Save Money Shopping… Wha’?

I have never been much of an in store shopper. Normally I know what I need when I go to the store, and I do my best to get in and out as quickly as possible. Online shopping is a completely different issue. I LOVE to shop online. As a matter of fact, in the past I loved online shopping a little too much. I ended up racking up more than my fair share of credit card debt in the process.

The good news is that I have managed to pay a huge chunk of that off, and I have focused on saving money instead of spending it. I have cut way, way back on the internet shopping, and when I do go online to shop I try to find ways to save money. My favorite way is to shop through my friend’s site, Hoopla Doopla.*

Back story…

Seven years ago I was a first time mom with a baby girl that I just did not understand. Cady was going through some phase and I think I googled “why will my baby not stop crying.” That led me to a wonderful group of women on a BabyCenter board. They were all first time moms as well, and all of their babies were born in December 2004 as well. We instantly bonded.

It wasn’t long until we locked down the group and took our discussions to lengthy emails and off of the public forums. Over the years we have loved and supported one another through new babies, postpartum depression, unemployment, surgeries, deaths… you name it. We’ve been there for one another, and I don’t know what I would do without them.

In the summer of 2007 we all met on Long Island (two of the girls live there) and spent the entire weekend together with our husbands and kids. It was like coming home. There was no awkwardness or weirdness. It was like all of us, husbands included, had all been friends our entire lives. They are my people.

When I went to BlogHer earlier this month I was able to see my friend Jeanine and her husband Frank again. It was the same as it was five years ago when we were together. I didn’t leave her side the entire night, and almost broke down in tears at being with her again several times. I love these people, and my words do not express how truly awesome they are.

End of the back story…

Several years ago (because I can’t remember exactly how many, three or four) Frank lost his job when the economy started falling apart. Instead of falling into a “oh poor, pitiful me, I’m unemployed” state, Frank immediately started putting in applications everywhere he could, but he didn’t stop there. Working from his basement, he partnered with his long time friend and started Hoopla Doopla.

So what is Hoopla Doopla? Here is an excerpt from the website (because they explain it so much better than I can):

Hoopla Doopla, Inc. is a leading cash back shopping website, providing coupon codes, discounts, daily deals and cash back from over 1700 online stores. We exist to provide a better overall online shopping experience, and to put money where it belongs – In people’s pockets!

Here is how I use it… When I find something online I want to purchase I will log into my Hoopla Doopla account. I will check to see if they have the vendor where I’m shopping. If they do I click the “Shop Now” link which takes me directly to the merchant’s website. I continue my purchase like normal. Hoopla Doopla tracks how much I spend on my purchase and pays me cash back for every dollar I spend (excluding tax and shipping).

Additionally, a lot of times they will have coupons that apply when I shop through them. Here is an example:

Once a quarter the money I’ve earned from shopping is deposited into my Paypal account. What could be better than that? Well, let me tell you.

Not only does Hoopla Doopla pay you for shopping through their site, they will also have an affiliate program where they will pay you for everyone of your friends that shops through their site. For life.

Now, there are some other sites that pay you for shopping and they also have an affiliate program, but their programs generally give you a one time credit or payment. Hoopla Doopla does not work that way. For every person that signs up under your account, Hoopla Doopla will pay you a portion of their earnings. This does not reduce their earnings. It just increases yours. And they will pay you this for life. So not only do you get paid for shopping online, you get paid for all of your friends shopping online.

And the reasons why I love this site don’t end there. In 2009 Frank lost his dad to lung cancer. The same disease that stole my dad from us, and that continues to be the second leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide. In the wake of that loss, Frank instituted Shop for a Cure on his site. As a member you have the option of donating a portion of your payments to the American Cancer Society and Hoopla Doopla will match a percentage of all donations.

So yeah… You get to shop online, earn money while shopping, and donate money to a great cause all at the same time. What’s not to love?

Now you may be thinking, “but Jennifer, these are your friends. Of course you are going to say awesome things about them and their business.” Yes, they are my friends, but that in itself should tell you something because I’m not friends with just anyone. But if you are super skeptical and need additional information about Frank and Hoopla Doopla you can check out this article in Financial Advisor magazine or this one on Kiplinger or where they were featured on ABC and Fox or this article about Frank on Business Info Guide.

So, what’s holding you back? Go! Sign up now! Shop. Earn. Donate!

Disclosure: There are a butt load of affiliate links in this post. If you click on them and sign up you will be signing up under my account. Also, if you click any of their links in my sidebar you will be signing up under my account as well. I was not paid anything to write this post. Jeanine, Frank, nor Hoopla Doopla have ever even asked me to write a post or share any information about them. All opinions are my own.