June Christmas for Free Update

WOW! What an amazing savings month June was and not just for me.  When I saw the huge leap forward in savings on iBotta, in particular, this month I decided to compare the savings against my teammates for the same month and I saw a distinct trend.  Everyone had a huge upswing in savings this month.  I think because things like hot dogs (summer y’all kids are home for lunch every day), pop or soda depending on where you’re from, chips, beans, and other summer-friendly items.  In addition, these purchased added up to incredible bonuses.  Let me show you what I mean.

 

So on top of my actual shopping savings, I received $13 in bonuses. Awesome!

I’ve been told that people who have been reading like the proof photos from the apps instead of just taking my word for the savings amount.  I get that.  It was nice to hear from you and thank you for letting me know.  I’ve made sure all savings list have the proof photo attached.  Keep the dialog coming!  I love to hear from you!

Ibotta   – What I get from you clicking the link $5 what you get for clicking this link $10 – Since we started with iBotta above let’s just keep it rolling with this app and I’ll show you my full earnings.  I earned a total of $29.20 this month.  Like I said $13 of that was bonuses. Nice!  I did have an issue with them this month. I had to contact customer service to follow up because two of my bonuses were not showing up.  Their customer service took an extended time to get back to me because of high volume.  I’m guessing they are struggling with their own success.  If you’re not using this app it’s definitely worth it in spite of this glitch. That brings my total savings for this experiment to . . .

SavingsStar – what we get for referral nothing but I like them so they are here – Also another huge leap forward for this app.  I’m excited that they now attach to my Cub Foods card so I can shop at one of my favorite grocery stores.  I will give you this caveat.  Watch their always-on savings.  They missed a Kelloggs savings on one of my receipts, but their customer service is OUTSTANDING! They promptly replied and resolved the problem.  This month my savings is up to . . .

Checkout 51 –I get nothing if you sign up but it’s a great program – Not a huge leap forward but an improvement.  This one has only a certain number of each rebate available which kinda sucks.  There were some I wanted to cash in but they ran out before I could submit a receipt or I had used my limit.  This is frustrating since their offers don’t seem to change that much from month to month.  None the less my savings are up to . . .

Receipt Hog  – This is one of the apps that I wish was taking new users because they accept all receipts.  I’m sorry that readers can’t jump on board.  Never the less I’m using it toward my goal so here is my total for June . . .

It’s the equivalent of $10 in cash toward my savings goal.

Fetch Rewards – Referal Code GB0QJ We both get 1500 points for the referral – LOVE THIS APP! If you haven’t joined this program yet do it now.  They have their favorite brands but they give points for every grocery receipt submitted.  One of their brands is Pepsi and my husband is a Mountain Dew addict so I frequently get bonuses. This month they had a bunch of extra bonuses on hot dogs, mustard, ketchup, and buns just like all the other apps so there was a nice jump for them too.

This equals $16 in total gift cards.

Shopkicks – Referal Code: SAVE725778 what we get both of us get 250 points for the referral –  Gotta catch them all. I admit I forgot to activate my app several times over the month. I was disappointed in myself for that. I estimate I lost over 100 points because of it.  Still this equals $10 in gift cards:

Ebates –   What I get for referring 10 what you get for using my referral  $10 – Another app there seems to be trouble with on some of their in-store earnings.  Here’s what I suspect to be the problem.  To earn in-store cash back you have to attach your credit card and they track the last four digits of the card to determine earnings.  However, with the new chip cards, the last four digits of your card number do not appear on the purchase receipt.  Instead, an encrypted code appears.  Consequently, the purchases I’ve made at Office Depot over the past few months have not appeared as part of my earnings.  None of my other in-store purchases have either. This is disappointing. I’ve contacted customer service but have not yet heard back from them.  Don’t take this as a sign that their service is bad.  I’ve only contacted them less than 24 hours ago so I haven’t given them ample time to respond for this post.  I will update you when I’ve heard back from them.  I previously received a check for $10.41 which will be added to the total.  The balance below is my next check for August. There was no change for June.

Walmart – After my experience with Savings Catcher I have really stopped shopping at Walmart.  If I do go there for anything I will put the receipt into Savings Catcher but I have not faith in their system and I will keep shopping at my favorite store since they are now accepted by all my apps. You can read why I’ve made this decision here. No change for June.

Coupons.com App – I get nothing from this referral no bump to you either –  I’m not posting a proof because there’s nothing to show. I’m so disappointed in this one.

Walgreens Balance Rewards Points – Woo Hoo!  There have been several 7,000 bonus coupons this month. I’m up to $70 in Balance Rewards Points. It says I can only redeem $60 at a time but that’s okay.  I’m willing to make more than one purchase to redeem this cash.

KellogsFamilyRewards – I used these points for photo Christmas Cards for #FREE.  You have to love that.  Photo cards are expensive so it’s totally worth it.  Of course they have gift cards, products, coupons, and other things you can redeem these for but I’m going to use them for cards. I think. Maybe. We’ll see.  Here’s what I have this month . . .

Shutterfly The App – What we get for the referral we both receive an 8×8 photo book free! – Again I netted some freebies that have been set aside for Christmas gift giving. I can’t share them with you here because I know some of the recipients are reading.  If you don’t have the app you really should. Every week they offer free products (just pay shipping) that make great holiday gifts including phone covers, calendars, puzzles, notepads, and tote bags all customized with your favorite photo.

One last thing that I’ve decided is being saved for Christmas.  Target gives out gift cards for purchases of things like toilet paper, paper towel, detergent, etc.  They’re usually about $5 each.  I have $30 in Target gift cards at the moment.  These will be used for Christmas as well.  I know this wasn’t initially part of the program but I just earned these this month so I’m adding them.

I think that’s everything for June.  This means I have a grand total of:  $338.41 toward my total savings goal of $750. Over halfway there!

This post does contain affiliate links (read my full disclosure policy here) if you want to join me or if you have already I’d love to hear how you’re doing!