How to earn money back for shopping online

In New York City, I do a lot of online shopping. It seems silly, I know, that I'm mere miles from some of the best shopping in the world, but with a job and a baby, finding the time to go out and fight the crowds is few and far between.

I have to let you in on perhaps the best kept secret in online shopping. Ebates. Have you heard of it? You literally get cash back for shopping online, and yes, it's truly that simple. Look what I just got back from a recent online trip to Macys.com:

$93.95! Just for shopping online! Mike needed a couple of new suits (I threw in a pair of strappy sandals), Macy's was offering 16% cash back, and boom...I scored almost $100 for just clicking a couple of buttons of the ol' mouse. 

Here's how it works: sign up for a free online account. Then it will show you all the hundreds (thousands?) of stores that offer cash back. You click on those stores through the Ebates site, and voila...you're on your way to earning 1-16% back, depending on the store.

I even took it a step further and installed Ebates on my browser, so it automatically tells me each time I click into a website that it is Ebates friendly. (Do you see the red "E" on the right? That's it.) I then click on the "activate cash back" button and I'm all set. Your money is either sent to you via a check in the mail or through PayPal. (I just signed up for PayPal to save the paper.)

Since I started using this in late December, I've earned nearly $350 back!!! That's crazy. 

I would HIGHLY encourage you to sign up, and it would be amazing if you'd join through my referral link. (You get $20-$30 for referring people too...yippee!)
http://www.ebates.com/rf.do?referrerid=AYXj7iHxDLG%2BF1WlhqkQTQ%3D%3D&eeid=26471
In case they ask, my account is under Jeannie Evanchan, jeanniecrofts@yahoo.com.

It's the best thing EVER! Now, go do some shopping :-) xo