Make the Most of Rewards - Plan Ahead

A popular feature of many rewards programs is to offer some sort of cash or bucks. I shop online a lot so the emails I get with promos are really overwhelming, but I do watch for the special rewards. Even when you've weeded out the sales ads, it can still be overwhelming.

Here is how it typically goes... you spent a certain amount of money so you've earned a certain amount that you can redeem only during a particular time period if you spend a certain amount in that transaction. Once you have a few of these, your eyes start to cross.

I have Gymbucks at Gymboree mastered. I know how it works to earn and redeem and the rules associated with them. Easy for me and I recommend getting very comfortable with one or two rewards programs from your favorite stores.

Right now on my phone I have $30 in Super Cash from Old Navy and $10 in a birthday promo from The Children's Place. I'm not familiar with the ins and outs of these programs, but I'm going to take 5 minutes to plan and give it a shot.

First, I check the redemption dates. The Children's Place code I can use now, but it expires on 1/31. Old Navy can only be used 1/21-1/29. Ok, with Siri's help, I have a reminder on my phone for 1/21.

Now, is there anything else I can do for a deeper discount? Yes! My favorite discount gift cards where I pay less than face value for a gift card. Favorite sites are CardCash.com and MonsterGiftCard.com. With Old Navy, I'm required to spend $75 for my $30 discount. I bought a $75 gift card for 8% off which was $69, but I was foiled on The Children's Place. They are sold at 15% off face value, but the only one in stock was for $140 and I only need to spend $40 to redeem my $10. If I shopped at TCP regularly, I would go for it, but this time I'll pass.

For Old Navy, I just need to wait for my gift card and reminder from Siri (and think about what I might need). Never buy anything, just because you have a coupon. For The Children's Place, I might as well go for it and see if there is anything I want now.

Of course, the next step is to access the website via a cash back site. My favorites are Upromise and Ebates. Simply by accessing Old Navy or The Children's Place via a cash back site, I can earn another discount.

Here's the initial breakdown:

Old Navy:
$30 off a & $75 purchase is 40% off
Cash back at 5% of $45 is $2.25 a total of 43% off
Purchase of a discount gift card is another 8% off the original purchase for a total savings of 51% off!

Now consider that I will also see if I can combine another promo code with this, but regardless, I will be only buying items that are on sale to start with. What started as 40% is now at least 51%. I'll let you know how it actually plays out.

I will browse The Children's Place site and keep you posted on how I work this. Right now the $10 off a $40 purchase is 25% off and I can get an additional cash back of 5%. Typically I consider a great deal to be at least 70% off. We'll see what I can manage :)

What if you can't use your rewards? Take a few minutes to earn some coupon karma. I'll tell you about it in my next blog.

Holiday Savings - Free Turkey

I haven't paid for a turkey in years! This is one of my favorite tips and tricks for holiday savings.

Watch the flyers for your usual grocery store carefully. There are often promotions for all kinds of things over the holidays. My usual store typically offers a free turkey if you spend a certain amount. Read the fine print, buy only what you need to get to the required purchase amount, make sure you're still buying things on sale, and be sure to find the correct promotion turkey (ask if they're hard to find).

Make Your Own Sale

Here is a classic example of how I stack savings everyday. This example is with Dress Barn, but the store is irrelevant. It's the steps that are important.

I often buy business attire essentials at Dress Barn. Knowing this, I bought a discounted gift card for Dress Barn for 22% off the face value so I could have it handy when I needed to shop. For a $100 gift card, I paid $78. There are many reputable websites where you can do this. Cardcash is a personal favorite.

Yesterday, I was ready to shop!

1. I looked for a coupon code. I use a coupon blog called www.ThriftyNWMom.com. www.Retailmenot.com and www.CouponCabin.com are also favorite places to look. I found a 30% off + free shipping code!!

2. I went to a cashback site. A couple of sites I use are Upromise and Ebates.

3. I used my discount gift card.

Assuming I selected $100 worth of merchandise, here is how my savings stacked:

• $100 less 30% = $70 - this is what my receipt would look like
• Amount saved with the discount gift card 22% - $15.40
• Amount saved with 7% cash back - $4.90

Total savings - $50.30 - over 50%!!!

Now, if what I bought was on sale to start with, my total savings would have been higher. Regardless, I created my very own 50% off sale!!

The keys to this were some preplanning because I had a gift card ready (this is feasible with merchants you use regularly) and I looked for a discount code. Another key to savings is control. If I had been unable to find a coupon code, it would be better to wait and watch for one. Replace that instant gratification with the excitement of scoring huge deals! YOU are in control.

Vacation Savings - Hotels

There are savings to be had on every part of your family vacation. I began with booking a hotel room the other night. Here's how I worked my deal of 40% off:

• I compared prices. I typically expect to get a better deal through Hotels.com, but I did a quick search just in case. The two other sites were priced at $110 per night. Hotels.com was $84 per night.
• Knowing I wanted to use Hotels.com, I checked Ebates to see if I could get cash back. Indeed! Another 2.5% cash back. I clicked on Hotels.com through Ebates and began booking.
• Promo code? I went to Google and typed Hotels.com and discount codes showed as an option. Within a minute I found a 10% off code.
• Hotels.com also has a rewards program with your tenth booking.

Show me the money!

• Retail $110
• Hotels.com $84 - 24% savings
• Ebates cash back of 2.5% is $2.10 - 26% savings/cost $81.90
• Promo code of 10% (taken off of $84) is $8.40 - 33% savings/cost $73.50
• Rewards program - I estimate a average of 10% value since your 10th room booking is free is $7.35 - savings 40%/cost $66.15

What I paid out of pocket was $75.60 + tax with the immediate benefit of the promo code. The cash back accrues and is paid quarterly and the rewards accumulate too, but you can see the breakdown of how these tips and tricks add up in different ways.

Stack Savings at thredUP 40% Off Sale

thredUP is having a huge 40% off sale on their like-new kids clothes. They have also launched their women's clothing line as well. New customers can save even more by using SAVE35 to get 35% off + Free Shipping on their first order.

If you're already a customer, you can stack your savings by earning Swagbucks and using SHIPSAVE for free shipping.

Lot's of amazing bargains for your little ones!

thredUP Update - New Customer Promo Code - SAVE35

If you haven't tried www.thredUP.com yet, now is the time. New customers only, use the promo SAVE35 for 35% off your first order + free shipping.

If you already have an account, use the code LADY15 until tomorrow for your first purchase from their new women's line.