Sometimes you hear people saying that they saved big bucks, or cashed money here and there while shopping at retailers and the look on your face already says it all. This sounds too good to be true!
I’m not going to lie; I used to think the same way until I found myself saving big, in some instances having 50–70%+ on a single purchase.
And don’t worry, I am not promising any type of fast cash here. But I want to share some helpful ways—and probably not so well known—to save on things you regularly buy.
With that, I am excited to share my progress and savings with three easy-to-use apps and programs from popular retailers.
Cartwheel
Have you heard about Cartwheel by Target? If you have, great; we are halfway there. If you haven’t, I strongly recommend checking it out. Cartwheel by Target is a program that allows you to save big bucks on products you normally shop for at Target.
The way it works is you sign up at Cartwheel by Target (please note, this is a different signup than the one you have for the Target account), then you are ready to choose your offers. You can sort by categories, collections, or from all of the offers Target gives you.
When you get to the register, the cashier scans your barcode and cha-ching! Get ready to accumulate savings for each qualified item you bought. And I’m not even including the 5% discount of the Target RedCard if you have one.
The average discount for items with Cartwheel range from 5%–30%, but sometimes you might find a 50% discount for an item. In 2016, I reached a total savings of $79.69. It may not seem a lot for some, but when you are making sense of dollars, these savings do add up.
ExtraBucks Rewards
Another huge money‑saving tool is CVS ExtraBucks Rewards. If you have a CVS card (ExtraCare), don’t underestimate how much you can save with it. And the more you shop, the more CVS sends you coupons.
I believe most CVS customers are already familiar with the print coupons they receive after shopping for certain products. One thing I can tell for sure is that the retailer improved their reward system considerably, and I can feel it in my pocket every time I shop there.
Almost every week, I receive a $3 rewards coupon or 20% off or 30% off.
My total savings and rewards for 2016 were $135.89. And this amount did not even include the weekly deals.
So, next time you decide to shop at CVS, I recommend you remember to scan your ExtraCare member’s card. If you download the app on your phone and link your ExtraCare account, you receive a $5 ExtraBucks right there.
I know that some of you might be saying, “No thank you, I don’t have time for that. I never remember to take the coupons with me, anyway.”
Me neither. And that is why this program works wonders! If you sign up to receive CVS emails, you will have the option to send your coupons straight to your mailbox. Then, all you have to do is choose to “send to card” instead of “print,” and you are ready to roll in the savings.
Ibotta
Here I’m back to talking about Ibotta. This time, my focus is really on my savings. Because let’s face it, there is nothing better than combining your coupons and reward programs to make some extra cash, right? And that is what I do.
If I have a qualified rebate on my Ibotta app for my most‑shopped store, I add it to the other rewards and coupons and enjoy the ride. Making money with Ibotta is simple and fun as reading a book (at least for me).
For now, I want to show two of my Ibotta lifetime savings shopping at Target ($63.30) and CVS ($58.30) respectively. Those numbers didn’t include referrals or “teamwork.” So, again, the next time you shop at your favorite store, you should seriously consider capturing your receipts.
If you want to learn more how Ibotta and other money-saving apps work, you don’t want to miss this post.
Those are just some examples of tools that help me to save money or reward me with cash. I’m sure you have your money‑saving weapon.
