Remember when you were able to go months without spending any money at all?
Me neither.
It seems like it was somewhere in my childhood, but…it’s been a while.
We spend money. All the time. That’s life.
Why not make money while we spend? It’s very possible and here are 11 ways to prove it…
Get Smart About Credit Cards
We all know about the credit card rewards out there.
You see the ads in the mail everyday…
“Earn up to 5% cash back on your purchases”
“We offer the highest cash back of any card”
The truth is that nobody offers the highest cash back on everything.
That’s why you need more than one credit card to get as much cash back as possible.
Let me go ahead and preface the rest of this article by saying two things about credit cards:
- If you use credit cards, pay them off fully every month
- There are other ways to make money when you spend
Now let’s get back on track…
Choosing the Right Card
It’s common for certain cards to offer a higher cash back for certain purchases.
The percentages will be different, depending on the category, such as:
- Groceries
- Gas
- Specific stores
- Home improvement
Find cards that match your normal purchases.
If you have a hard time remembering which card is which, just take a Sharpie and write “Gas” or “Groceries” on the card.
Also, make sure you do your research to find the best cards.
I shop on Amazon.com all the time, so I have an Amazon.com Visa that earns 3% cashback on Amazon purchases. That’s my most used card.
If you have multiple rewards programs, you can keep track of them all with Points.com.
Like I said earlier, there are other ways to make money while spending it. You don’t have to use credit cards. That’s only one way. Let me show you the rest…
Get Paid to Shop
There are a plethora of websites that offer rewards for shopping through them.
Basically you will buy everything you normally buy, but instead of going to the store or the website, you go to one of these sites first. You are then linked to whichever website you want to shop with.
For every dollar you spend, you earn a certain amount of cash back for shopping this way.
Then you can use your credit card to make the purchase and get rewarded twice!
Here are the other 10 ways to earn while you spend:
- Swagbucks – Earn money for all kinds of things.
- Ebates – My favorite! Earn while you shop.
- Fat Wallet – Another great way to earn while you shop.
- Memo Link – Earn while you shop here too.
- My Points – A fourth way to earn while you shop.
- My Deals Club – Great coupons and coupon codes.
- Extrabux – Up to 30% cash back through them.
- Shop At Home – Cash back for online shopping.
- Big Crumbs – Yet another cash back shopping site.
- Mr. Rebates – One more cash back website for you.
Final Words
Maybe you were already taking advantage of these rewards. Maybe not. But hopefully now you will.
There are so many ways to earn while you spend, why not take advantage of them all?
Photo Credit: Peasap, Natloans, Veronica, Daniel