Ibotta

How I got $50 worth of free food.

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Like many of you, I’m very nervous about fast-rising food prices. That’s why I was thrilled to get $50 worth of free food recently.

It was pretty simple: I cashed in some rewards program points for a $25 Kroger gift card and a $25 Safeway gift card. And I can’t truly explain just how happy that made me.

It felt a bit silly, to be honest. After all, the cupboard was by no means bare and I had money in my checking account. No one would have gone hungry had I not cashed in; as the king and queen of the stealth stock-up, DF and I are good for the basics. (So many basics.)

Fresh fruit and certain vegetables, though, and eggs, and milk for my oatmeal and to use for making yogurt? Those kinds of things need to be bought regularly. Hence the gift cards.

Flashing this scrip at the cash register felt great. Instead of spending money on the fresh stuff, I’d be sending those food dollars to the account where I keep my saved savings.

But I’m not writing about this to brag. I’m writing it to suggest that those of you with smartphones download some shopping apps and start earning. And if you’ve got a credit card that isn’t a rewards card, consider shopping for a new one.

Rewards points matter. My $50 head start at the grocery store says so.

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Rewards programs FTW!

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(Happy Throwback Thursday! Given that the no- or low-spend February challenge has begun, I decided to put this piece – originally published on June 11, 2021 – on the front page. Rewards programs have been a huge help to me: for gifts, for household items and for donations to those in need. They’ll be helping me keep my spending low this February. I hope they’ll help you, too.)

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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Extreme Frugality: Coupon/rebate deals.

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This is one in an occasional series of articles about saving money.

Back in the day, the coupon/rebate combo got me a lot of free stuff. A lot. For years I didn’t have to pay for toothpaste, shampoo, lotion, deodorant and other toiletries, or for certain food items. On the rare occasions when I did pay, the tab was a few cents to just under a dollar.

This was a godsend at the time, since I was living on less than $1,000 a month and working on a university degree. Bonus: I got so much free stuff that I supplied my daughter with many essentials, and donated a bunch to a social services agency.

Coupon/rebate buying helped me stretch my limited funds. It helped me help others. What’s not to like?

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But all good things must end, and coupon/rebate deals were no exception. The stores running these loss-leader promotions gradually fell out of the habit. Ever since I moved back to Alaska I’ve had almost no chances at getting the freebies.

Until, that is, I discovered a new coupon/rebate combo.

Now I use some (or all) of the following: the Coupons.com, Shopkick*, Ibotta** and Fetch Rewards*** apps; the Swagbucks rewards program and the CouponMom.com website. While it’s not as crazy-lucrative as it once was, I can say that it’s been worth my while. Two recent examples: 

 

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