Just Because You’re Cheap Doesn’t Mean You Can’t Have A Life
Like many other Americans, I have my fair share of debt (Primarily student loan debt). Yes, it’s true, even the Cheap-O Dad fell trap to the old student loan machine. Still, you make your bed, you lay in it. As such, I have seen the error of my ways, created a budget and am working on aggressively paying down said debt. I am a fan of Dave Ramsey but living on “Beans and rice, rice and beans” is just not realistic. With that said we keep our spending on entertainment and dining down to a minimum. There is just one little problem….. I love going to the movies. It is one of my absolute favorite things to do. From the time my Dad first took me and my brother to see Robocop in the movie theater, I’ve been hooked. Don’t get me wrong, by no means am I in a cinema every weekend but you can bet I am going to see the next blockbuster or superhero movie in a theater. In a former life, I was a chief and still enjoy cooking at home. We don’t often go out to restaurants, but it is still nice to see the inside of one once a month or so. How do I reconcile my love for seeing movies and my desire to save money on everything I can?
It’s Simple I Shop For Groceries
Before you say I’ve completely lost my mind, hear me out. The internet is an amazing thing. Apps have revolutionized the way we interact with each other, order food, arrange transportation, and even how we shop. Businesses have access to more consumers than ever, but it has also made competition among them more fierce than ever. There are a handful of apps out there that recognize this and take advantage of it. To put it simply, they guide consumers towards certain products that a company wants to promote and in exchange you as the consumer gets a rebate or a coupon of sorts in the form of cashback. Many of these companies will offer special bonuses for redeeming a certain amount of offers. The majority of them offer a signup bonus in the range of $3-$5 just for signing up. If you know what you are doing you can combine all of these to rake in hundreds or even thousands of dollars in cash or gift cards. Depending on which app you can get a cash payment, or in my case get gift cards for movie theaters and restaurants. Since I discovered this great hack I can’t tell you the last time I paid for a movie. There are a few tricks to make sure this is beneficial for you but once you know what those are it’s a breeze.
Don’t End Up With A Jar Of Grey Poupon In your Pantry
When I first discovered this hack I was so excited every time I went to the store I would scroll through one of the apps looking for things to get so I could rack up more cash towards my next gift card. It was then that I found myself looking at a jar of Grey Poupon thinking “Why the hell did I buy this?” It was then that I realized that if I allowed myself to get caught up, I would wind up buying things I have no use for. I sat down looked over all the apps I was using and laid out some ground rules to never find myself staring at a useless jar of Grey Poupon again (I did end up finding something to make it with) As I always say, these hacks are going to require some effort on your part so be prepared for that. Whenever I go to the store, I always make a list. Now after I make my list I will enter the items on that list into the apps to see if there are any rebates or bonuses on those items. If it’s not on the list is DOES NOT get bought! If an item comes up that is on my list then I make a note on my list on what the specific item is to make sure I get credit for it. Most of the apps have a scan feature that I use to scan the item to make sure it qualifies. This is one of the most important things to do when working this hack. The qualifying products are usually a specific size or count. You can end up picking an item that is either not qualified or the wrong size and not realize it till you get home. Nothing makes me crazier than leaving money on the table and that is a sure-fire way to do it. The next thing that you must do verify your purchases right when you get home! I have been known to do it while still in the store. It is a relatively simple process, but you generally only get seven days to do this and the individual offers can expire before then. A best practice is just doing it as soon as you get home. Generally, you just have to scan a copy of your receipt with your mobile device. Sometimes the system does not reconcile the offers you have selected with the items on your receipt so you may have to scan the individual item for verification. This is all the more reason to do this once you get home. It is a pain to dig through your pantry or fridge trying to find a specific item you want to redeem for an offer. The beauty part of this hack is the apps are independent of each other so you can double up on rebates. By now I’m sure you are saying to yourself “Hurry up and tell me which apps to use!” Your patience will be rewarded handsomely.
The Big Three
There are dozens of apps out there that do what I am describing in one form or another but the ones that follow are what I use and have had the most success with. We save the best for first. The app I use the most for my shopping is Ibotta. They have the most robust system with the largest number of stores and products participating. They have (In my opinion) the best and most frequent bonuses offered that can really stack up. For example, they will do a bonus for redeeming a certain amount of products which will get you an additional $10 bonus on top of any other products you redeem. In addition to this, they usually offer a $5 bonus if you refer a friend and they use your link to redeem an offer. Not a bad way for each of you to make $5! A few times a year they will push for referring friends. I once made $100 by referring 5 friends to Ibotta during the month of December. They also have a great selection of bonuses you can get for shopping online at places like Amazon and Walmart. They also have the best cash out options. If you don’t want a gift card to dozens of retailers which you can start redeeming at $5 you can get cash in your bank account via PayPal once you have acquired $20 worth of rebates. You can sign up for Ibotta here https://ibotta.com/r/oaqgobf be sure to use the referral link and enter my referral code oaqgobf so we both get $5!
Next up we have Drop. This is a lot simpler to use and is very out of sight and out of mind. With Drop, you pick 4 of their participating retailers such as Walgreens and Safeway. Then you link your credit or debit card to your account. Then all you have to do is shop like you normally would and they give you X number of points for every dollar you spend at various retailers. Once you reach a certain number of points you can cash them out for a gift card also starting at $3. They also have dozens and dozens of retailers to choose from when you are ready to redeem those points! They also will have short term bonuses on specific retailers you can use to stack up points as well as online partners you can shop at to stack up major points. Some of those include Groupon, Hotels.com, Sam’s Club and more. Rule number one applies to Drop more than any of them! If you were not already planning to make a specific purchase, then do not shop there in the hopes of getting some extra points to go towards a $5 gift card. You can sign up for Drop here https://b.ewd.io/code?c=74o6f same $5 bonus for you and me just be sure to use the link and the referral code 74o6f.
Finally, we have Fetch Rewards. This is the one I use the least simply because they have the least number of products and partners to take advantage of so it is more difficult to use. I will say they are adding new partners all the time. With that said Fetch still gives you 25 points for every receipt you “Fetch” no matter what you purchase. I have also noticed if you go a few weeks or a month without using their service they will offer a 400ish point bonus for scanning any receipt. You can start redeeming at $5 worth which is equal to 5000 points. You can sign up for Fetch Rewards here https://fetchrewards.onelink.me/vvv3/referralemail There sign up bonus is $3 for each us of! As always be sure to use the referral link and referral code M9DJH!
We All Have To Go Shopping, Make The Most of It
If you are going to be doing any kind of shopping, you should check with the aforementioned apps and you can collect hundreds of dollars a year or more! This goes double if you are planning to make any large purchase online such as electronics or places like Amazon, or Sams’ Club. It can be easy to get swept up in the idea getting cash or gift cards just for doing your regular shopping but if you are not careful you will end up buying things you normally would not which is of course what they aim to do. However, you, being part of the Cheap-O Elite know better than that! It’s true it can be a bit of a pain trying to remember to check an app every time you plan to go shopping but I am here to personally let you know it is very much worth it!