Cashback for students: save on everything you buy

As a student, every hundred kroner counts. Money from Lånekassen, the Norwegian state student loan fund, arrives in instalments, and between the semester fee, rent on a student flat, set texts and a social life there is little room to spare. Cashback is perhaps the only "way of saving" that asks you to cut nothing at all: you get money back on what you were going to buy anyway. The neat part is that cashback sits on top of your student discount: register your student status wherever the shop offers it, and still click through Sparebørsen first. Then you get both on the same purchase.

What students actually buy, and where it counts

• Electronics for your studies: a new laptop, an external monitor, a mechanical keyboard or noise cancelling headphones for the reading room are classic start of term purchases. On a 9 000 kr laptop even 2% cashback comes to close to 180 kr, so check the electronics partners before you order.
• Clothes and fashion: the wardrobe has to be kept going without blowing the budget. The fashion partners give cashback across the whole range, and combined with the seasonal sales it becomes noticeable.
• Groceries and everyday items: if you order food, household goods or supplements online, there is cashback at the grocery partners as well: small amounts that tick in every single month.
• Weekends away and trips home: whether you are off to a festival, home to your parents or interrailing, book the accommodation through the travel partners and get a few per cent back.

A realistic student calculation

Say that in an ordinary academic year you buy a laptop at 9 000 kr at the start of term, around 6 000 kr of clothes over the year, and assorted online shopping (groceries, supplements, small things for the flat) at roughly 500 kr a month. At an average of 2% to 3% that comes to around 500 to 600 kr back over one year, money you effectively got for free by clicking through us first. Catch Black Week or a higher campaign rate on a larger purchase and it climbs quickly.

Make it a habit

The trick is not to hunt for offers, but to build a small routine: before you complete any online purchase, open the cashback overview and check whether the shop is there. It takes five seconds and costs nothing; the service is entirely free to use.

Ready to get a little of the student loan back? Find the shops you already use in Sparebørsen and start before your next purchase.