Yes, if you are not doing rebates you are leaving money on the table. And I’m not talking about the rebates you put in the mail. Keep reading and welcome to another week in the 52 week challenge! How are you doing so far? Are you keeping up with putting the money in your jar or bank each week? If you need help with weekly reminders, then sign up for our 52 week challenge newsletter!
This week you are depositing $22 in your money jar. Or if you’re doing the challenge in reverse, then $31. Or if you’re making up your own challenge, then be sure to deposit that money!
Here’s this week’s money savings tip: How To Use Rebates
Many people have no problem doing things like coupons and watching sales when it comes to saving money, but rebates can be a very wonderful way to save money as long as you don’t need the money right away. There are generally two types of rebates: Instant, which are the kind you get at the register when you pay for the item, and mail in, ones that you must attach a receipt to and mail in within a certain amount of time to get a check in the mail for.
If you aren’t really watching, many times instant rebates will happen without you even knowing as many advertisers advertize the after-rebate price up front with a small blurb about the rebate under the price. While these kind are often helpful, they are not the only way to pay less for something.
If you have time to wait (usually it only takes about 4-6 weeks to get back your rebate, but can take up to 12 in some cases), using mail-in rebates can really be a great way to save money on items you are going to purchase anyway, or have money to put away as extra funds into a savings of some sort you have. You can just use whatever you get as a rebate for “extra” money to throw into your 52 week challenge money jar as a bonus!
The way mail in rebates work is you will find items with a mail in rebate available. Often, you get the form from the retailer, or in the package of the item you bought, but sometimes, you will need to print it out from the company’s website. You fill all of the information out (make sure to do it completely or it may take longer to process or it will be rejected altogether), include any additional proof of purchase it requires, (which is often UPCs and a receipt) and mail it off. Make sure to pay attention to deadlines as Mail-In rebates are often available for a very short period of time, often just weeks.
Tip: Mernards is a GREAT store to find a ton of awesome rebates and freebies from these rebate offers.
A new type of rebate is the digital kind. This is my FAVORITE type of rebate, and honestly the only way I submit a rebate these days. Ibotta is my FAVORITE type of rebate. With digital rebates, you download the rebate apps to your smartphone. Yup, you have to be hip on a smartphone in order to make this happen. (You can also do this with an iPad or other newer tablet. As long as you can download the app, you’re good to go!) With Ibotta for example, there are things you have to do to earn the rebate. You have to either answer a question or watch a 15 second video. Then you can add the rebate offer to your list. Once you purchase the specific item, you snap a picture of your receipt and scan the barcode on the item. And that’s it. No looking for stamps or my problem, “keep forgetting to send it in issue”. With Ibotta, your money will hit your Ibotta account within 24 hours. Then once you hit a $10 threshold, you can transfer the money to your Paypal account or to a gift card.
Other rebate apps: Checkout51, Snap by Groupon, Shrink, BerryCart, Savingstar, Shopmium, Jingit, Receipt Hog, and the latest one MobiSave. Whew… that’s a lot, right? I don’t personally use all of them. Ibotta usually has the best and most offers that align with what I buy, followed by Checkout 51 and Savingstar. I don’t care to use Jingit due to all the hoops you have to go through for .50 cents, LOL. I am still on the waiting list for MobiSave, but one sounds promising. {I hyperlinked each one so you can go check it out}
This is EASY money being LEFT on the table if you’re not using Digital rebate apps!
If you want more in-depth information on Ibotta, go HERE.
Checkout51, go HERE
Snap by Groupon, go HERE
BerryCart, go HERE
Shrink, Go HERE
Jingit, Go HERE
Savingstar, Go HERE (and with Savingstar, you get a weekly FREEBIE and 20% savings on a new produce each week!)
It is also a good idea to track them on a calendar and write down a number or email address for whom to contact if you don’t get yours back in time.
Do you do mail-in rebates? Are you using digital rebates? Do you find them to be a great way to save money? What do you do with the money you get back? I would love to hear about it in the comments!
Did you miss a week of the 52 Week of Saving Tips? You can find them HERE!
It’s not too late to join the 52 Week Money Challenge.
Pin how to use rebates to your board, so you have it for future reference!
Why should You join the 52 week money savings challenge?
Most families are on the constant look out for ways to save more money. This challenge is easy and doesn’t require you to do a lot each week. It starts out with just saving a $1 on the first week. Or, if you’re doing the challenge in reverse, then $52 bucks.
It’s an easy way to save money and it does work if you apply just a little self-discipline and you are determined to save money. And having a goal is a good way reach your saving objective. Below are a few saving goal:
- You can use the money you saved to pay for your Christmas at the end of the year.
- Go on a vacation
- Jump-start a college fund
- Pay off debt
- Buy a car
- This could be your first time actually saving money in a bank account
The reasons for saving extra money are endless!But the key is getting started!
People tend to do better when faced with a challenge (of any kind).
- You will receive a weekly email reminder telling you to make your deposit into the bank or jar
- You will also receive a weekly savings tip on a way that you can save that week.
- You will receive inspiring stories and ways to save money each week!
- Many people and blogs start out doing this challenge within their communities. But by March, most have fallen off the band wagon. As you can see,by just looking at our 52 weekly challenge archive, you can see that we kept up with it each week.
- I’ve personally and successfully completed this money saving challenge two years in a row! I am doing this challenge right along with you and to encourage you along the way. And if you need to tweak it to fit your families needs, save more , etc. then I am here to help you with that too!
- You can find out more about the 52 Week Challenge HERE
So, let’s get started! Sign up today to start receiving the 52 week money saving challenge newsletter!
No Comment