I like to save money, especially during these tough times. I like to shop online, where I buy books, send flowers and purchase vitamins. I also  frequently use the Internet to book flights, hotels and car rentals because I can easily comparison shop and save money.

I have recently come across one of the best online money-saving sites: http://www.hoopladoopla.com/.

Here's the premise of the site: YOU GET PAID TO SHOP! You earn cash back on any purchases you make at many other sites, as long as you access that site through hoopladoopla.com. There is no membership fee and you don't have to give your credit card number. You will get a quarterly rebate check for every purchase you make or you can have it deposited into your existing Paypal account.

Simply go to hoopladoopla.com, log on, and then use the site as the portal to reach other shopping sites. They have partnered with dozens of popular Web sites that include categories such as travel, florists, computers and pet supplies.

For example, one site I always purchase from is Drugstore.com. By accessing this site through hoopladoopla.com, I will earn a rebate check of 8% of what I spend. In addition, Drugstore.com offers its own 2% rebate for all purchases. If I pay with one of my cash back credit cards, I get another 3% rebate from the credit card company. The result? I just saved 13% of the original purchase price.

Some of the other merchants participating in hoopladoopla include Proflowers (6.4%); Hotels.com and Borders (4%); Walmart, Brooks Brothers and Officemax (3.2%); Buy.com, Expedia and Clubmac (2.4%); and Apple (1%). Others participating include many major hotel chains (Sheraton and Marriott), airlines (JetBlue), and car rentals (Enterprise, Avis and Budget).

Signing up is quick and easy. It takes minutes to start shopping. BTW, if you took my advice and bought an Entertainment book, make sure you use the coupons when you shop online for additional savings. You might want to log on to hoopladoopla.com, send your client, employees, relatives or friends flowers from Proflowers.com, use one of their coupons in the Entertainment book, and then wait for your 6.4% rebate to come back.

Happy ever after in the market place, Hoopla-dee, Hoopla-da, La-la, how our life goes on ...

Charlie Stroller, president, CEO and CFO of Financial Advisor magazine's parent company CFPN, has 25 years' experience running companies and has specialized in expense reduction and cost containment. Those who know him can attest that he is an expert on finding the best deals when it comes to both business and personal expenditures.