Money Matters

 

It's October which means that we can go to the rebate apps and requests our funds!!!!

I felt like a Rockefeller, in September because I had so many sources of income like hit my bank accounts all at the same time!

I cannot explain how I got all this money from settlements in September but another odd thing that happened that I cannot explain is that I received an email from Swagbucks informing me that there was an error because they had ran out of Target gift cards and they returned my points to my account. The only problem is that I'd already used that $25 Target gift card and since they've already credited my account, I'll get another $25 Target gift card.

I received $127.33 from Class Action Settlement, $49.39 from Wheat Thins Settlement, $185.65 from the Joint Juice settlement, $37.42 from the Oracle Data Privacy Settlement and $4.44 from Botanical Settlement. I received $110.79 from Ibotta, $35 Target gc Swagbucks, $57.20 Target gift card from Befrugal, (2) $50 Target gift card from Fetch Rewards, $25 Target gift card and $5 Amazon gift card from Merryfield,

Below are my favorite deals for the month of September:

$2MM 1ST Phorm Protein Bars

FREE Pepsi Zero 12pk

FREE Bob's Red Mill Product (up to $8.99)

$3MM Malk Protein Whole Milk

$5 MM Centrum Age Defy

$1 MM Evergreen Waffles

$2.80MM Protein Pints

FREE Protein Pops

$1MM Premier Protein Drink

$4.10 MM Mighty Spark Chicken Snack Stick

Money Matters

 

It's September which means that we can go to the rebate apps and requests our funds!!!!

The month of August... was pretty amazing because we started the month with a $10.90 Money Maker on the Chapstick!  Let me say, I didn't pull the trigger on the initial Chapstick deal because I was going to have to pay $0.14 for 3 Chapsticks and we don't need the Chapstick but when it became a Money Maker after the offer popped up on Checkout 51 and Swagbucks....I was all in for the win! I'll send the Chapstick to my Sacramento family because it does get cold and windy during the winter months. I was lucky enough to do the Chapstick deal twice before the rebate apps realized that we were buying the $1.50 Chapsticks and removed the single Chapsticks as a participating item! 

We've had FREE breakfast in August with the FREE+MM Farmer John's Bacon that we got in July, the FREE English Muffins, FREE Oranges, $2.91 MM FlavCity Coffee with Benefits, 

Couponing helps us maintain our lifestyle.

I'd be a fool if I said I didn't notice inflation hitting all aspects of our lives - gas, electricity, insurance, food, entertainment, medical, etc. We are still able to enjoy various aspects of everyday life due to FREE food, drinks and personal care items.  

Every single time that you run for the FREE chips or FREE deodorant, you are securing your future against inflation. We are fighting the battle against inflation because we are not going to be able to significantly increase our earnings.  The higher prices go for ordinary things like ketchup, the less money we maintain in our pockets and bank accounts.

Over the weekend, I pulled out the FREE Ocean Spray Zero from the stockpile.  Our lifestyle affords us the ability to not having to make rash decisions because we are in a bind. When I was younger, I had to go to those check cashing places because I had an emergency and I had no money...and I didn't want to go to my family.  Thank goodness, I don't have to live that way anymore. 

Also, keep in mind that we can do as much or as little couponing as we wish to do.

I received $111.93 from Ibotta, $35 Target gc Swagbucks, $44.72 Target gift card from Befrugal, $22.52 from CO51, $25 Target gift card from Merryfield, 

Below are my favorite deals for the month of August:

$10.90 MM Chapstick

$20 MM Barilla Pesto Sauce

FREE New Belgium Voo Doo Sweet Ride IPA

FREE Starbucks Sweet Cream

FREE Sunkist Seasonal Valencia Oranges

FREE Stone and Skillet English Muffin 

$2.91 MM FlavCity Coffee with Benefits

Color Scents Trash Bags 40ct Only $0.72 ea

$2.41 MM Takis PIX 

FREE Fancypants Cookies at Target and Sprouts

$13.47 MM Yasso Frozen Greek Yogurt

$11.13 MM Rockstar Energy Drink

Money Matters

 

It's August which means that we can go to the rebate apps and requests our funds!!!!

The month of July was pretty amazing for deals when usually July is a slow month for deals but we were on the run almost every day in July chasing deals!  

I received $50 Target gc from Fetch, $30 Amazon gc from Swagbucks, $22.36 Target gift card from Befrugal, $22.02 from CO51. $88.87 from Ibotta

Below are my favorite deals for the month of July:

FREE Lay's Kettle Cooked Chips

Pepsi Prebiotic 8pk $0.20 each

$1.01 MM Crest Toothpaste

$5.60 MM Kraft Mac & Cheese Restaurant Edition

$0.75 MM Nature Valley PB&J

$0.50 MM Cheerios Honey Nut Protein Cereal

$2 MM Larabar Protein Bar

$7.50 MM Rivo Protein Ice Cream

$4 MM Be Love Energy Drink

$2 MM Blue Buffalo Love Made Fresh Dog Food, Refrigerated

$1.50 MM Wholesome Cane Sugar Vanilla Infusion 

Blowze Sesame Street Facial Tissue 124ct $0.04 each

xxx

Money Matters

 

It's July which means that we can go to the rebate apps and requests our funds!!!!

I swear, Couponers live the very best lives because it definitely was not ever on my Bingo Card that I get would get FREE, Cheap & Money Maker Farmer John Bacon, FREE/Cheap bags of Lay's Kettle Cooked Chips and FREE bags of Tostitos Tortilla  Chips!!!!!

I finally took the time to figure out how Befrugal works!🤣 It had to be something that I really wanted for me to do it!

I received $8.12 from the Yahoo Data Breach Settlement and $7.31 from the Facebook Privacy Settlement.  I have received $62.56 from Ibotta,  $35 Target gift cards from Swagbucks, $31 Ralphs Cash Back, $40 Target gc from Swagbucks, $50 Target gc from Fetch, $22.36 Target gift card from Befrugal, $15 Target gc from Merryfield app and $28.02 from C051.

Below are some of my favorite deals in the month of May:

$3.78 MM Splenda Coffee Creamer

FREE Betty Crocker Cake Mix

$1.51 MM Folgers

$10 MM Centrum Age Defy 

Money Matters

 

It's June which means that we can go to the rebate apps and requests our funds!!!!

I have been loving collecting all the free drinks since the beginning of 2026 and the $5 in FREE gasoline from Ibotta!  I really like the FREE Harken Carmel Chocolate Bars but I could not find them again after the first time they were offered for free.

I was so happy to that I was able to use the $1 Produce, $1 O Organic, etc and stack them with their twin in Northern California for 3 weeks.  Also, we found a little glitch in OH.

I have received $10.51 from a settlement but I forgot the name of the settlement! I received $49.33 from Ibotta, $31 Ralphs Cash Back, $40 Target gc from Swagbucks, $50 Target gc from Fetch, $15 Target gc from Merryfield app.

Below are some of my favorite deals in the month of May:

$9.50 MM Westbrae Beans

FREE Werther's Carmels

FREE Brainiac Kids Juice 8pk

$5 in FREE Gas from Ibotta

$3 MM Temptations Crunch Treats

FREE Better Butter with Garlic

$1.47 ea Old Wisconsin Beef Sticks 7oz

3 FREE Select Trip Sparkling Drinks

FREE Wild Planet Tuna

Valentino's Donna Born in Roma Perfume Set $195

Money Matters

 

It's April which means that we can go to the rebate apps and requests our funds!!!!

The month of April was an emotional rollercoaster because we found out that my middle brother may have cancer and I was ready to go to Sacramento but my brother said no because he talked to the oncology department and they can't get him in until June. This is the brother that I tried to kill when I was about 3 years old because he'd taken my favorite doll (he was 2 years old) and managed to take the doll's head off and my brother started screaming for his life and both mom and dad ran to see what was going on. I don't really remember any of that but my parents would tell the story of how I tried to kill him!  Need to say, I didn't do a lot of deals in April.

You may have noticed that I made a small change to the homepage in that I removed the 3 most popular posts because someone kept posting on social media or a website deals from my blogs from like 2022 and one of my old posts had like 50,000 views and I hate for people to come to this blog expecting a deal that is no longer available from 2022 so I had to remove it.  I believe that whoever was doing it probably was not happy with some of the my views that I've posted and they were trying to create havoc.  

I did receive $24.73 from the data settlement, $47.53 from Ibotta, $40 Amazon gc from Swagbucks, 

Below are my favorite deals in the month of April:

$10 MM Horizon Coffee Creamer

$4 MM Honest Wipes

$1.75 MM Bob's Red Mill Cake Mix

FREE Clorox Wipes Travel Size

Money Matters

 

Happy April Fools Day which means that we can go to the rebate apps and requests our funds!!!!

I did not have Shopkick going out of business on my Bingo card, this year, but then again it's not really a surprise because I have seen lots of rebate apps go out of business.  One of my most favorite rebate apps was Savingstar because you got cash and they had a variety of offers that matched up to the coupons that came in the Sunday newspapers. In addition, Savingstar used to have produce offers, Friday Freebies and Thanksgiving Freebie but eventually I believe they got sold out to Checkout 51.  I think the most important thing we have to remember about rebate apps is that they are not a bank and request your money/gift cards on a regular basis.  I always say at a minimum to request you money/gift cards, at least, once a month.

Just 10 days ago, I described in my Ibotta must be sick of me! post that it was the second time in a month that Ibotta had put me in pending jail and I'd have to wait for a 44 hours for a review.  My recommendation to you, if you get the CHECK BACK IN 44 HOURS notice and you have met the minimum threshold to withdraw your money, I'd do so pronto...which is exactly what I did so I'd reduce any exposure or whimsy of this corporate entity. 

Always keep in mind that YOU bare all of the risk when dealing with a rebate app because you must spend your money upfront for a particular product at a select store and pray that you are compensated for buying said product.

Let me say that I have literally saved thousands of dollars from rebate shopping for my family but I've used discernment in choosing which deals to do.  For example, in the month of March, we must have had 6 coffee creamer deals but do we need all of that creamer?  No.  I pick and choose the deals based on our needs and is the deal a money maker.  Always, do what is best for you have your family.

If you lost points from the Shopkick closure just remember that you did get products from the points you did earn so it's not a total lost.

I actually received $42.75 from Ralphs Cash Back because the $2.50 Rio Tuna RCB didn't work and I had to call Customer Service and they added $3 to my Ralphs account! I've got to cash out more often on my RCB account because you never know KROGER could go out of business.  As Couponers, we really do have many streams of income and in my monthly Money Matter posts, I try to recap our various ways of saving money!

I have received $51.50 from Ibotta, $32.46 from C051, $135 Fetch and $50 from Swagbucks. Do not beat yourself over the head about not redeeming your points because sometimes, we've got to attend the school of hard knocks to learn a hard lesson.

Below are my favorite deals for the month of March:

$2.50 Salty Snacks Rebate, No Beer Purchase Required, Limit 2

$2.84 MM on 4 Breyer's Ice Cream 48oz

$2.25 MM Sally Hansen Nail Gel

$5.03 MM Gatorade Less Sugar

$1 MM Grandma's Egg Noodles

FIVE (5) FREE Dove Clinical Deodorant (Fetch Rewards)

TWO (2) FREE Tide to go Stain Remover Pen (Fetch Rewards)

$7.49 MM Perfect Bars

$3 MM Glade Small Spaces Air Freshener

$2.32 MM Arm & Hammer Detergent

$3 MM Bionaturae Pasta Sauce

$.83 MM  Too Good Creamer

xxx

Money Matters

 

It's March which means that we can go to the rebate apps and requests our funds!!!!

I am so grateful to have a stockpile especially with the war in Iran and the container ships at a standstill. The uber wealthy don't care if a can of tuna goes up to $20 per can...they don't care.  I think it was this past Friday that RFK Jr. had the audacity to tell the poor and middle class that if we couldn't afford beef that we should eat liver.

I have been very intentional on which deals that I am doing because my time is important and I can't get back time.  For example, I only did the Betty Crocker Cookie Mix 3 times and I ended up with 13 bags of those cookie mixes but I quickly turned those cookies around a gave them to the food pantry.  We have to be present in our own lives not just doing stuff to be doing stuff.

Anyways, I have received $14.63 from the Similasan Settlement, $94.36 from Ibotta and $60 from Swagbucks.

Below are some of my favorite deals from the month of February:

FREE+$3.42 MM Almay Makeup Wipes

FREE+MM Mitchum Lady's Deodorant

2 FREE+MM Hillshire Extra Then Lunchmeat

4 FREE+MM Hillshire Fare Smoked Sausage

FREE+MM Betty Crocker Cookie Mix

Money Matters

 

It's February which means that we can go to the rebate apps and requests our funds!!!!

I did not do a lot of deals in January and I think it was because I was going back and forth with Social Nature over the TWO FREE Pitaya Protein Bowls deal...and I finally realized that Social Nature was not involved in that offer.😣. Also, we had so much drama with threatening to invade countries, the protests, the Don Lemon arrest and those darn PDF files. February will be no different as far as the news go. I think Saturday, I saw that it's expected that Russia is going to run out money due to their war with Ukraine and it's going to be the ordinary Russian citizens that will suffer the most and I guess China is now also having some sort of monetary problems, too.

Anyways, I receive $41.15 from Ibotta and $25 Target gift card from Swagbucks.

My very favorite deal in the month of January was the FREE Mrs. Meyers Compassion Flower Dish Soaps and they smell absolutely amazing!.

What were your favorite deals from January?

Money Matters

 

It's January 2nd and Happy New Year!!!! We are going to start the new year right by going to our rebate apps and requests our funds!!!!  Let me say that I have been trying to cash out my Checkout 51 account since New Year's Eve and it's been a no go. Checkout 51 has changed how we can cash out and this is why it is so important to cash out on a regular basis. I actually cashed out in November but between November and December, Checkout 51 changed their cash out process.  

You now click the Cash Out button and you popped into another window where their software says my password is incorrect.  Now, I went into my password app and it says that I have been using that password  since 2020 so I know that CO51 is full of it.  Of course, I have submitted a Trouble Ticket because I also clicked the infamous "Forgot Password" and I never received a link to update my password.  I'll keep you all informed in this matter.

Due to the darn tariffs, everything has gone up exponentially because our country has done any serious manufacturing here since like the 80's or 90's because it all got outsourced to other countries to make the product cheaper, getting rid of workers and unions, and increasing profit margins. I watched this interview where a 90 year old man had retired with a pension from a Ford Auto Plant years ago but he'd lost his pension when our US government had bailed out the car companies in 2008. This man has been working at the Walmart and Home Depot trying to survive financially. Don't ever think that you are safe because the government can come in and change the laws and snatch everything from you!  Our government doesn't compensate the common person who looses their pension, they can't even get tax write off for the loss but our government will compensate billion dollar companies and they get the tax write off, too!

If you haven't read the book, The Secret by Rhonda Byrne, it's an excellent book about how to manifest the things that you want.

While I was in Sacramento, the Safeway and Walmart are right next to each other so I grabbed some freebies like FREE Salads of the Sea Delicious Seafood Dips and we dropped it off and kept going to the next place we were supposed to be but by the time we got to our next we had received a text about how good the seafood dip tasted!

I was over the moon happy when Air Wick Oil Refills 4ct deal popped up because I was able to get 20 of the refills for $2.95.

I received $79.01 from Ibotta, $50 Amazon gc from Shopkick and $25 Target gc from Fetch, $25 Target gc from Swagbucks and $15 Target gf from Mypoints.

Below are my favorite deals for the month of December:

$9.76 MM Kinder Chocolate

$2.12 MM Simek's Meatballs

TWO FREE Protein Pint Ice Cream

FREE Comvita Manuka Honey & Ginger Drops

Free GOODLES Microwavable Mac Cups

$0.68 MM on Flour

TWO FREE + $1 MM Softsoap Liquid Hand Soap Refill 52oz

$19.99 Money Maker Birdman Falcon Protein Powder

$3.26 Money Maker Little Spoon

$18.74 Money Maker Little Spoon

EIGHT (8) FREE + $2.36 Money Maker Kinder Bone Broth Turkey Gravy

FREE Salads of the Sea Delicious Seafood Dips

$0.54 each Air Wick Oil Refill 4ct

$1.75 MM Whole Earth

xxx

Money Matters

 

It's December which means that we can go to our rebate apps and requests our funds!!!!

I knew without a shadow of doubt that the month of November was going to be amazing because we rolled into November with a federal government shutdown, high unemployment and the SNAP benefits turned off. The corporations had caused the mess by financing the politicians to vote against subsidizing medical coverage for everyone, as well as, reducing SNAP benefits but the American people stood together ten toes down and saying that's not what we wanted. Therefore, the corporations had to step in and provide incentives for us to walk through their doors.  You are going to see in January 2026, what a fiasco, as far as, sales figures this misstep by the corporations will effect the economy going forward will impact their financial numbers in 2026.

A reader, John, left a wonderful comment during the Thanksgiving break:

It's not what you make, it's what you keep! I am always focusing on keeping my principle growing and spending minimized to max compound interest.

Everybody cannot make $100k, $200k, $300k per year but people are out here surviving and thriving on $50,000 per year in Southern California.  People are crashing out over not being able to afford to shop for Christmas and really, in this economy, it's more about stretching and saving money.  

I received $4.01 from Facebook Settlement, $98.47 from Ibotta, $25 Target gc from Fetch, (2) $25 Target gc from Shopkick, 

Below are my favorite deals in the month of November:

FREE McCormick Gravy Packet

$16.08 MM Mamba Fruit Chews

$4 MM Suaz Pasta Sauce

$0.50 MM Fancy Feast Gems

TWO FREE Rise & Puff Qesadillas

FREE Cravings Pancake Mix by Chrissy 

FREE Edwards Strawberry Creme Frozen Pie

$2.50 MM Chips Ahoy Cookies

$0.36 for 1 Bertolli Pasta Sauce & 3 Danish Butter 8oz

FREE Frozen Turkey

Money Matters

 

It's November which means that we can go to our rebate apps and requests our funds!!!!

Last month, I was fortunate enough to have CVS send me FREE $3 and $4 Extra Bucks every week to both of my accounts which means that retailers are worried more than ever that they are going to have a crappy holiday season and that worry will work out in our favor because there will be more deals to be had!

There were so many good deals in October and I especially loved the $0.99 Air Wick Oil Refill in Fresh & Juniper Money Maker because I can hardly wait to them in living room for the month of December!!!  It's the little things that make our homes feel like Christmastime.

I received $2.50 from the Macy's Sheets Settlement and I received $75.66 from Ibotta, $20.60 from CO51, $50 Amazon gift from Fetch, $25 Target gift card from SB, 

Below are my favorite deals in October:

$6 MM Florastor

FREE Bertolli Pasta Sauce

$9.52 MM Hillshire Farms Smoked Sausage

FOUR FREE + $8.30 MM Yasso Spoonables

Knorr Premium Base $0.88 ea

$2.50 MM Old El Paso Bowls, Shells and Tortilla (this end up being a glitch for me)

Tropicana Refreshers $0.34

FOUR FREE + $0.99 MM Air Wick Oil Refills in Fresh Pine & Juniper

FIVE FREE + $5 MM Body Armor drink

MTN Dew Baja 12pk $3.32 ea

$1.50 MM Keebler Halloween Cookies

FREE Cinnamon Roll at Ralphs

xxx

Money Matters

 

OMG, it's October 1st already and next month is Thanksgiving!  We had an amazing September and I kind of low key love that the first two weeks in September were a bore, as far as deals go but the last two weeks, we got amazing deals.

I say this every year but start planning your Thanksgiving menu especially if you are struggling financially.  Planning is another form of manifestation. Planning is documenting your thoughts and turning them into reality. When you plan, opportunities come your way.

Don't wait until the week of Thanksgiving to say that I need A thru Z for Thanksgiving dinner.  Our Thanksgiving dinner doesn't have to be extravagant and we don't need 15 side dishes and 5 cakes and pies.  Thanksgiving is about spending time with our family and friends.  While I was in Ralphs, yesterday, I saw that they are getting ready for Thanksgiving and they were setting up for stuffing and baking cakes and pies.  I was thinking about Thanksgiving and Ralphs is already getting the deals ready for us! 

Go to your rebate apps and requests your funds!!!!

One of the most exciting things that happened to me in September is that I received the double Zip Code Advantage in one of my accounts twice! I wasn't lucky enough to get it a third time but I am super thankful that I got it twice.  The first week, the advantage didn't work on the Yogurts and the second week, the advantage didn't work on the O Organics, although, I bought the exact same O Organics Diced Tomatoes that I bought in week #1 and it work but it didn't work the second week.  Odd, but I'm not even mad because I got to use a free $6 in week #1 and  week #2.  I basically got $12 for free to shop at the grocery store!

Vons also gave me an extra FREE $5 digital coupon.

I have tried explaining to friends and family how I save money by couponing and using the rebate apps.  It's kinda like when Benjamin Franklin said, "A penny saved is a penny earned." and I wrote about this in September but it doesn't make it less irritating fain stupidity when I explain it for the tenth time. Sometimes, you've got to die by your own sword meaning no one will help you if you are choosing not to understand.  

There is no panacea to saving money, you have to sacrifice to save money.  You have to have a budget, you must plan your purchases and plan for the unforeseen emergencies. 

The thing I love about saving money is our ability to give back to our community, the Hidden Harvest Pancake Mix was a nice money maker and it's already been was donated to the food pantry.  The ability to get paid to take a food out of the store and share it with a food pantry is a win-win for everyone! Last Wednesday, I drove past the free food distribution center and it went from like maybe 25 people out there like six months ago and now, it's like 200 or 250 people standing out there for food.  It was chaos out there because people were going there by bus, car, bicycle and they had wagons, carts and strollers going to the distribution center.  They were running to get to the line for the free food. 

I already know that we are going to have lots of opportunities in October to grab more free food!

Another great thing about saving money is we get to try a lot new food products like the Motts Filled Bars and we loved those bars!  Next time they are on a good sale, we'll know to pick up those bars!

I received $38,36 from the Facebook Settlement and $25.97 from the Walmart Weight Settlement,  $68.57 from IB and $29.68 from C051, 

Below are my favorite deals for the month of September:

$3.10 MM GoMacros Salted Caramel

$0.67 ea S & W Beans

$12 MM Remix Mocktail

$3 MM Silk Kids

$0.40 MM Motts Filled Bars

(3) $2 MM Hidden Harvest Pancake & Waffle Mix

$3 MM Tenayo Mexican-Style BBQ Sauce

$0.50 MM Barilla Tortellini

$1.50 MM Muscle Milk

(2) $0.50 MM Zoa Energy Drink

$0.52 MM Ferrero Chocolate Bars

(4) FREE + $1 MM Herdez Salsa

$1.51 for 1 lb. of Sara Lee from the Deli Counter

$1.33 ea Stove Top Stuffing

$2.60 MM Bob'b Red Mill Overnight Protein Oats

FREE Justin's Crunch Peanut Butter

$1.64 Local Hive Organic Hive Honey

FREE Bonne Maman Concord Grape Fruit Spread

(6) FREE + $0.66 MM Yoplait Yogurt

$4 MM Fancy Feast Gems