
By Joshua Weinstein, Employee Benefits President
I’m a minimalist by nature. I believe everything you own is a relationship you’re in that requires maintenance. That said, many things spark joy and should be kept around, even if they require TLC. When new “things” are needed, I try to maximize my purchasing power. Heck, we so often trade our most precious resource, time, for money, so we might as well earn something for doing what’s otherwise needed. Enter, Shopsmarter.com.
I found Shopsmarter.com on a UPS shipping label for a Best Buy purchase. The ad proposed receiving a $15 sign-up bonus and 10% cash back at over 1,000 stores, including my beloved Best Buy. So, I signed up, and the monthly checks started rolling in. Mind you, there’s a $1,000 cash back limit per membership year and a $9.95 monthly fee, but some simple arithmetic shows I can make sense of this.
New running shoes for my wife and me? ASICS had our favorites on sale, plus we got 10% back, to the tune of $11 per pair. A new refrigerator at Lowe’s? $172.40 cash back. It adds up, especially when stacking store discounts, coupons, and credit card rewards. My favorite stores participate, and perhaps yours do too!
Here are a few of mine: