Vacation on a Budget – 5 Ways to Pay

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So you want to go on a vacation but aren’t sure how you could possibly afford it.  Planning a vacation on a budget isn’t always easy.  I’m here to help!  I love to travel but my budget doesn’t always enjoy the cost of my lifestyle.  Over the years, I have learned how to find ways to earn an additional income.  This additional income requires very little effort and I’m going to show you how!

Ebates

This has by far earned me the most money.  I love Ebates because I can use the app or I can just add the plugin to my web browser and it reminds me to activate my cash back.  When I first heard about Ebates, I was positive it was a scam but then I tried it and got my first check and couldn’t be happier.  I have earned the most with Ebates on Black Friday and when I book my travel, I always go through Ebates and I’m earning cash back for my next trip.  You can sign up here and you will earn $10 after you make your first purchase of $25 or more.  If you want to double dip, buy through Ebates and use your credit card to get double the rewards!

Ibotta

This app takes a tiny bit more effort than Ebates but it is still great “free” money.  You are buying groceries anyway and then you just go to the Ibotta app and find offers.  Once you have your offers selected you will go to redeem and it will ask you to take a picture of your receipt and voila, you’re done!  My account is almost immediately credited but sometimes it might take up to 24 hours for them to add the credit. You can sign up for Ibotta here.

Checkout 51

This one is probably my least favorite but it has earned me a little bit of money.  I like Ibotta better because it has a lot of “any brand” items.  Example, you can buy any brand of milk and get a rebate.  Checkout 51 is more brand specific and it just doesn’t have a lot of items that I purchase.  I have still earned money from them but I earn it faster through Ibotta.  If you would like to sign up for Checkout 51 you can do it here.

American Express

Let me start out by saying, this only works if you pay off your entire credit card balance in full every month otherwise you’re paying interest and it’s no longer free.  I have the AMEX Blue Cash Everyday card and it earns me 3% on groceries, 2% on gas, and 1% on all other purchases.  This card does not come with an annual fee so all of my cashback is truly additional income.  I only use this card for groceries because I buy my gas at Kroger and that is not eligible for the 2% cashback.  This earns me a decent amount of cashback and a couple of times a year I will cash in and use it towards a trip.  You can sign up here and right now you will earn $200 back after you spend $1,000 on purchases on your new card within the first 3 months of card membership.  Please read all of the details directly from the AMEX site.

Citi Double Cashback Card

The same statement above applies here as well.  You MUST pay off your entire credit card balance for this to work.  I use this card for everything else other than groceries.  I earn 1% when I spend and 1% when I pay.  This earns me 2% total when if I used my AMEX card on gas and all other purchases, I would only be earning 1%.  I will eventually get a travel credit card but for not this card does not come with a fee and I’m earning 2% cashback which isn’t terrible.