How I saved $233.97.

This was money spent – or, rather, not spent – on the year’s garden, greenhouse and yard. Things like potting soil (we start our own seeds), garden soil (for our potted tomato and cucumber plants), replacement screws and nails, and yellowjacket and slug bait (wasps love nesting in our yard, and those slithering land mollusks like eating what we grow). How I saved that $233.97 was pretty simple: rewards programs.

As I’ve mentioned before, rewards programs, apps and credit cards are a nice boost to the budget. A real frugalist just hates to pay retail, or to pay anything at all if she can help it. So I cashed in gift cards to pay for the goods we needed to grow some of our own food.

Not that we limit these savings to the garden. Recently I cashed in a $25 Safeway card and a $25 Kroger card to use toward stealth stock-ups. I’ve also used reward programs to pay for trips to the movies, lunch out with my daughter and, of course, gift-giving. (Looking forward to cashing in more points in the near future, for Christmas gifts.)

I’ll be visiting my brother and sister in Orlando* next month, and stopping by Phoenix on the way home to see Abby again. It’s a pretty safe bet that rewards programs will help me pay for some of my trip expenses.

Here’s the beauty part: They’ll also produce more rewards in the bargain, as I use the cards, apps and programs to pay for things while I’m on the road. #GreatCycleOfFrugality

Will I get rich using these programs? Probably not. After all, my focus is on not buying stuff. But some rewards programs don’t require you to buy anything (more on that in a minute), they give you gifts for buying the things you do need, and fairly regularly let you get things for free.

Sometimes you even make a little money on these deals, especially when you combine more than one rewards program. Pro tip: Before you shop, check out The Coupon Mom website, which aggregates sales, coupons and available rewards programs. That toothpaste you need might cost you next to nothing, or nothing at all.

How to use rewards programs

Here are the rewards programs that work for me.

Shopkick. This app is one of my mainstays. You scan UPCs of certain products at supermarkets, drugstores, warehouse clubs, makeup shops, Hallmark stores and other retailers. Here’s the beauty part: You don’t have to buy them – you just take their pictures, although you get additional points (sometimes lots of them) if you make a purchase. In addition, “Bonus Kicks” videos pop up on the regular; most last between six and 30 seconds, and each delivers one point to your total. I have earned as many as 200 points in a day with these videos, especially since Shopkick instituted an autoplay feature. (If you use the link above, I hope you’ll consider putting in my referral code when prompted: WIN358965.)

Swagbucks: You get points for Internet searches, watching short videos, completing offers (including, maybe, buying stuff you were going to buy anyway), playing games and being part of “team challenges.”

MyPoints: Click on e-mails, take a survey, do a little shopping or even pledge to help various causes (such as making a donation to the Red Cross). As a woman of a certain age, I’ve found the MyPoints surveys are easier to qualify for than with some of the other rewards programs.

Inbox Dollars. This program is quite similar to Swagbucks and MyPoints (in fact, it’s owned by the same company). With all three programs you can use the “Magic Receipts” function, which lets you scan register receipts for extra points.

Mr. Rebates. This is my favorite cash-back shopping site, because it starts you off with a $5 gift and lets you request a check (or PayPal) once you get to $10. After that, you can ask for a check every month if you like.

Fetch Rewards. This one’s simple: You scan receipts to earn points, which you cash in for gift cards. Any receipt; I’ve scanned movie tickets, doctor bills, restaurant checks, gas station receipts, even a utility bill paid via credit card. Fetch offers extra points for certain brands, and sometimes special “100 percent points back” on promo items; this lets me get free stuff to donate to the food bank, and also lets me treat my niece and her kids to things like Talenti gelato. I like Fetch Rewards a lot, even though its gift cards cost more points than the ones from Shopkick. (If you join and want to use my referral code, it’s E6CK1.)

Ibotta.  Another scan-the-receipt app, which gives you rebates for buying specific items. Sometimes that’s only a dime but it’s usually more; sometimes it’s the full purchase price. (I’ve gotten a lot of frou-frou beverages this way, and put them into birthday gift bags and Christmas stockings.) Pro tip: Add in coupons and/or any store special deals and you’ll earn money with Ibotta. Click on the link to download the app and, if you’re so inclined, use my  referral code, gtotprb, when prompted.

Extrabux. This is my second-favorite cash-back shopping site. Very easy to use.

Receipt Hog. A fairly recent addition to my frugal arsenal, this is another scan-the-receipt app. My referral code is tril5950, if you should decide to join. 

Incidentally, you can get PayPal as an option with some of these programs, if you need some extra cash. Personally, I’d rather have the gift cards.

The bottom line

As inflation nibbles ever deeper into our spending power, we must either change the way we shop or find the extra money to keep getting what we need (or want) to buy. Savvy consumers will look for ways to cut back, but also look for ways to get their needs met. Rewards programs are a fairly simple way to do that.

Readers: Which rewards programs/apps/cards do you use? Got any stirring tales of thrift to share?

*Expecting to have a bit of free time, if anyone wants to stage a reader meet-up in either of those warm, warm cities.