4 Simple Ways to Save Money on Auto Pilot

National Cash Back Day is the first Thursday of November, but I think every day’s a great day to celebrate saving money and getting a good deal! So today I’m sharing a few of my favorite, no-fuss ways to earn points, miles, gift cards, and cash back — almost without even thinking about it.

Of course, some people view saving money as the opposite of spending it. They adhere to that old maxim,

That is how I normally think.

But other people — like my husband — seem to say, “Where’s the fun in that?”

And since God often unites opposite money personalities together in the holy bonds of matrimony, I’ve learned to enjoy some occasional splurges. But I always enjoy them more when I can get them at a discount!

Like when we flew our entire family — Mom, Dad, and five to nine children (plus sometimes even a grandma) — to Europe for free. Not just once, but four times now! And to lots of other great places, as well!

You can read more about that in this post: How Our Family Flew to Europe for Free

And my husband has learned to look for and relish great deals. Maybe not as much as his wife does, but certainly more than he did! Here are some of our favorite ways to save money, almost on autopilot.

4 No-Brainer Ways to Save Money

1. Rakuten

I could kick myself for waiting so long to join Rakuten, but I found the website intimidating the first few times I looked at it. But when I noticed they were offering a generous sign-up bonus to new members, I decided it would be worth my time to figure it out — and is my bank account ever glad I did!

Really, after I installed the Rakuten browser button, I didn’t have to think about it at all. Any time I started to make an online purchase for which cash back was available, Rakuten would notify me right on the check out page. All it takes is a click of the button to activate, and that savings is credited directly to my account.

Rakuten has sent me a lot of “big fat checks” over the years. My cashback total is well over $5600 in all. In the early days, they’d send my checks by snail mail. Now they deposit the money straight into my PayPal account.

Ready to start saving money on autopilot? Sign up through my referral link, and we’ll both get a big cashback bonus!

2. Microsoft Rewards

It is super easy to earn points with Microsoft Rewards. I set Bing as my default browser and earn reward points every time I search online, whether I’m using a laptop, tablet, or phone. The points add up quickly, and can be exchanged for gift cards from a variety of businesses.

I earn a $5-10 gift card from Amazon each month without even trying. But I’ll sometimes let the points accrue and redeem them all at once right before Christmas.

3. Fetch Rewards

I also earn a lot of Amazon gift cards from Fetch Rewards. You can earn points for scanning your receipts manually, but I prefer to simply connect Fetch with my various grocery accounts and let them automatically scan my purchases through email notifications. You can connect with…

• Amazon
• Walmart
• Sams Club
• Costco
• Target
• Albertson’s
• Tom Thumb
• and more

That way, I only need to log into my Fetch Rewards account once every few of weeks to claim those points and/or redeem them for a prepaid Mastercard or Visa or a gift card from a variety of businesses including…

• online giants (like Amazon)
• restaurants (Olive Garden, Chilis, Chipotle, Dominoe’s Pizza, Cracker Barrel, etc.)
• department stores (Macy’s, J.C. Penney, Kohl’s, Ikea, Target, etc.)
• sporting good stores (Bass Pro Shops, Cabela’s, Adidas, REI, etc.)
• book sellers (Barnes & Noble,
• grocery stores (Walmart, Kroger, Sam’s Club, Costco,
• entertainment (AMC Theaters, Fandango, Topgolf, Dave & Buster’s, etc.)
• travel (Airbnb, Hotels.com, Southwest Airlines, Uber, Lyft, etc.)
• pets (PetSmart, Petco, Chewy, etc.)
• and many more

4. AAdvantage Dining

I’ve written about my love for AAdvantage Dining in my post about our family flying free to Europe. Simply register your credit card with the program, then rack up award miles any time you use it to pay for your meal at a participating restaurant.

Registration is a one-time process. You don’t have to think about it again, nor do you need to tell your waiter you’re participating in the program — everything is done automatically.

Our family has even earned miles dining at restaurants we didn’t know were in the program until afterwards when we saw the miles post to our account. Maximizing your frequent flyer miles doesn’t get easier than that!

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