about shopping smarter
I just realized that I should share the good news about getting money back when I shop. It's hard to believe, but there is a shopping portal - Spree.com - that actually keeps track of how much money I spend at various member sites and then sends me a check a couple months later - after I've racked up at least $25 in cash-back rewards.
I like that it's a check and not a paper record of "cashback bonuses" attached to a credit card. If I use the credit card, I probably incur interest and that just about uses up all the cashback bonus. I'd rather use my American Express, rack up points with which I can get stuff, and get cash back from Spree.com.
While I have cut back on my spending considerably since being unemployed, I do still have to buy things - gifts, clothes to fit my expanding waistline, shoes, underwear, food, cleaning supplies, books, office supplies, gardening supplies, etc. So I've figured that I should pay for everything with one card, the one that requires me to pay it off immediately: Amex. And I get Rewards Points.
Those add up quickly, I have found, and are VERY useful for big-ticket items that I just couldn't stomach paying for with cash. For instance, I just got a Dyson vacuum cleaner for 66,000 points. I have wanted one since it first came out. But it costs $600 or so. No way was I going to shell out that kind of cash. Now, I happened to have that many points. What else am I going to do with them? Sure, I can get small things, but that doesn't make a lot of sense to me. Why use 10,000 points for something that costs less than $100? Psychologically, I can handle $100 or $200 or maybe even $300 in cash. But no more than that. So points are a fantastic way to get those expensive items without spending any more cash than I already have. And I've found that I don't have to pay freight/shipping when I get one of the big-ticket items. It's like free money! I've gotten outdoor furniture, a combo TV/VCR/DVD player, rugs, a dehumidifier and camera with points.
Other people use their points for airplane trips. Since I don't really go anywhere anymore, I don't need to save them for that. Points are the perfect currency for a shopaholic like me who has less money than she'd like.
And when I do spend cash money? Going through Spree.com is the way for me. It has almost all the stores and brands I like, and if it doesn't, it has a reasonable fascimile. Kathy Bevacqua was a jewel to turn me on to it. I don't understand why other people are reluctant to use it. Is it the "too good to be true" idea? Or laziness? Or absent-mindedness? Sometimes I buy without going through Spree - and could kick myself afterwards. Maybe my writing about it is a way to reinforce for me that it is a SMART way to shop.
I like that it's a check and not a paper record of "cashback bonuses" attached to a credit card. If I use the credit card, I probably incur interest and that just about uses up all the cashback bonus. I'd rather use my American Express, rack up points with which I can get stuff, and get cash back from Spree.com.
While I have cut back on my spending considerably since being unemployed, I do still have to buy things - gifts, clothes to fit my expanding waistline, shoes, underwear, food, cleaning supplies, books, office supplies, gardening supplies, etc. So I've figured that I should pay for everything with one card, the one that requires me to pay it off immediately: Amex. And I get Rewards Points.
Those add up quickly, I have found, and are VERY useful for big-ticket items that I just couldn't stomach paying for with cash. For instance, I just got a Dyson vacuum cleaner for 66,000 points. I have wanted one since it first came out. But it costs $600 or so. No way was I going to shell out that kind of cash. Now, I happened to have that many points. What else am I going to do with them? Sure, I can get small things, but that doesn't make a lot of sense to me. Why use 10,000 points for something that costs less than $100? Psychologically, I can handle $100 or $200 or maybe even $300 in cash. But no more than that. So points are a fantastic way to get those expensive items without spending any more cash than I already have. And I've found that I don't have to pay freight/shipping when I get one of the big-ticket items. It's like free money! I've gotten outdoor furniture, a combo TV/VCR/DVD player, rugs, a dehumidifier and camera with points.
Other people use their points for airplane trips. Since I don't really go anywhere anymore, I don't need to save them for that. Points are the perfect currency for a shopaholic like me who has less money than she'd like.
And when I do spend cash money? Going through Spree.com is the way for me. It has almost all the stores and brands I like, and if it doesn't, it has a reasonable fascimile. Kathy Bevacqua was a jewel to turn me on to it. I don't understand why other people are reluctant to use it. Is it the "too good to be true" idea? Or laziness? Or absent-mindedness? Sometimes I buy without going through Spree - and could kick myself afterwards. Maybe my writing about it is a way to reinforce for me that it is a SMART way to shop.
posted by julieannerickson at 1:20 PM
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