• Visit this PetPerks page for online monthly specials exclusively for program members.
• Give us your current e-mail address to receive advanced notice of in-store specials.
• We’ll mail your dog or cat a birthday card with a special offer
• Get discounted pricing on more than a thousand specially marked in-store items each month.

If you have a cat, dog, rabbit, or any other house pet, you can save a little money on the things you buy for your pet.

Click on this link to find a store near you.

I was not intending to write a blog post about this until I realized that the upper limit of possible savings is well above what I thought I was going to spend.

What I am talking about is the PayPal cash back program on their debit card.

PayPal offers a MasterCard-branded debit card as a free option on your PayPal account.  The debit card allows you to draw against funds that are in your PayPal account, and then some.  They usually set limits on this debit card.  My limits are $3000 per day and $50,000 per month.  There is also a $400 ATM withdrawal limit, but that is not included as a cash-back benefit because it is a PIN-based transaction.

Here’s the deal.

PayPal accounts are set up against normal bank accounts.  If you make a purchase using your PayPal account, you can indicate that the funds should come from any number of sources, including the bank account attached to your PayPal account.

I have about $4000 in bills that need to be paid each month.  If all of those could be paid by credit card, that would be $40.00 back to me…each month.  How about if I paid my $2067.41 mortgage and received $20.67 cash back the very next day?  I could pay my car payment of $621.04, and receive $6.21, in some cases, the same day.

Now automate the process:

1. Open a PayPal account
2. Tie that PayPal account to your normal bank account (the one from which you pay your bills)
3. Request a PayPal debit card
4. Set your bank account is the back-up funding source for your debit card and set the limit on that back-up source to something slightly greater than the total amount of bills you plan on paying with the card.
5. Sign up with each of your creditors to pay by credit card…automatically, and use the PayPal card.
6. Stash the card away with your other hidden valuables, or use it to make everyday purchases and save even more money.

• Bonus:  When your paycheck arrives in your bank account, transfer the amount of money you plan on spending on bills into your PayPal account.  Until that money is deducted by each of your creditors, you will earn money market rates on your PayPal balance, as long as you sign up for the Money Market feature.

Worried about the fact that the PayPal debit card is tied to your bank account?  No need to worry.  Although your bank account is the backup funding source for your debit card, you are able to set a limit as to how much your debit card can dip into your bank account.  This protects you in case you lose your card or someone gets your number and buys something online…just like a regular credit card.

*NOTE* All of this is stated with the caveat that whenever you do financial transactions online, be careful.  The PayPal debit card carries no more risk than using your Visa-branded or MasterCard-branded bank card online.  For this post, I would suggest that the funds you are paying your bills with through your PayPal account be placed in a bank account specific to this task only.

Target is offering a rewards program called RedCard. RedCard is a rewards program that is connected to either a Target-issued Visa card, a store-branded Target credit card, or a check card. The Target-issued check card is something new. Target allows you to connect your bank account to this Target-branded check card. The card can only be used at Target stores or Target.com. When you make a purchase, the funds are taken from your checking account. In addition, your purchases count towards rewards in the RedCard program.

Some of the benefits are:

• 10% off Day w/new credit account
• Reach 1000 points and get 10% off (for an entire day)
• For every 10 prescriptions filled at Target with your REDcard, you will earn a 10% off shopping day at Target.
• Choose your kids’ elementary school, the neighborhood middle school, or any other eligible K-12 school. Target will donate up to 1% of you REDcard purchases at Target and Target.com.
• Manage your account online 24-hours per day.
• SafetyNet® helps you pay off your protected Target credit balance, should you lose your job, become disabled, become hospitalized, or if you pass away.

Since I prefer not to open any new credit accounts, I am going to get the check card. You can get the card at the store, as long as you bring in a voided check.