WILLIAM Lister has earned hundreds of pounds in free cash over the past year to get ready for Christmas.
The savvy dad has three kids to feed and stockings to fill so with rising costs, he’s been finding ways to add to his festive fund.
William, from Galashiels in Scotland, has covered 90% of his Christmas expenses for this year by making the most of cashback.
These offers give you money back on your shopping, but they require you to spend the cash first.
You then get reimbursed, whether it’s a set amount or a certain percentage off your shopping.
William has been doing it for over six years with TopCashback and says he has earned £2,170 in that time.
The site, similar to rival Quidco, pays when you go through its website to spend with retailers or providers.
William told The Sun it “couldn’t be simpler”; to do, this year alone he has made £515.
He and his wife Kerryanne, 35, will spend the money on Christmas presents for their kids Eva, 10; Anna, seven, and three-year-old William Jr.
The 38-year-old self-employed landscaper uses the site for most of his online purchases as 5,000 retailers are signed up as partners.
He’s used it on tech purchases from Currys, food from delivery services like UberEats and JustEat, as well as when he takes out insurance policies or when booking a holiday on Booking.com.
The cash he has had back ranges from a few pounds up to £105, which was from signing up to new broadband.
It’s important to remember that the free cash will depend on the retailer’s cashback offer and how much you spend.
You should never spend more than planned or more than you can afford.
William said: “Every year I use it towards holidays or Christmas.
“Because the orders are all things I would have made anyway, it’s just fantastic.
“I feel like because of the current economic climate it’s even more helpful, it’s free money basically.
“Over the last two years, I’ve actually been actively using it more because of how much everything is.
“You’re spending the money anyway, so like on my insurance premium, I was always going to spend that money on it and I got 55% back from it.”;
How he made £515 in cashback
William said he has been able to earn the £515 over the past 10 months by making online purchases around six times a month.
He always has a look around on the TopCashback site to see which has the best deals for the item he is purchasing.
“Sometimes you get really lucky and UberEats will have 20% cashback offer as well as a money off your order deal, so it’s a win-win,”; he said.
How quickly you get your free cash back depends on the retailer and what the purchase was.
William said: “I think the quickest I’ve had money back is about a week and a half, but with my insurance policy it has taken around three months.
“The reason for that is so that people don’t just sign up to get the cashback, they want to make sure you’ll stick around.”;
The money you earn will typically sit in your TopCashback or Quidco account before you can withdraw it to PayPal or bank account.
You can sign up to the sites for free.
If you try the 30-day free trial of “plus”; at TopCashback, make sure to actively downgrade it before the month is up or you’ll be charged.
A plus membership is £5 a year and it pays you an extra top-up of cashback and up to 10% higher payout bonuses via rewards.
William’s top tips for using cashback
William said the biggest advice he can give is just to sign up because “why not”;.
He also said you’ve got to remember to go through the website when you’re looking to make an online purchase.
An easier way to make sure you don’t miss the chance to get free cashback with TopCashback is to download the Google extension.
This will tell you if a retailer is a partner when you’re on its website.
He also said it is important to have a look around on the website before committing to a big purchase to make sure you’re getting the most for your money.
Shoppers can currently get £15 worth of free shopping thanks to a cashback deal – and you could use it for a tub of Quality Street.
Last year, a cashback fan revealed he never pays for Christmas as he’s made £20,000.
