Cash Back Site #1 - BigCrumbs.com

I stumbled upon Big Crumbs in 2009 and it quickly became my favorite cash back site.  It has an easy interface and the highest average payouts of any of the sites I use.  It also has a great referral system where you get a little bit of cash back for the purchases of the people you refer and a second tier where you get an even smaller amount of cash back for the people your referrals refer.  So you have three ways to earn cash back here: Your purchases, your referrals purchases, and the purchases of the people your referrals refer.

Cash Back Site #2 - Mr. Rebates

Mr. Rebates is the newest cash back site to my list.  The average payouts are almost as good as Big Crumbs and now and then they will payout more for some sites.  They also have a refer a friend program where you get a percentage of your referrals purchases.  This site is very solid just not quite as lucrative as Big Crumbs.

Cash Back Site #3 - Ebates

Ebates is the granddaddy of them all.  It has the most retailers listed to receive cash back.  The down side to this cash back site is that they have the lowest payouts of the three.  This site does come in handy because if the other two do not have a retailer listed Ebates probably will.

With most retailers I get between 4-6% cash back.  Some items, like inkjet cartridges, theses cash back sites will get you as much as 30% back.  Every time we post a deal on SavingFreak we try to let you know which of these cash back sites has the best offer for that retailer so that you too can maximize your online savings.

Anyone who has not signed up for Swagbucks yet can get a bonus 50 swagbucks by signing up here and using the code "SWAGNATION5".  If you are not sure what Swagbucks is all about you can find more info here.

Big Crumbs

Big Crumbs is my favorite online shopping portal.  The reason I call it a portal is that when you find a deal online, before you purchase the item go to BigCrumbs.com and search for the store you are interested in purchasing from.  When/If that store comes up you click on the link and it will take you back to the retailers site.  By clicking the link at BigCrumbs you are allowing the site to track your purchase (not your info although they already have that).  This tracking will allow you to get a percentage back from the purchase.  The percentage back depends on the merchant.  I have gotten 33% back for purchasing magazines, 6.3% back at Target.com, and a host of other percentages.

I like BigCrumbs the best for three reasons.  Their percentage back is the best I have seen, they pay out every month with no minimum through paypal, and they have the best referral program of any of the sites I have used.  With the referrals you have two options.  You can be a Crumb Saver and earn .05% of what people you have directly referred make or a Crumb Earner and earn .05% of what your referrals make out to five generations (I refer Joe; Joe refers Mark; Mark refers Jane; Jane refers Anna; I make .05% on all their purchases)

Sign up for BigCrumbs here

Ebates

Ebates works just like BigCrumbs but has a lower average payout for the stores on its site, has a minimum payout of $5.01 and a limited referral program.  The advantage to Ebates is that they are the oldest of these types of programs and have the largest number of participating stores.  So if there is a merchant that is not in the BigCrumbs system it is usually in the Ebates system.

Sign up for Ebates here

SwagBucks

I usually just use Swagbucks as a search engine but it is my last ditch effort to get some sort of cash back for my online purchases.  They will pay you two Swagbucks for every dollar you spend.  That is only 1.6% back so I try not to use them for this purpose but they are the most rewarding search engine on the web.

Sign up for SwagBucks here

Use Oatmeal for Bug Bites

Kids and bugs don't always mix well. When we get bug bites, I put cooked oatmeal right on the bite marks. If the marks are really bad then I will put clear plastic wrap on top of the oatmeal, try to keep it there for 5 to 10 minutes. Then just rinse off with water, no soap. Works on just a rash too. And if the kid or baby eats some, it won't hurt.

--Melissa from Thunder Bay, Ont

Preventing Rust Rings

To stop rust rings from metal containers in bath or kitchen like hair spray, cleansers, etc., coat the bottom with old nail polish.

--Fred from Lincoln Park, MI

Clean Your Blow Dryer When It Stops Working

When your blow dryer suddenly stops working, clean the lint out of the vents on all sides with an old dry toothbrush. Lint that doesn't come out can be picked out with tweezers. Vacuum the vents with the hose part of your vacuum cleaner. Your blow dryer should start right back up and will last for several more months. Care and cleaning of the vents will make your blow dryer last a lot longer and you won't have to replace it as often saving you money and a trip to the store!

--Adrienne from Cleveland, OH

Reusing Blank CD Spools

Use the empty plastic spools from your blank recordable CD stacks to serve as an upright paper towel holder or a holder for extra toilet paper! Turn over the plastic top and use to to hold pens, markers, pencils and so on. There! You have recycled something totally.

--Pamphyila

Clean Your Area Rugs at The Car Wash

Take your area rugs to the car wash to get them super clean! I have done this numerous times with a helper and a truck, and know others who do the same. It's amazing to see the dirt run out off the rug! Then roll them up and load them onto the back of a truck. At home lay the rugs out to dry on the grass or on a sturdy fence.

--melody_yesterday from Sedalia, MO

Right now Nielsen is taking applications for their Homescan program.  If you are selected as one of the people they are interested in receiving information from you will receive a home scanner.  What you are required to do is scan the items that you purchase with a scanner that they provide.  Once a week you hook the scanner to your computer and send them the information.  They use the information to see what brands people are buying, how well advertising and coupons are working, and to determine national trends in purchases.

In return for your help you earn gift points for free name brand merchandise and be entered into sweepstakes and prize drawings run by Nielsen.  It also means that your opinion helps shape what is made available to the public at large.  To sign up to be a part of the Nielsen Homescan program click here.  Just another way to get some free stuff!!

Pinecone Research is one of the few get paid to take surveys sites that actually pays out on every survey you qualify for and complete.  I have been a part of their surveys for over four years now.  The hardest part is actually getting accepted into their program.  Every time you complete a survey you get $3.  Not a bad little return for a small survey.

Right now Pinecone is accepting new applicants with  an emphasis on people who are between the ages of 18-24.  In the past minorities have always had a high acceptance rate as well as people with small children in the home.

If you are interested in completing consumer surveys for money and receiving stuff in the mail to evaluate follow this link to apply.

Now you can earn extra Swagbucks by shopping through their portal (get a 2% return) or exchanging your cell phones and video game equipment.  Remember that a swagbuck is only worth about 10 cents so make sure you cannot get a better deal by selling it yourself.

Since July I have personally earned 317 swagbucks.  That equates to seven $5 Amazon.com gift cards.  I have to admit I was not as deliberate at the beginning  as I am now at using this program but I am now seeing about one gift card every five weeks just for doing searches I am going to do anyway.   This is why Swagbucks has continued to be a part of my favorite programs.  You can sign up for Swagbucks here

This is a major blow to my strategy for making the most out of my rewards credit card.  This is also going to upset my wife because she will have to change the card information on all of our automatic pay accounts (mostly utilities).  Is anybody else paying off their card every month in order to reap the rewards?  I will be scouring the web but hope that some of my readers will have clued into another good deal on rewards.

Cash Duck - This one had fallen out of favor because there were not enough programs to keep earning, but the owner has turned things around and there are now a bunch of get paid to signup offers that are free.

SwagBucks - This one is still my favorite.  I earn  enough off of my personal searches to earn atleast a $5 gift card every month and I am getting paid for something I do anyway (plus when you refer someone you get matching points for their first 100).  For a complete explanation of this program click here.

MyPoints - I just got a $10 gift card to CVS in the mail on Saturday (which is what prompted this post).  Taking that gift card and purchasing items that allow me to earn extra bucks allows that $10 to purchase maybe ten times that amount.  To learn more about mypoints click here.  To learn how to use CVS to stock your bathroom for almost free click here.

Chase Freedom - We use our credit card for all of our gasoline, utilities, and any other regular purchases where we cannot overspend (we pay this balance off every month).  This allows us to rack up a ton of money in rewards.  We are now at $140 in reward but will not be cashing out until that total hits $200.  With this card if you wait until the $200 mark they give you an extra $50.

What ways are you making money online?  Send me a good one and I will post it with your referal link.

The first place I always tell people to sell things is on Ebay.  The main reason is you get cash.  No messing around with gift cards and special offers.  Just cold hard cash.  That being said Ebay is more difficult to deal with than many of the recycling programs with posting the item and shipping it to the winner.  For this reason there are three viable ways to get rid of many of your unused gadgets with another on the way.

Greenwise -- This company does the recycling but it partners with retailers to do the pickup.  This is a great program because they have partnered with Staples and Costco to receive the items to be recycled.  They also have the largest variety of items accepted, but their payout is a little lower than the other two.  You receive your payout with gift cards to the retailer where you drop off the item.

BuyMyTronics --  CurrentlyBuyMytronics only gives money for MP3 players, cell phones, PDAs, and game consoles.  They are looking to expand what devices they will take so this may change in the future.  The payouts are even or better with the other two.  Of the three options BuyMyTronics is the only one that will pay out to PayPal of by check.

TechForward -- Tech forward pays pretty well but there is a limited number of manufacturers it accepts products from.  The site is well planned out and easy to use, but if you are using generic equipment (like a home made computer) they will not accept it.  Their payout method is similar to Greenwise but is dependant on where you drop off/send the item.  As far as I can tell you can get a check if you send it directly to TechForward.

EcoNEW -- EcoNEW is not currently recycling items but their business model looks to be similar to that of Greenwise.  For this reason, I expect them to try and partner with some major retailers pretty soon.  This would make them a fourth viable option.

So before you throw away that old computer why not recycle it, make life a little greener, and bring some green back to your wallet.