Cashback: I've focussed my efforts on Quidco and have so far earned £45.00.

Pigsback: Similar to cashback sites, Pigsback lets you earn points which can be converted to vouchers. So far i've earned £15.00.

Survey sites: I'm a member of a couple of online research sites which reward you for completing surveys online. So far, though Toluna i've earned £10 of Amazon vouchers and through Lightspeed i've also earned £10 of Amazon vouchers.

Tesco clubcard credit card: Using the Clubcard credit card has significantly boosted my clubcard points earnings giving me more vouchers to spend either at Tesco or on clubcard deals.

Referral sites: Simple concept - sign up, select your choice of gift, complete a partner offer (often very cheap, sometimes free) and then refer some other people to do the same in order to 'earn' your gift. I'm currently registered with 3 of these sites, progress as follows:
Ipodsgiveaway: 5/9 referrals for free Ipod Classic
Appleforfree: 1/5 referrals for a free Ipod Nano
Gifts.freebiejeebies: 0/5 referrals for a free Nintendo DS

The site works in just the same way as Ipods Giveaway, outlined in an earlier post. You sign up, select your chosen gift and complete an offer. You then need to refer some friends to do the same in order to qualify for your free gift. FreebieJeebies have a much wider range of offers than those offered on the IpodsGiveaway site - you can choose from joining Love Film, joining a selection of online gambling sites, signing up to BT or AOL's braodband service, applying for credit cards, a fab Books Direct offer and even joining the RAC.

I've opted for a Nintendo DS which requires me to refer just 5 people to complete offers through the site. I completed the Books Direct offer - i just had to sign up and order two Top Gear books which come completely free of charge. All i have to pay is the postage of £1.99 - a complete bargain and it counts towards me receiving my Nintendo DS!

So, if any of you fancy getting yourself a DS (or an Ipod, Iphone, Nintendo Wii, Xbox 360, PS3, MacBook Air or Sony Bravia TV ) please sign up using my referral link below:

The first one i've joined is Lightspeed which sends you e-mail invitations to complete a range of online surveys which vary in topic and length. In return for completing these you are awrded points which can be converted into vouchers for a range of retailers or even paid into a Paypal account. I've been a member since just before Christmas and have just about earnt enough points to convert into a £10 Amazon voucher. The surveys are usually fairly easy to complete and rarely take more than 15 minutes.

The second one i have joined is Toluna. This site is a little different - it still has online surveys which you are e-mailed about, but it also allows you to vote on polls, give opinions on a range of topics via the site and also test products new to the market. I have not yet managed to test a product, but i have completed many surveys and written opinions. Toluna also awards points for surveys and opinions given, but you need to earn more points before you can redeem awards than with Lightspeed and there are fewer reward options. In the same amount of time i've been with Lightspeed i have earnt nearly enough for a £10 Amazon voucher again, but to do this i've had to complete more surveys and be a more active user.

I have also found another great forum about these free gift referral sites - exceem. This forum has loads of information and tips about how to earn free gifts from referral sites and is a busy and well used forum. There is also a section where people who have received their free ipod (or other gifts) post proof of getting the ipod and share their experiences.

But recently I started wondering whether there was any truth in it so I set about doing some research into these 'referral sites'. The system is based on the idea of 'referral marketing' and it really quite simple. Sites offer free gifts in return for users registering, completing an offer with one of the site's sponsored offers and then encouraging a number of others to do the same using their unique 'referral link'. If the original user refers enough people, they get their free gift. 

'But how does this work? 'I hear you ask. How can these sites offer such appealing free gifts? The referral sites are paid by the sponsor for every person who signs up for the sponsors offer through the referral site. So if you sign up and then refer 10 others to do the same, the referral site gets payment from the sponsor for each of these 'referrals', hence providing enough money to supply the free gifts offered as an incentive.

But is it really free? I was skeptical about this. If you have to sign up to an offer, surely there must be a cost invoved. But on closer investigation, all these referral sites have at least some offers which are completely free. The most popular seems to be the LoveFilm.com free trial - all you have to do is sign up for the free trial, receive some DVD rentals and then at the end of the trial you can choose to either pay and continue being a member or cancel and not incur a single cost.

So why not give it a go? Like I said before, if you opt for a free offer it won't cost you a thing. You have nothing to lose. If you do decide to sign up, please register under my referral link below and help me on my way to my ipod.

Register for Ipod Giveaway

Like most supermarket shoppers, I have a range of supermarket loyalty cards. But last Christmas I started looking into credit cards which feed into these schemes. The result? I've now got a Tesco Clubcard credit card. This fantastic card gives me 5 clubcard points for every £4 i spend at Tesco or Tesco.com AND 1 point for every £4 I spend elsewhere meaning I can effectively get money back on whatever I buy.

I'm also a Nectar card holder and have got loads of extra points through using Nectar e-stores - a simple system which awards you Nectar points if you purchase from a range of online retailers providing go go through the Nectar e-stores site.

My most recent money-back discovery is online cashback sites. These operate in a similar way to Nectar e-stores in that they award you cashback for purchases you make from a huge range of online retailers, providing you go through the cashback site. It's simple, you sign up to a site, login, click on the link to your retailer of choice and then make your purchase as normal. The cashback site can track this purchase and award you cashback for it.The cashback sites are able to do this because they receive commission for 'referring' you to the retailer - it's a brilliant concept. And they don't just give you cashback on 'traditional' shopping, you can also get it for opening bank accounts, buying insurance and even for using price comparison sites. I've joined Quidco, but there are loads of others out there.

Hot UK Deals - Another great forum where people can share details of deals they've found as well as online discount codes and freebies. Users can also rate the deals listed so you can see how 'hot' the deal really is.

Quidco - This is an online cashback cooperative which i've recently registered with. Quidco allows members to earn cashback for purchases they make with a range of online retailers.

I'm a bit of a bargain addict, always on the quest for a brilliant deal . Over the years, i've come across many ways of saving money, finding good deals and even getting things for free so i've set up this blog to share some of my money-saving tips and deal discoveries.