you know to use the site and some will even offer special incentives from time-to-time when you can earn even more. For instance, Ebates typically offers a $5 reward for every new person you refer, but occasionally they will pay out something like $30 for every 3 people referred. This past holiday season BeFrugal.com was offering a whopping $20 for each new referral!
• If you do a lot of online shopping then play the sites against one another. In other words, shop through the site that will offer you the highest cash back amount.
• Don't think any store is off limits! It is true that not all stores cooperate with cash back shopping sites, but you may be surprised that you will even find sites like Amazon on some of the sites!
• Even small purchases add up. It literally costs you no money to use cash back shopping sites, so it is worth checking out the sites even if you plan on making a relatively small purchase.

One thing worth noting is that most sites have a certain threshold that must be met before you will receive a refund. For instance, some sites require you to have $25 in your account before you will receive a check or payment via Paypal.

While it takes a little bit of extra effort and perhaps a bit more time, utilizing cash back shopping sites can yield potentially big savings on your online purchases!