Ebates has a new tool to help you remember to use it

Disclosure: This post contains a referral link.
So Ebates now has a browser button that you can install, and it will change color and flash if Ebates are available for the online store you're looking at. Cool. Because I experience unreasonable levels of rage when I forget to use Ebates. There's a tab on the right site of the Ebates homepage that will direct you to more info and installation instructions. Seems like a good idea, so long as you're okay with them WATCHING YOU ALL THE TIME. (Kidding?)

If you don't know what Ebates is, I wrote about it here. If you do any online shopping, you really should use it. There's no catch.

50% off at The Body Shop (Groupon for $10 for $20) in store or online

That's a pretty good deal - if you combine it with 10% cash back from Ebates when you order online, it's even better.

Here's my Ebates invite link and Groupon invite link, if you'd like to use either of them.

By the way, you can get 10% back from Ebates on your Body Shop order too.

So if you decide to order something, sign up here (invite link) and go through their Body Shop link before you submit your order.

I always forget to mention eBates!

If you're going to do the ULTA thing or the Stila thing, you should also sign up for eBates and get 4% or 5% back, respectively. This is my invite link. There's not catch. I know there are a bunch of other similar sites, but this is the only one I've used myself (for over a year now), so I can vouch for it being incredibly easy to use and not-at-all sketchy.

I hope you don't mind that it's been nothing but sale-alert posts around here lately. I have some review-type things lined up, but I've been swamped and haven't got around to writing them out in full. I'll get back to it soon.

Gel Manicure Starter Kit for Less Than Half Price ($30)

If you've been wanting to try one of those at home gel manicure kits, you can get the Red Carpet Manicure Gel Polish Pro Kit for $30 by following these instructions. This deal only works for new customers of Drugstore.com, but if you're not new, you can still get the kit for half price ($40).

It includes the following:

• Professional LED Light - LED gel-curing light (AC power cord adapter included)
• Prep - Max adhesion prep
• Structure - Base Coat Gel
• Brilliance - Seal & shine top coat gel
• Revitalize - Nourishing cuticle oil
• Purify - Pre & post application cleanser
• Erase - Gel nail polish remover
• RCM instructions card

Don't forget to use Ebates to get an extra 6% cash back too (here's my invite link).

Personally, I change my nail polish so fucking often that I don't want it want it to last for weeks! But I've heard good things about these kits, if you are looking for long wear.

Be Cheap (or: Free-ish Money): Ebates

Disclosure: This post contains referral links.
If you do any online shopping at all, and you don't use Ebates, you should. There's quite literally no downside. No figurative downside, either. You sign up for free, get a $10 gift card, and then get cash back for every order you place online. It works with just about every online retailer that exists. For Amazon, it only works for certain departments. All the other major players are there, though. The percentage of cash you get back ranges, on average, from 3-12% of your purchase's subtotal. Then, once a quarter, they mail you a check or send you your money by PayPal. If you have less that $5.01 in your account at payment time, they roll it over to the next quarter. And if you're super nice, you can opt to have that money sent to a charity or a friend instead.

You get your money by going to the Ebates site first, and then clicking through their link to whatever store you want to shop at. (Or you can install their add on in your browser, which is easier.) It's supposed to keep track of everything and add money to your account automatically, but sometimes things don't show up. I usually go through my email every so often and see if there are any orders more than a month old that haven't appeared in my account (sometimes it takes 30 days to update since that's a typical return period). If there are, you  submit a quick form here, and they credit your account within 5 minutes or so.

I hope that doesn't sound complicated. It's really, really not. It's basically just a way for you to save a few bucks on purchases you'd be making anyway. Even if you only buy a few things a year online, that's like $5.02 you wouldn't have otherwise. That's five free e.l.f. lip glosses (is it irony that e.l.f. is one of the few companies that's not on eBates? No, it's not. A little sad, though.).

I've been using the site for a year without any problems. It's legit. Right now I have $23 pending, and I just got my last payment in November. Don't try to use that to guess how much shopping I do! Jerk. The only negative is that now I get really pissed at myself when I buy something and forget to go through Ebates first.

Here's my referral link, if you'd like to use it. That would be cool. Do what you want, though. I wouldn't suggest this if there were any sort of catch involved. You get $5 per person who signs up through your referral, plus bonuses when you reach a certain number.

Free money. Ish. Any questions?