In the age of savvy shopping and smart saving, an Aussie mum has cracked the code to boost her bank balance by a whopping $5,600, thanks to a little-known online shopping secret. Kayla Houlihan, a Victorian mum and business owner, has been using a cashback platform called ShopBack for the past five years, and the results are nothing short of impressive.
For those who are always looking for ways to stretch their dollars further, this could be the golden ticket. Imagine earning money back on your everyday purchases from the comfort of your home, and at no extra cost. It sounds too good to be true, but Kayla’s experience with ShopBack is proof of the potential of cashback platforms.
Kayla, 34, has been using ShopBack for everything from booking holidays to grocery shopping at Coles and Woolworths, and even for her business purchases. ‘You really just get the cashback for absolutely no reason, just for attaching it to my web browser. So $1,000 a year is actually amazing,’ she explained.
Initially sceptical about the platform, Kayla wondered what the catch was. However, she soon discovered that there was none. The way cashback platforms work is quite straightforward: brands and websites pay a commission to platforms like ShopBack, which in turn share a portion of that commission with the shopper. This means you’re essentially being rewarded for shopping through the platform.
The biggest cashback sites in Australia, ShopBack and Cashrewards, operate on this model. They offer cashback through their websites, apps, and browser extensions. Retailers pay to be featured on these platforms, and a slice of that payment is passed back to customers as cashback. The amount you can earn back varies depending on the retailer and the current offers.
For example, at the time of writing, Woolworths offers 0.4 per cent cashback for existing customer purchases on both ShopBack and Cashrewards. Meanwhile, Booking.com is offering 5.5 per cent cashback on accommodation and hotels on ShopBack and 10 per cent cashback on eligible accommodation on Cashrewards.
Kayla has seen significant returns from Booking.com when booking holidays and from The Iconic due to her frequent shopping. She also noted that since having a baby, she’s been doing most of her grocery shopping online through click and collect, and even though the cashback percentage on groceries is small, it adds up quickly.
However, there are a few things to keep in mind. Kayla pointed out that the cashback can take a while to hit your account, sometimes up to 70 days. Additionally, cashback can expire if your account remains inactive for more than 12 months.
Despite these minor drawbacks, the benefits are clear. A ShopBack spokesperson revealed that to date, they’ve given $288 million in cashback to Aussies, with the top 15 per cent of most active users on the platform receiving more than $2,000 in cashback.
So, how can you start earning cashback? It’s simple. Sign up for a cashback site like ShopBack or Cashrewards, browse their offers, and shop through their links. It’s an effortless way to get more bang for your buck.
Have you tried using cashback sites? We’d love to hear about your experience. Share your tips and thoughts in the comments below, and let’s explore how we can all make the most of our shopping!
Also read: Stretch your grocery budget with this practical $10 saving strategy
