How can I get free money?

Over the last few years I have been able to accrue thousands of pounds in cash, save money and get lots of freebies.

These are some of the internet sites that you can visit to do this.

Cashback Websites

Cashback websites pay you to click through them when you are purchasing goods online. Cashback amounts can vary between 2% up to a whopping 12%!

The way they work is that you register on the cashback website and when you buy something, rather than going directly to the retailer’s website, you visit the cashback site, select the retailer and then click through to their website.

This will then track your visit and, in due course, the cash will appear in your cashback account. You can either withdraw the cash or convert it to vouchers with retailers at an enhanced rate.

These sites are free to register with and the most popular are Topcashback, Quidco and Kidstart. The latter pays cashback on Amazon purchases.

Voucher Code Sites

Most websites have a field at checkout which is for voucher/discount codes. There is nothing more satisfying than entering a code and seeing the price of what you are purchasing reduce.

Vouchers often have a limited life so you may need to search in several places to find the code you need. Once you find the code you simply cut and paste it into the box.

In some cases, these codes are on the website but if not, check out one of the many websites that list them. Examples are Vouchercodes.co.uk, hotukdeals.com, vouchercloud.com, myvouchercodes.co.uk but there are many more.

Deal Sites

Most people will be familiar with various websites where you can purchase virtual coupons which you then use to purchase the product or service you need. Substantial savings can be made on most things. The most popular products are usually restaurant bookings, hotel breaks, beauty treatments and days out but there are many more. When purchasing via these sites, make sure you check the terms and conditions and read the small print to ensure that you are really purchasing what you want. The best known of these sites is Groupon but there is also Living Social, Wowcher and Mighty Deals.

Switching Utility Suppliers

Most of us are so busy that we just continue to pay our utilities without considering that most utility companies offer a standard package that is considerably higher than their incentivised rates and also you can make significant savings by switching supplier.

With services such as gas, electricity, car insurance, household insurance, telephone, mobile phone and broadband, contracts are always for a term and at the end of that term you should always review your account to see if your existing supplier is offering a better rate or if there is an alternative supplier who can offer the same product and level of service at a lower price.

The savings can be very significant if you are prepared to invest a little time in researching the market.

There are a number of comparison sites that you can use or sites such as moneysupermarket.com which cover a lot of the expenses in one place.

Cheap Airline Flights

Collecting air miles is a hobby of mine. There are lots of ways you can do this. The obvious one is to use a credit card which accrues miles. The most popular are the British Airways American Express Card and the Virgin Mastercard. These accrue air miles based on how much you spend. However, in addition, you can visit the shops on the web site of the relevant airlines and by clicking through to the relevant shop you will register your visit which allows you to collect usually between 2 and 12 air miles for every pound you spend.

Once you have collected sufficient miles you can then book flights using air miles and just pay the taxes.

These are just a few of the simple ways that you can create free money but there are many more that a simple Google search will highlight. Remember “It’s not how much money you make, it’s how much you keep!”