Welcome to the ABCs of Savings! Each day we’ll be discussing another money saving topic, each beginning with a different letter of the alphabet. Be sure to subscribe via RSS or email so you don’t miss any steps along the way. You can read the full alphabet of posts here (updated as they are posted).

R: Rebates

I used to think that rebates weren’t worth my time and effort. Let’s face it… If there’s a $1 rebate on something, I’m not left with much after I pay the cost of a stamp to mail it. $1 rebates are NOT worth my time, but there are many worthwhile rebates that come along.

Try Me Free

Keep your eyes open as you cruise the aisles of the grocery stores and drug stores. You’ll often find stickers or tags attached to products. These tags say “Try Me Free” and they offer you a full rebate on the purchase price of the product.

I was able to snag this Renpure shampoo with a Try Me Free tag.  While you do have to pay the initial cost out-of-pocket, you get your money back (minus the cost of the stamp).

Mix in the Coupons

My favorite rebate scenario is finding a product that I can get free or almost-free after coupons. The shampoo pictured above was $4.99, but I got $4.99 Extra Care Bucks back from CVS when I bought it. I had some other items on my receipt, and I spent at least $4.99 out-0f -pocket. So I was able to submit the rebate with that receipt. Most companies will only send a rebate for what you paid. If your receipt shows just  few pennies – like many of our CVS receipts do – companies won’t send you a rebate.

Organization

One of the biggest pitfalls of rebates is organization. If you’re collecting receipts for a rebate, you could try my organization method. I fill out the form, address the envelope, and then keep it handy to hold all of the receipts. That way, the form isn’t lost and all of my receipts are in one place. I make a copy of the form and receipts before I send them in.

Tracking

If you’re going through all the effort of doing rebates, you’ll also want to keep track of those rebates. Shannon at For The Mommas has a great rebate tracking tool that you can use to make sure that you’re getting all the rebates you’ve worked so hard for!

If you have any other rebate tips, feel free to share them!