I was about to hop in the car to buy a new TV the other day when it dawned on me – I could buy the same TV online, pick it up at the same store and save 1%. How? Easy – Ebates. Yeah, I’m a shill, but you’ll thank me later.

Ebates works like this: sign up and use their directory to navigate to the website where you want to shop. Each site gives a different discount back to you in cash credit through Ebates. Every $50, Ebates sends you a check. So, if I go through Ebates to a 8% rebate site like Barnes and Noble and I spend $200, I’ll receive $16 credit in my account.

But, in this particular case, I was headed down the road to my local BestBuy. Remembering that BestBuy has an online store plus local store pickup, all I needed was to buy the TV I wanted online instead of there at the store and I’d get 1% back! Let’s say my TV was $1000 – that’s $10 in my pocket. Ok, ok – ten bucks isn’t a huge deal but, if you make it a habit, it can quickly add up.

Here’s another angle: sign a webpage or website up for Google’s Affiliate Network. Forget about selling to other people… just post links to things you want to buy and click them when you’re ready. Google’s Help site says it’s fine to buy products through your own links… Imagine your spouse wants a new kitchen faucet – find an affiliate that offers cost per acquisition and you can defray shipping. Let’s say you were about to get a table saw at your local Sears – sign up for their program through Google and get cash/credit that way. Like I say, how far will you go for 1% off?