How To Get Money Back Quickly And Easily With Rakuten: Set It And Forget It.
I heard about Rakuten ages ago. I just ignored it. Yes, I am kicking myself now. I’m going to show you how to set it up easily and quickly. Start earning money back today!
As a busy mom who works full-time and homeschools full-time, finding quick hands-off ways to save money or get money back makes me happy.
What is your favorite way to shop? I do love to shop online. It’s just easier and faster!
Even with the shipping costs.
Disclosure: I may receive commissions for purchases made through links in this post.
That is WHY I am kicking myself for not joining Ebates (Rakuten) earlier!
By the way, EBATES is now Rakuten! (RACK-uh-ten)
I always thought it was just another program that was a lot of hassle and took up too much time.
With the past programs you had to make sure you bought exactly what it said, right brand, right size and then take a photo of the receipt just so. Ugh. Then you had to hit a limit to even get paid. Seriously that got old fast!
At least to me, feel free to check it out yourself and decide.
I mean I did it, for a while because saving money.
But the thought of joining just another program was too much. So I didn’t.
Then a friend asked me if I heard about Rakuten. I went to brush her off but she said the magic words.
“You save on things you are already buying! Just set it and forget it.”
Say what?
Yeah, it’s that easy. Real money goes right into your account no extra steps, no taking pictures of receipts, no nothing.
Update: Since joining, I’ve gotten $279.55 back just from buying things I always buy!
You just shop like you always do and get money back. Seriously. I’ll show you how easy it is to set it up in a minute.
It is NOT just for USA shopping either. Canada has its very own Ebates. And if you are like me and shop both USA and Canada, well then you can sign up for both. Why not?
What Is Rakuten?
Rakuten is a free to use website that pays you to shop online. No, it is not a gimmick. As I mentioned above, I signed up for both the USA & Canada one, and I earn cash back on things I would normally be buying anyway.
Some of the stores included are:
- Old Navy
- Michaels
- Pet Smart
- Dyson
- ABCMouse
- REI
- Epic
- Book Depository
- Just to name a few
Something to keep in mind: Rakuten Cash Back percentages often change, so a 5% offer today could be a 15% offer next week or next month! Be sure to check Rakuten EVERY time you shop online.
How Rakuten Works:
- The first thing you need to do is sign up.
If you are USA based Sign up for Ebates and start earning money!
If you are Canada based Sign up here for Ebates and start earning money!
That’s my refer-a-friend link, so thank you in advance for using my link! They have a referral program, so you can invite your friends too and earn money when they sign up and become active users.
When you sign up, you’ll earn a $ credit just for signing up if you use my link because that is the refer-a-friend free gift. Sometimes that is $10, and sometimes it is more, again depending on the deal they have running.
2. After you sign up, make sure you log in to Ratuken every time you shop online or use the easy button I’ll share with you in a minute.
3. Earn cash. Your cashback percentage will show up in your account within 7 days.
How You Get Paid:
When you set up your account, you get to decide how to get paid. Once a quarter, Rakuten sends you your earnings via check or Paypal, whichever option you select. It’s that easy!
In Canada, you can also choose to get an Amazon gift card, which is awesome because you earn cash back shopping at Amazon!
I chose Paypal and mail. Remember I signed up for both programs because I shop at both. You can do that too!
I just signed up a little while ago and got a check in the mail already! It adds up super fast on things I was buying anyway.
What I love is that I get paid for things I was already buying from the stores I use and trust and I don’t even have to think about it. It’s automatic!
Activate The Ratuken Cash Back Button
After you fill in your account information you are going to want to do this next step. It is what makes it so easy and quick to earn painlessly.
Activate The Ratuken Cash Back Button to Maximize Earnings.
When I signed up for Ebates, I set up their Cash Back Button in my browser and also downloaded the app on my phone.
Here is how to do it in Chrome:
I remember being prompted to add the button but if you didn’t or removed it, you can go to the chrome library and search for Rakuten.
You’ll see it pop up like this, and click “Add to Chrome”
In just a few minutes you should have this window pop up! “Installation Complete!”
As you can see there are a ton of stores included where you can earn cash back!
After you activate the Cash Back Button, saving is automatic!
You can search your favorite stores and you’ll see savings listed in the search as shown below. I searched “Old Navy”.
As you can see the Old Navy one pops up all on its own. Old Navy is one of my daughter’s favorite stores. They have the best T-shirts for her 🙂
It’s a pop up I actually love seeing, imagine that!
Ratuken’s Shop Online & Pick Up In Store Option
Another way to save is to shop online and choose to pick up your purchases in-store.
To take advantage of saving the shipping costs while still getting your cashback reward, all you have to do is buy what you normally would online, than pick it up in the store later.
In fact, I often shop online and get the item shipped to a local store to save shipping fees!
Michaels is one of my favorite places to do this as I tend to go over my budget if I shop instore! Plus, you can now “favorite” your stores. See the heart in the image below? Just click that button to make your favorite stores easier to find.
Exclusive Coupons From Ratuken
Another awesome way to save is through the emails Ratuken sends to you or browsing the Ratuken stores. Although I prefer to just go to the store, I am shopping at and use the easy button.
This is an example of one email I received:
What Other Moms Are Saying About Rakuten:
Just don’t take my word for it. When I asked members of my Working Homeschool Mom Group if they used Ebates many said yes!
One mom says she made “$67 last month alone.” Her favorite part is she “doesn’t even have to think about it”.
Another says she does most of her shopping online because transportation is limited. Thanks to the Cash Back buttons she’s “saved hundreds of dollars over the years on things she had to buy anyway!”
There were tons of other comments too but I’ll share this last one because I thought the SAME way. She admitted she “heard about it years ago and thought it was a scam!… I finally gave it a whirl and I’m kicking myself for not doing it earlier!”
I should have done this sooner!
If you have an online businees, you can save on hosting and other things too. Ugh If only I had signed up before I bought my hosting with Bluehost, lol!
And some stores pay a LOT more!
Plus you can get bonuses like free shipping or extra coupon codes when you shop.
The Downside Of Rakuten
Anytime I share something I use, I try really hard to include the things I don’t like.
When it comes to using Rakuten I have two things I am not a fan of.
- We do a lot of our shopping on Amazon. Rakuten offers cashback only on certain categories, and I am not sure the Canadian Rakuten offers it at all anymore.
- The button doesn’t always activate on Amazon. That can be super annoying. To overcome that, I’ll start at Rakuten when I am shopping at Amazon. It’s with 30 seconds or so for me.
Other than those two things, I love using Rakuten for online shopping.
If You Shop Online, Rakuten Is For you!
Now that you’ve read my review, why not join Rakuten today? You’ll get your Welcome Bonus and you can invite your friends & family too.
Don’t forget to show them how to activate the Cash Back Button.
If you are getting ready to shop for the next homeschool year or holiday shopping, I recommend signing up before you add anything else to your cart!
If you still aren’t sold on Rakuten yet take a moment and browse the stores included. You might be surprised to see many of your favorite stores listed. I know I was!
We buy a lot of our outback hiking and camping equipment online because I can’t get a good deal locally. I am kicking myself for the money I didn’t get ages ago because I thought Rakuten was too hard. Ugh!
I didn’t realize how easy it was! Or how quickly it adds up.
Those little things really make a big difference when it comes to getting extra money into our budget. Have you tried Rakuten? I’d love to hear what you think of it!
Take care,
Jen
PS. Don’t forget to activate Cash Back Button in your browser. That makes it “Set it and forget it easy!” You can earn money without even thinking about it.
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Hi, I’m Jen. I help working moms juggle their career and homeschool their kids by providing support, systems and tools. You are warmly invited to Join the Online Community Here!
