My definition of free is a little different than that of Coupon Mom and advertisements.
If I have to give money to pay for it, it's not free. And it's not like getting it for free, either.
For example: buy body wash on sale for $2.99, less $1 coupon and earn $1 rewards dollars, plus get a $1 rebate from one of those apps on your phone. The flyer will say "it's like paying $0.99", and Coupon Mom will say it's FREE with $0.01 profit. Nope! I had to give the cashier $1.99 in order to get those rewards dollars and I can spend them on anything I want on my NEXT purchase. I also have no idea how much you have racked up in your rebate app. Maybe you're just starting out so it will be a while before you can cash out. Maybe you're saving up your rebate money for something that never has coupons or goes on sale. While you can attribute some of that money you get from rebates, you've probably used up whatever it is by the time you see any money from it. I just wanted to get that straight and in writing so you know what to expect when I say FREE.
Free is when the receipt says $0.00, the heavens open and the angels sing!
And while we're on the subject of rebate apps....
Checkout 51 - I like this one best. It works at any store, you don't have to scan your items to make sure they qualify, and it only updates once a week. There are a manageable amount of items to redeem and cashing out is in the form of a check. That's it. Simple.
Savings Star - Works with your loyalty cards in some stores and you can upload receipts for stores without. Doesn't work at Market Basket, which is where I do most of my grocery shopping. For stores with loyalty cards, you have to scan your Savings Star barcode from your phone, very cumbersome and too bad if you forget. You can cash out at $5 and there are various options for payment. You can also use Savings Star for some online discounts, which I haven't really explored yet.
Ibotta- I kind of hate this one, but it does have the most items to redeem. There is no search option, so you have to scroll forever to find your item. It is not organized very well in my opinion and redeeming is very cumbersome. It works with some loyalty cards, but you have to make sure you unlock the rebate before you go shopping to get credit. For stores that you scan your receipt, you have to verify the item and then scan the receipt and hold your phone absolutely flat for it to work. You can cash out at $10 and have more options for payment.
(update) you can now search in the app and they accept Market Basket receipts, but I still find it the most cumbersome of all the apps that I use.
If you would like to join my team, my referral code is uiblsdr
Ebates - for online shopping, I tried this sort of on a whim and to my happy surprise, it actually works. When you first sign up, it will ask you where you want a gift card to, pick the one you want and then use Ebates to make a $25+ purchase. A couple weeks later, your $10 gift card will magically arrive in the mail and any rebates you've earned get paid out quarterly. I order stuff for my furbabies on a fairly regular basis on Amazon. They also have coupons for various online retailers that makes it worth it. If you do sign up, please use my Referral Code
There are other rebate apps popping up, but I'm overwhelmed by the ones I currently use.
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