Cash Back Deals and Coupons

Greetings to my Titus 2 Sisters!
I was going to write a post about coupons, deals and how to get cash back when I remembered I already did this in a post on the old sisters blog so I'll bring it here, maybe with some modifications.

This post is one to share one way I save money as a keeper of the home.  Some of you may already know about cash back savings but for those that don't, let me explain.

There are websites and phone apps that offer cash back on purchases so when you buy something that qualifies, through  their website or app, you will receive money back to you in an account.  (Sort of like electronic coupons.) Once your account reaches a certain amount, you can cash it out into your bank, paypal etc.

Let me give you an example of how this works through a phone app. I found 2 of these boxes of Atkins bars discounted to $1.00 each.  We don't buy such things unless I find deals like this.

I purchased them for a total of $2.00 and when I got back to our van I took care of the receipt by opening the app, snapping a picture of the receipt and marking the quantity I purchased then uploading it through the app.  Within a half hour I had $3 in my account.  Do the math, I paid $2 and got $3 because that's what they had as their cash back offer on them.

Here's another example: In the picture below you can see I paid $2.06 for all that food.

The (6) noodle cups were priced at .78 each, (4) Chobani $1.22 each, (2) Oui yogurt $1.14 each and the (2) rice $1.64 each.  The app I was using was offering free items and high cash back.  I also stacked some on another app and deepened the discount tremendously.  If you add up both purchases, I got everything for $1.06.

This is the exception, not the norm but I stay diligent and often quickly scan the apps so I always know what's being offered especially when I find sales and discounted items.

Most are offerings that over time, add up to a nice sum or allow you to purchase a quality item for an affordable price. Here's an example of how that works.

There's an offering to save $1.50 if I were to buy 3 containers of Oui yogurt.  We don't normally purchase these yogurts full price because they are above what we feel we want to pay based on how we spend our money.  (This is simply our choice and has nothing to do with the decisions you make for your household.)

I paid $1.14 for each container and it says you have to purchase 3 in order to get the $1.50 cash back.  The cost of 3 is $3.42, minus off $1.50 = $1.92 total cost after cash back.  That makes each container .64 cents each after the cash back. Another app is offering $1.20 savings when I buy 3 Oui yogurts bringing the total cost down to .24 cents per container. In the end I will have 3 good quality yogurts and only pay .72 cents for all.

You can also receive cash back through online purchases.  I use apps on my phone but there are some with actual websites if you want to go that route.  Say you need an item at a particular store that is offered. You would open the app or website, choose what store you want to shop at, you shop on their website like you normally would and then check out.  After you have received your item, they will add the cash back to your account.  

I won't go into the details of how the apps themselves work, that's something you can work your way through if you decide to try them as they have tutorials that take you through the processes. 

I also use apps that you scan your receipt (take a picture) and they give you either cash or points that add up to store gift cards.  I use many receipt apps and although you don't make much per receipt, they add up over the long haul for a few seconds of work.  I make about $10-$15 each month just on receipt apps but keep in mind we travel a lot and so we make a lot of small purchases which add up to being able to scan a lot of receipts.  You will have to make up your own mind if a receipt app is worth your time.

I also have various store apps that show all their sales, give digital coupons and sometimes free items.  

In the picture above you see 2 kombucha and 5 smoothies.  The store I was in sold the kombucha normally $3.65 each but they had a buy one get one free.  They also sold the smoothies for $1.89 each but they had them on sale for $1 each and I had a cash back offer for $1 each, making my total purchase $3.65.   That particular store also offered a free yogurt (the one below) with no purchase necessary.  

The two items above were free and both brother Tupos and I each have accounts with them so I'm able to double up on savings and free items. 

I also shop the discount / clearance sections of the store.  Over time I learn where to look for them as they are not always in plain sight.  Here are a few examples from another older blog post.

Bread for .50 cents and big blocks of cheese for $1.25 each.

One time I found all these awesome cheeses for .75 cents each!  They don't always move the discount items to different locations or have a discount tag on them that is visible, sometimes you have to look at the shelf tag and see if they have a different looking sticker on it.  It takes some getting used to but over time you can quickly scan the shelf tags and notice one that is different and see if it's marked down. A couple years ago I found lentil soups marked down to .50 cents each and just recently found some natural jams for .25 each.  Of course I stock up when I find good deals like in the picture below.

I found those at one of the 'dollar' stores. It used to be that everything was $1 but now it's $1.25 and if you're careful you can find some great deals.  For instance, 5 oz of dry fruit for that price is a good deal considering I see 5 oz of dried fruits going for well over $3 / bag (full price) and that's for the less popular items, prunes and dates are usually much more expensive.  

One time we found granola bars for .13 cents per box.

I could go on and on here but I think I've shared enough to give you an idea of how you can save money and maybe encourage you to take the time to look into such savings to see if it all works for you.  I just today shared this with some sisters...

Strive on sister saints!
​Sister Aman