gift cards

Rewards programs FTW!

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(Happy Throwback Thursday! Yeah, I’m a day late. Time for an update because I’ve joined a few more rewards programs since this piece was originally published on June 11, 2021. Rewards programs have been a huge help to me: for gifts, for household items and for donations to those in need.)

Recently DF tore down the old woodshed next to the house. He’d long planned to replace it and in fact had the roofing materials all picked out: metal, so that in the spring and summer we could fall asleep listening to the sound of the rain hitting the roof.

This was the year, and it took him just part of a day to disassemble the thing. It would have been much faster to hit it with a pickax and crowbar, but he couldn’t rip and roar because the “new” shed would use parts of the old one.

More of it than he thought turned out to be usable, so all we had to buy was a couple of treated 2x6s, some special screws and, of course, that metal roofing.

I covered those purchases by cashing in at least $135 worth (lost count at some point) of Lowe’s gift cards from several different rewards programs. So many rewards, in fact, that we were able to buy some more potting soil as well.

Rewards programs for the win! Cheapest rehab ever.

I know I talk about rewards programs a lot, but that’s because they work. They earn us free household items, food, gifts and garden supplies. Which is why I think everyone should at least take a look at these programs. 

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Giveaway: $25 Amazon card.

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We’re getting down to the wire, Christmas-wise. Would a $25 Amazon card help?

Even if you couldn’t get the gift shipped by Dec. 25, you could wrap up a “watch this space” card and promise to hand over the present as soon as it arrives.

Or maybe it’ll be a Christmas miracle and the gift will arrive on time. You won’t know unless you try. 

Maybe you’ve already finished your shopping, or perhaps you don’t do holiday gifts. That $25 card could still come in handy for:

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Support the reader economy: Giveaway #8.

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It’s been a minute since the last giveaway. As inflation shows no signs of disappearing, I will continue this series.

I know that $25 isn’t much. But it beats not having $25.

As always, the rules are simple: Winner gets to choose his or her scrip source. If it’s possible for me to get an e-gift card from your retailer of choice, then I will do so.

This includes cards from outside the United States, so international readers (and I know you’re out there because Google Analytics told me so) should feel free to enter.

I do need to qualify something: Mastercard or Visa prepaid cards are not an option for this giveaway. They add noticeably to the $25 price tag, and I prefer to stretch my prize budget as far as I can.

Okay, two ways: I will do only e-gift cards from now on.

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Support the reader economy: Giveaway #6.

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I’m sitting in the Anchorage airport, watching snow fall outside, preparatory to a jaunt to the land of the palm trees. Yep, back to Orlando just a month after being there for the 2022 Financial Blogger Conference. Before I leave, though, I wanted to put up another “Support the Reader Economy” giveaway.

Why Orlando during hurricane season? Because my brother is hosting a birthday bash and I’ll get to see not just him, but also one of his daughters and her kids plus my sister. Nicole made landfall and people in some areas were told to leave. However, she’s been downgraded to tropical storm status and the Orlando forecast is for at least partly sunny skies over the next week. So southward I go, and as long as I’m in the neighborhood I will also swing through Phoenix to see my daughter on the way home.

Back to the giveaway, though. It’s the sixth in a series of giveaways aimed to give a (small) boost to reader budgets. The winner gets a $25 gift card to the retailer of his or her choice. Not a princely sum, to be sure, but if I gave away $50 at a clip I’d be able to afford only half as many giveaways. I’d rather go wide than deep.

What card would you choose?

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How I saved $233.97.

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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.

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Support the reader economy: Giveaway #5.

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Still here (albeit on semi-sabbatical), and still supporting the reader economy. For those just joining us, I have been doing a semi-regular giveaway of products made in Alaska, the state where I live. It’s important to me to support the local economy.

But with inflation kicking everyone’s backside, I have decided to focus also on the reader economy, with a semi-regular giveaway of $25 gift cards. That’s not exactly a huge sum, but I’m not exactly a huge blog.

Besides, while $25 giveaway won’t permanently prop the budget, it can certainly be a much-needed tweak. For example, maybe you’re operating on the tightest of margins and your kid’s birthday is coming up. These days $25 won’t buy you much, but it will buy you something. Maybe several somethings, if you’re a bargain hound and your child is young enough not to be picky.

(Pro tip: Before you buy anything, join a Buy Nothing Facebook group. Not only might you find like-new or even brand-new items to gift, you could also put out an “ask” for birthday party supplies. I see that kind of thing being given all the time in my own Buy Nothing group.)

The winner of the Support the Reader Economy giveaway gets to choose the retailer, so perhaps that winner will choose Shell or Chevron, for gas to get to work before payday. Or, if you live in the right area, a Wawa card. (Man, I miss Wawa.)

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Giving Cards: The update.

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Back in early June, Nate St. Pierre of Giving Cards gave me a wonderful opportunity to pass along to readers: The chance to “think ‘big’ with ‘small’.”

Specifically, the chance to take a $20 prepaid Visa card and use it to make a big difference in someone’s day. (Or maybe a whole bunch of someones. More on that below.)

Five readers were chosen to receive these cards. The only request from Giving Cards is that they not simply hand over the card. Instead, recipients are asked to think about how to deliver the biggest impact with such a relatively small amount of funding. What I love about this is that it sets recipients loose to dream.

It also lets them provide a little love for local causes. After all, nationally known organizations are always going to get donations. They’ve got the funds for outreach and marketing. But small causes that make a difference locally need help, too.

All the winners had great results. If I had to pick a favorite, it would (narrowly) be the cake kits. A reader named Wendy planned to buy $20 worth of cake mix and icing, then package them with disposable cake pans and birthday candles that she already had on hand. They’d be delivered to a local food bank.

“That will allow people who use the food pantry to make cakes for special occasions. Often these are too costly to purchase, or the ingredients aren’t available at food banks,” she said in a comment on the original post.

Can confirm, having been broke, and having used a food bank. While a cake for someone’s birthday (or graduation, anniversary, confirmation, etc.) isn’t necessary as such, it sure makes being broke a little easier to bear. My guess is that Wendy’s cake kits brightened some people’s days considerably.

Even though she did Giving Cards wrong. But in a great way. 

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Giving Cards: Want $20 to share?

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The other day I was offered a great opportunity to share with readers: the chance to do something wonderful on someone else’s dime. Giving Cards, a movement designed to inspire thoughtful giving, will gift five readers each a $20 prepaid Visa card and a specific mission: “Think ‘big’ with ‘small’.” You might think $20 isn’t … Read more

Support the reader economy: Giveaway #2.

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My new “Support the Reader Economy” giveaway series is back! For an explanation of why I’m doing this, and why I think it’s important, see the original post.

This time – and probably every time – the support the reader economy giveaway will be a $15 gift card of the winner’s choice. Given how startlingly fast the price of gasoline has jumped, I’m wondering how many of you would choose a gas gift card. Just think: It would probably cover at least two gallons!

You could also request a gift card for something else you need (food, drugstore stuff, whatever) and divert the $15 you saved to the fill-’er-up fund. Again: It’s not much, and I’m not suggesting that $15 will solve anyone’s problems, but it can’t hurt.

And as a reminder, that $15 could be for:

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Giveaway: Two $25 gift cards.

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I’ve been trying to focus on Alaska goods for my giveaways lately, in order to support the local economy. My idea is that some of the folks who don’t win might decide to check out these the Last Frontier economy* on their own. I even had an Alaska item picked out to give away – but then I realized it might not get to its recipient before Christmas. That’s why I’m doing something non-local today: gift cards.

Which gift cards? Whichever the winners want, provided I can obtain them electronically. 

Drugstore? Discount emporium? Office-supply place? Home improvement center? Supermarket? Bookstore? Massive online retailer? It’s your call, if you win. 

Two winners get to use these card to finish up their holiday shopping. They could opt to give the cards themselves as gifts. Or donate them. Or, maybe, use the cards for something they themselves need.

Again: Your call. Provided you win, of course.

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