Cashback shopping sites are reasonably new, but have already been responsible for paying millions of pounds back to their members. Many of the large number of newer sites are to be avoided, but the older established sites are excellent and I use them all the time. They are so easy to use and put money back in your wallet for absolutely no effort.

So How Does It All Work?

It’s very simple. First you join a cashback site (they are all free to join, and you can find reviews of the best cashback shopping sites here). Then when you want to buy anything online, you make sure that you go to the cashback site first. You click the link for the shop you want there. That’s it. You still buy from the same place.

Where Does The Cashback Come From?

This is the good bit because everyone wins. The cashback site gets paid a commission by the online shop. They then split that amount with you, normally giving you half of it. The shop gets a sale, the cashback shopping site gets commission, and you get cashback. And all for a DVD or book you were going to buy anyway.

The key though is to always remember to use the cashback site to get to the shop you want to buy from.

Making The Best Cashback

To make the most cashback ensure you put all of your weekly or monthly purchases through the cashback site – so if you buy groceries online check if the cashback site lists your food shop. If you buy CD’s, DVD’s and books, use the cashback site to find the best prices AND the best cashback rate. Plan ahead and buy all your birthday gifts online. And in particular get online quotes for all the insurance policies you have as these tend to pay very big cashback amounts on top of what could also be much lower premiums than you pay now.

I’d suggest you join 2 or 3 sites, to find out which one you like using the best. After all, it is free.

Get Extra Cashback

If you don’t have one yet, get a cashback credit card too. You can find up to date reviews of the best cashback credit cards here. It can pay you back thousands, and all you have to do is fill in the application form.

You will mostly find cashback rates are 0.5% to 1% (although you can get a stunning 5% at the moment with the american express platinum cashback card). So if you spend £100 on anything, and your card pays 1% cashback, you get £1 back. Not a huge amount, but over the year it builds rapidly. Especially when you always buy things on your credit card that you might otherwise pay for with cash or debit card.

Should I Get a Cashback Card?

Only if you pay off your balance every month. If you carry over debt from month to month the interest charged will more than wipe out the cashback you earn. But if you do pay off your balance then interest free offers and the like are of no interest to you, so grab a cashback card instead.