In an earlier post, I mentioned cashback websites which allow you to earn cashback on a wide variety of online shopping. These sites provide a great way to earn money back on things you would be buying anyway. On many sites, you can earn cashback on shopping, for signing up to insurance & banking products and sometimes you can even earn money without spending anything yourself. All you have to do is to sign up to one or more of these sites and then login to the site before you make a transaction.
How does it work?
These sites are basically advertising sites - they list and therefore 'promote' the various retailers and services, and when you click through to these websites they get paid for referring you. The cashback sites can then pass some or all of this revenue onto you. For items/services that you would be purchasing in any case, this can mean make a fair bit of money back. However, don't use them blindly, being seduced by good cashback offers! It's always worth shopping around first to get a good deal and THEN checking to see if cashback is available. Just because one company is offering a high cashback deal, it doesn't mean you can't get the same product cheaper elsewhere.
Money for nothing
Sometimes, cashback sites pay out even if you don't spend any money. You can often earn cashback for signing up to free trials, using price comparision sites and referring friends to the cashback sites.
Which sites to use?
There are lots of cashback sites out there, I can only really recommend the ones I use. These are:
Quidco - This site has been around for a long time and pays you all the cashback it receives for your purchases (rather than just a portion) except for the first £5 you earn each year.
Join Quidco
TopCashBack - I've only just joined this one. There's no £5 fee - you recieve every penny you earn.
Join Top Cashback
Pigsback - This site is a bit different in that it pays you in high street vouchers rather than cash.
Join Pigsback
If you find any other good sites, please let me know!