The latest retail statistics reveal that year-on-year store prices continue to rise across food and non-food categories, and at 3.3% for the year to September, they’re at their highest since March 2012.

Given the rise in overall inflation to 3% in September, your money’s losing value in real terms annually, making the price of goods and services even more expensive.

Cashback sites can be a great way of earning a little bit of money back on your everyday purchases, or even on those goods and services you may only need to think about buying or switching once a year.

In fact, the UK’s two cashback sites (TopCashback and Quidco) include a number of retailers offering money back for goods and services you may not have thought would feature at all.

Here’s a round-up of 10 of the quirkiest/non-mainstream cashback offers available, showing that once you’ve found the right product for your personal circumstances (as well as the price), it’s worth checking to see if you can be rewarded further:

1. Divorce: we’re not suggesting you rush to get a divorce, but if you were already thinking of using the Divorce-Online service which allows you to undertake your own divorce proceedings, going through TopCashback can net you 10.5% cashback with a successful/tracked online purchase. Otherwise if you use a voucher, you can earn 5.25%.
2. Gold, silver and platinum: you probably won’t strike gold but with interest rates at record lows, investors have been turning to precious metals. Buy gold, silver or platinum via TopCashback’s The Royal Mint page (live market price) and you can earn between 52p and £10.50 depending on whether you buy a coin or bar.
3. Travel Money: the pound’s been battered by Brexit, meaning holidays abroad, particularly to Europe and the US are considerably more expensive for Brits. But visit the Post Office Travel Money site via Quidco and you can earn £3 for a foreign exchange order (buy £400 – £2,500). Just make sure the Post Office is offering the best rate and you may need to factor in a delivery charge.
4. MOT: if your car’s due for its MOT, the TopCashback Kwik Fit page allows users to earn 8.4% cashback. Just make sure you’re happy with the MOT price and carry out some of the easier maintenance (oil, lights, wipers) yourself to make sure you drive through easily.
5. Unwanted goods: if you have unused items for sale, by going through TopCashback’s MusicMagpie page, you can earn an additional 7.35% for selling your CDs, DVDs, Blu-rays, games and books, on top of the money you’ll make getting rid of the items. It also offers 2.1% back when you sell tech, such as mobile phones and games consoles.
6. Will: many people don’t want to talk about death, and figures show over half of UK adults don’t have a will. Go via TopCashback’s ActiveWills and you’ll be able to quickly record who you want to inherit your estate, and earn up to 60% cashback. However, there are a number of free and cheap online will writing services available so make sure this is the right product and provider for you and your financial circumstances.
7. Pension: it has been five years since the introduction of auto-enrolment and millions of people are now saving into a workplace pension. However, PensionBee allows you to combine your pensions into an online plan so it should be easier to trace. Via TopCashback, you can net £52.50 as a new customer transferring your pensions to the company. Via Quidco, it’s £55.
8. Mortgage and financial advice: it can be difficult navigating the various tax, thresholds and benefits when it comes to your finances, and where to start when you need a mortgage. Unbiased is an adviser directory helping consumers find the right adviser for your circumstances. Go via TopCashback and you can £8.40 for an accepted finance or mortgage advice request. Over on Quidco, it’s £8 for a genuine new finance or mortgage advice request.
9. Switching energy: energy costs are on the rise after the Big Six companies announced price rises taking effect this winter. But once you’ve done a price comparison to find the cheapest deal, you could get some cashback when switching. Quidco offers £40 cashback for a dual fuel switch to First Utility, £21 for a dual fuel switch via uSwitch and £28 if you switch to Go Compare Energy (£14 for single fuel).
10. Parcels and delivery: the price of first and second-class stamps increased in April and Post Office branches have been closing. So if you need to send a package and want to try and cut costs, consider Parcelforce or myParcelDelivery on TopCashback where you can earn 10.5% cashback for online purchases.

TopCashback says the financial products part of the site is a “huge category” with users earning more than £1m in cashback last month, typically saving 22%.

It adds that when you’re browsing the site, don’t let the cashback be your lead purchasing decision when taking out financial products, applying for a credit card or opening a new savings account.

A Quidco spokesperson says shopping for your car insurance or switching utilities can seem like a chore, but it’s important to make sure you’re not overpaying on your bills.

“Loyalty doesn’t pay, and switching to a new supplier for everything from your car insurance to your broadband can save you hundreds of pounds a year. By checking Quidco before you buy you can earn cashback on those big annual purchases you’d be making anyway – cashback you can then spend on buying the things you actually want, rather than need. Not only will you be saving yourself hundreds of pounds a year through switching to a cheaper supplier, but saving even more with cashback. The average Quidco member makes around £300 a year, just for that one extra click.”

For more information on how cashback sites work and what you need to know, see YourMoney.com’s Online shopping cashback site guide.