Good things to belong to

Full disclosure:   the links I'm publishing here are referral links, and I will make a buck or two for referring you.  Thanks for helping me out.

But I will not recommend any program that I don't already use myself and really like.  My goal here is to get you signed up to programs that will save you some extra cash; the referrals are just gravy.  Here we go:

Shop at Home:  by far the best clickthrough shopping service I've seen.  Costs nothing to join. Are you buying something at Walmart.com?  Well, if you join SAH and click through their Walmart link first, you will get 3% back on your purchase.  "3%!" you say.  That's nuthin.  That's like $0.28!  I'm not going to bother.  Well, then you are stupid.  If you spend money online, these 3-4-5-6% cashback amounts start to add up.  And on large purchases, it's a major no-brainer.  Maybe you are searching for a new fridge and are about to spend $900 at HomeDepot.com.  SAH periodically runs "sales" where they double the cashback percentages.  We bought an appliance  at Sears.com on a SAH "sale" day and got 9% back on around $600.   They send out checks quarterly, and mine is never less than $40.  Oh, and they send out checks. For money.  Not points, money.  Kapeesh?   Join. 

Ebates:  another clickthrough service, basically the same idea as SAH.  The Ebates vendor list is not nearly as extensive as SAH, but occasionally, they will have someone listed that SAH does not. I used to use them all the time before I discovered SAH.   Couldn't hurt to have another clickthrough service in your pocket. And once again, they will send you money.  Not points.  The green stuff.

By the way, if you want to compare clickthrough services on specific rates at specific stores, Cashbackwatch a good site. 

Swagbucks:  this site is a little kitchy, but so far, simply from doing Google-based searches that I would have done anyway, I've amassed about $200 in Amazon gift cards.  The $5 Amazon gift card that they offer for 450 points is the only prize on the Swagbucks Redemption list that is worth squat, IMHO.  But that's just me.  Basically, you sign up, you put their little search box in the northeast corner of your browser, and instead of going to Google when you want to do a search, you type in your keyword(s) there.  The Swagbucks search engine is Google based.  About one in every five searches seems to score you points.  It's a passive thing...when you realize that you've hit 450 points, grab a $5 Amazon gift card.  There are other ways to more actively earn points, but honestly, I can't be bothered.  If you can, go for it.  It's also worthwhile to refer your friends, spouses, etc.

MyPoints:  I have some mixed feelings about this site, because their customer service is horrendous, but it's still easy to get points, and they are honest about redemptions.  Basically it works like this:  you get about 4-5 emails a day from them (which you can turn off any time), click on the email links, get points, redeem points for gift cards.  I've probably redeemed about a thousand dollars in gift cards from them since I joined twelve years ago.  There are more active ways to get points (surveys, buying stuff, etc.) but, once again, I'm busy. I'm guessing you are too.

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