Join me in the 2022 Christmas for Free Experiment!

It’s time to start the 2022 Christmas for Free Experiment!

I woke up today to the new that inflation is out of control. My anxiety started to spike. That’s when I decided it was time to revisit the Christmas for Free Experiment.

For those of you who are new to the blog, welcome. A few years ago I set out to see if I could pay for all my Christmas gifts for my entire family using only money I saved using savings apps. If you want to see how that went you can read the results here.

As it turns out, I was able to fully pay for all my Christmas gifts. I was thrilled to not have that financial pinch to start my new year. Fast forward to today and now I have a teenager whose gift list looks like a Best Buy stock list, coupled with pandemic induced inflation and this year looks on track to be another year I’m going to need a lot of help from my apps.

The good news is there are a few new apps that have popped up since the original experiment and the old apps have revamped their processes making it easier to save! Love that!

My goal is to earn points towards cash and Target gift cards. I decided on Target because all of the apps seem to have Target cards available and the ones that don’t offer cash via Paypal. This means I can combine all my gift cards and cash for maximum benefit.

How do I Join the 2022 Christmas for Free Experiment?

Grab your phone. Download some apps. Follow the steps. That’s it!

You can follow along with me if you choose or tap a friend and try to out save each other. How ever you feel motivated is what you should do to make yourself successful during this experiment.

The Apps I’m Using

Ibotta   – What I get from you clicking the link $5 what you get for  clicking this link $10 –  If you haven’t tried Ibotta I am encouraging you right now to click the link.  You won’t be disappointed. During the pandemic they revamped their program to include online orders and grocery pickup which has increased my earning. I don’t have to scan a receipt when I order my groceries for pick up. Love that!

If you don’t shop online they still have the option to scan your grocery receipts to earn cash back. I’ve been using Ibotta for years and they are legit. I have never had difficulty redeeming my cash ever.

Shopkicks – Referal Code: SAVE725778 what we get both of us get 250 points for the referral – Shopkick is different from other savings apps. You don’t need to make a purchase with Shopkicks to be awarded points.  You get points for simply walking in to some stores like Walmart and Target, and you get points for scanning certain items (ie – magazines, pasta sauces, nailpolish).  This gives me something to do while I’m waiting for a prescription to fill or I arrived somewhere too early somewhere (which I tend to do because I have a pathological fear of being late for things).  I can walk into Target or Walgreens (my two favorite Shopkick locations) and scan a few items, kill some time without spending any money, and they give me gift cards to Target.

Fetch Rewards – Referal Code GB0QJ We both get 1500 points for the referral – This is another scan a receipt deal.  They give 25 points per receipt and bonus points if you buy certain brands.  I never watch the brands because they will look at my receipt for the brands they represent.  It’s a nice surprise for me when a receipt nets me extra points.  Some of their brands are Kraft, Jello, Lay’s, Magnum, Lipton, Mountain Dew, Oscar Meyers,  – The list goes on and on so you can see you chance of bonus points are pretty high.

Since the last time we did the experiment Fetch updated their program to include e-receipts, so once I week I click the e-receipt button and let it search for Amazon, Walmart & Target orders I placed online.

POGO – Okay this app might give some people pause, because they login to your bank account and give you points for everything you buy. It’s data mining. Other apps and services do data mining. At least with this app I am getting money.

So far the only draw back is my bank keeps disconnecting the account. So I have to login repeatedly. This can be annoying but I’m determine to earn those points.

I’m inviting you to join Pogo, the free app that gives you rewards on every purchase – without receipt scanning. Sign up through my link or use my code 6NPM1E to get 250 pt signup bonus.

GetUpside – This app is one that I had a few years ago but there weren’t any restaurants or gas station in my area participating so I deleted it. Then my husband wandered in a few weeks ago and asked if I’d heard of it. I said I had but I deleted it. He they’ve been running commercials on our local radio station so I checked it out again. In the last week I’ve earned over $7 on my fuel purchases. They even give me a percentage back at my local grocery store. Imagine 17% back on your next grocery purchase. It was time to GetUpside!

Other Savings Programs

There are a couple other savings programs that I plan to use.

Target Circle – I shop at Target quite a bit so saving the Target Circle earnings makes sense for me. It’s easy because they scan your barcode and that’s it. A little bit goes into savings on each trip.

Verizon Up – Every month I pay my bill on time I earn a $5 gift card which I will redeem for Target gift cards so in the end there will be $60 towards the Christmas for Free Balance. So I’m adding that to my Christmas funds.

Can I Save Enough During the 2022 Christmas for Free Experiment?

That’s all the apps I plan to use in the 2022 Christmas for Free Experiment. If anything changes, like if I stop using one or if I add any other apps, I will update you guys. I will also try to remember to update you on my earnings each month.

If you want to try to get all your gifts for free this year too start buy clicking through my links to download the apps. It will start you off with a nice boost to your savings and I’ll get a little something too!

Share your links with your friends and invite them to join us! Let’s do it!