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Just in case you weren’t aware or you’ve completely ignored your inbox for the past few days, it’s Cyber Monday. What does that mean? Well, it means that retailers are trying to ride the Black Friday wave for as long as they can to get you to spend more money in their stores and on their websites. Deals have been going on for weeks and they won’t stop until we are well on the other side of the New Year. So, why not save some money for your trouble?
If you’re like me, you prefer to get your holiday shopping done in the most pain-free manner possible. For me, that means shopping online. Unless I absolutely have any other choice, I avoid brick-and-mortar stores at all costs this time of the year. Honestly, the days of waiting in line to score that exclusive deal are a thing of the past. Most Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals can be snatched up online and delivered to your door before December arrives. So, how can you maximize your savings while grabbing the best deals? Lucky for me(and you), there’s an app for that. Well, a Chrome extension to be more precise.
Cashback apps, websites, and extensions aren’t new but there are a few tried and true platforms that I always turn to in order to get the most out of my online shopping experience. These tools offer a variety of methods in which you can save money such as price comparisons, cash-back rebates, and even by automatically applying coupon codes so you don’t have to hunt for them. Knowing that there are numerous cashback tools out there, which ones are the best? Well, I’m here to tell you about three such tools that I have found to be the gold standard when it comes to cashback and online savings. The best part? They all offer a handy Chrome Extension to make using them a breeze. So, without further ado, here are my top 3 Chrome Extensions for saving money when shopping online.
Rakuten
The OG on the block, Rakuten has been around for years and most of you are likely familiar with the “Big Fat Check” that you see in so many commercials for the platform. One of the best things about Rakuten is that the company has built affiliate relationships with over 3,000 retailers. That means that you can score cash back from a good majority of the website where you likely already shop. On top of that, Rakuten offers massive boosts in cash back during the holiday shopping season. Right now, you can get as much as 15% back in the form of cold, hard cash from dozens of stores in just about every category imaginable.
Rakuten’s Chrome Extension will also test available promo codes for you at checkout to save you the time and hassle of searching across multiple coupon sites yourself. Once applied, you’ll get a snazzy little popup that tells you how much you saved and how much is being applied to your Big Fat Check. That check is sent to you every three months in the form of an actual check or you can opt to have it sent to your PayPal account. With Rakuten, you can score exclusive deals and cashback that can save you literally hundreds of dollars in a single shopping trip and that’s a big deal.
Rakuten is definitely the 800-pound gorilla of the cash back arena and for that reason, it offers the most cash back from more stores and there’s even a mobile app. You can shop directly inside the Rakuten app and your savings will be applied when you make an eligible purchase. If you’re new to Rakuten, you can even pick up an extra $40 simply by signing up with our link below and making your first eligible purchase of $40 or more. From there, you can refer your friends and you’ll get paid just for them joining Rakuten. Easy money.
Honey
Once an independent platform, Honey was recently purchased by PayPal and has become a leading cash-back tool for shoppers. Like Rakuten, Honey offers a Chrome Extension and a mobile app where shoppers can earn real cash back from thousands of retailers. In the early days, cashback was redeemed in the form of e-gift cards from various retailers but since the acquisition by PayPal, you can get your money sent directly to your PayPal account.
Like Rakuten, Honey will apply coupon codes for you and at the end of the day, the platforms are very similar. One thing that Honey does offer that’s a bit unique is what they call the “droplist.” This allows you to add products from select sites like Amazon and when there’s a price drop, you get an alert. While I think Rakuten offers a wider range of stores and better cash back on some sites, this droplist feature makes Honey worth having if only for that tool.
Last but not least, we have Lolli. Never heard of it? You likely aren’t alone. Lolli is what you might call the Rakuten of Bitcoin. Like Rakuten, you can use the Lolli extension and get cashback from thousands of stores online. However, your cashback is deposited in your Lolli wallet in the form of Bitcoin. While the cryptocurrency market may be very volatile, Lolli has been around for a few years now and has established itself as a legitimate cashback tool for those interested in staking Bitcoin.
Even if you aren’t feeling the cryptocurrency thing, Lolli now offers your cashback as actual cash which can be sent directly to your bank account once you reach a balance of $15 which doesn’t take long when you’re holiday shopping. The cashback from Lolli ranges anywhere from 1% to 30% depending on where you shop but I’ve found that most sites are in the same range as the money-back offered by Rakuten and others. So, if you’re interested in crypto but aren’t ready to dump your savings into a portfolio, Lolli is a great way to grab some satoshis without all the risk.
What shopping apps are you using? We’d love to hear your tips for saving money during the holiday shopping season. Drop a comment below or shoot us an email and let us know your favorite Chrome and mobile shopping tools. Perhaps we’ll add them to the list. Happy shopping. May your cash back be substantial.
