Grocery Rebate and Coupon Apps You Should Be Using

One trend I haven't been able to avoid the last few years is that paper coupons, especially printable ones, are becoming increasingly difficult to use. It's partly because of technology and partly because lots of customers abused them - they’d come in and use 20 of the same coupon, and many were photocopied, which is fraud, so stores stopped getting reimbursed by manufacturers. Now there's a weird dichotomy with coupons being more available than ever from manufacturers and stores being more reluctant than ever to accept them.

So as we move away from paper coupons, digital coupons and rebates are increasing in availability. I'll discuss the apps I use most, because they're the ones I'm familiar with. If you're not in the Southern California region, you should definitely check to see what apps bloggers in your area recommend, as they may differ from what works best in SoCal. But the principles I discuss will definitely apply to everyone.


Store Apps

If there is a store you shop at regularly, you should definitely see if they have an app with offers and/or coupons. I shop weekly at Ralphs and I use the Ralphs app all the time to check if there’s a digital coupon available, especially for store brand items. I sort by expiration date to ensure I don’t let any great coupons go unused, especially the ones for free products.

The other store-exclusive app I use regularly is the Target app. As I've mentioned previously, I scan everything I put in my cart at Target, and I often find surprise deals like a Cartwheel discount for anywhere from 5% to 30% off.

Other stores I shop at that have their own apps with savings are Whole Foods and CVS. Even Michaels has an app with coupons! I also have the Sprouts and Vons apps on my phone, although I almost never shop there.

In addition to individual store apps, there are rebate apps that work at multiple stores. I find that these require a little more work, but they can really pay off. Here are the two I use the most:

Ibotta

Ibotta was one of the first rebate apps, and it's still one of the primary rebate apps I use. They accept receipts from many stores, including Ralphs, Target, Whole Foods, and Costco. I love that the app works well, you can combine their rebates with coupons, and their offers are easy to understand. My biggest complaint is that I don't buy a lot of the brand-specific items they have offers for, but I can't fault them for their brand partnerships - it's how they stay in business! And there are a lot of pros - they regularly offer any-brand offers (such as $0.25 back WYB any brand of cereal), they have a section titled "Buy It Again" so you can see rebates for items you've purchased in the past, and they also offer rebates for online shopping that are sometimes better than the offers at sites like Ebates and Mr. Rebates.

You can request a payout once you hit the $20 mark, via Paypal, Venmo, or gift card. Lately, I've been getting the $25 Amazon gift card, and it's been delivered promptly.

Ibotta offers a referral bonus of $5 for each friend you refer, as well as other bonuses, such as a $0.50 bonus for redeeming 10 offers and $10 worth of offers in a month. If you haven't joined yet, here's my referral link - thank you if you use(d) it!

Fetch Rewards

Fetch Rewards is a fairly new rebate app but it's one I've been using regularly since they'll give you credit for receipts from any grocery store, including Trader Joe's. It took me a while to understand how their app works, but it seems like if there's an item or brand listed that doesn't have a specific rebate amount, they give you back 1% of the purchase price. For example, if I buy Breyers ice cream for $4.99 and Breyers is one of their partner brands, they'll give me back 50 points. If nothing on your receipt qualifies for an offer, they'll still give you 25 points, which is nice. Like Ibotta, you can combine their rebates with coupons.

One interesting thing Fetch does is keep track of your spending to date. This can be great for helping you stay under budget, but can also be demoralizing if the number you see is higher than you'd like. They also break down your spending by retailer, which can be surprising. For instance, I apparently spend more at Ralphs than at Trader Joe's, when I thought it would be the other way around.

Fetch's payout starts at a low 3,000 points for a $3 gift card. You can choose from Amazon, Target, and others. Like Ibotta, the gift card is available extremely promptly.

Fetch offers a regular referral bonus of 2,000 points for each friend you refer, but they regularly increase that bonus to 3,000 points. It's in effect right now through tomorrow (1/30/19). Use my referral code R4NDF when you're joining to get your $3 bonus and I'll get a bonus too (thank you!).

Other Rebate Apps

Other apps on my phone are SavingStar, Checkout 51, Makeena, and Coupons.com. These are also rebate apps, but I use them a lot less frequently, mostly because their offers tend to be for brand name items that I don't buy. Sometimes you can combine their offers with coupons, but usually not. If you dislike printing coupons, SavingStar and Coupons.com can be particularly useful because there's a lot of overlap, and if you buy a lot of "natural" products, you should definitely check Makeena.

What are your favorite grocery apps?

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Chief Family Officer’s Favorite Things: Prep Solutions by Progressive2-Way Grate and Measure

One thing that makes cooking easier and more pleasant is having great tools. But sometimes it takes me a while to find the right one.


And so I've been on a quest for a great grater. You wouldn't think it would be so hard to find one. But I've always hated the traditional box grater, which I find difficult to clean, and a little dangerous to use (I lost many a fingernail tip on my old box grater). I'll use the shredding blade in my food processor for large batches, but that can be a lot of cleaning for not a lot of product.

I tried this multifuction grater, which worked pretty well but the plastic cracked after a few months.


Luckily, I found the Prep Solutions by Progressive 2-Way Grate and Measure, which has turned out to be exactly what I've been looking for. It's super easy to use, and super easy to clean. Whatever you're grating falls into the clear plastic container that it comes with, and you can grate in both directions, which makes the work go quickly. I find it easiest to use when it's sideways rather than standing up, but it works either way.


One nice feature is that there are measurements on the side of the container, so if I need a cup of grated cheese, I just have to stand it up vertically to see how much I've got. This grater also seems very durable (I've been using it regularly for a few months now and it's holding up perfectly), and I absolutely love that both parts can go in the top rack of the dishwasher. In fact, it's so easy to use that I've been using it to shred zucchini instead of breaking out my food processor like I always did before.

There's something so satisfying about finding the right tool for the job! See my other Favorite Things.

This is not a sponsored post, just a product I genuinely love. This post does contain affiliate links that help support this site at no additional cost to you. Thank you for using them! You can read CFO's full disclosure here.

Quick Ways to Leap into Action

Do you ever have times when you feel sluggish and just want to lie down? It happens to me regularly, as I'm just not naturally energetic. So I've had to come up with strategies to push me into motion, even if it's only long enough for me to complete one or two tasks.


Since it's that time of year when many of us start to build new habits, I wanted to share my strategies with you:

- Use the 2-minute rule and start by doing an activity that takes 2 minutes or less but helps you build momentum. For example, if you need to make dinner, start by doing something that takes less than 2 minutes, like washing the lettuce for the salad. (Read more about the 2-minute rule at JamesClear.com.)

- Listen to upbeat music. We all have our favorites, but some of mine include Timber, Can't Stop the Feeling, Fix and Shut Up and Dance.

- Pair another activity. Let yourself do something you want to do with something you don't feel like doing. For example, I listen to my favorite podcasts while I'm vacuuming.

- Do some jumping jacks, pushups or yoga. Sometimes all you need to do is get the blood flowing.

- Just do one thing. This is similar to the first tip, in that hopefully you'll build momentum, but even if you don't, at least you got one thing done. For example, I often tell myself I just have to clean the downstairs bathroom - it's small, so it takes less than ten minutes, but I always feel like I really accomplished something when I'm done.

- Call or text a friend. Sometimes we just need some encouragement. Kids are actually pretty good at this, especially younger ones. I'm finding that teens are a whole different story. But once your child encourages you to do something, you really can't say no.

- Enlist a buddy. Usually this means someone who lives with you, like your spouse, roommate or child, since they're right there and can do an activity with you. But friends who aren't in your immediate vicinity can work too - maybe you can both vacuum, and then report back to each other. (If you're now thinking that my least favorite things to do involve cleaning the house, you'd be correct.)

- Think about giving a gift to your future self. Sometimes knowing how happy you'll be in the future that you accomplished a task now is enough to get you going.

- Keep a running to-do list. Crossing things off a to-do list is gratifying, sometimes disproportionately so.

- Think of three things you're grateful for. Nothing changes improves an attitude faster than gratitude. Remembering the good things in your life can give you a huge energy boost.

How do you get yourself going when you feel lethargic?

Chief Family Officer's Favorite Things: The Ove-Glove

I'd needed a new oven mitt for, well, years. I had one, an old - very old - favorite. And I had picked up some others along the way, including an OXO silicone mitt (which was too big for me) and silicone pinch mitts (which leave too much skin exposed when emptying a big pot of boiling water). But I could never find a mitt that fit as well as my old oven mitt, which my mom had gotten me over a decade ago at a now-defunct store.


The problem became an urgent one a few months ago, when I realized my beloved oven mitt was literally falling apart and wasn't going to last much longer. Then, early in the holiday season, I happened across a glowing review of the Ove-Glove.


At less than $15, it was affordable and I really liked the flame-retardant quality, since the heat was really penetrating my rapidly eroding but still-beloved mitt. I got my Ove-Glove last month, and it's a keeper! I was finally able to toss my old oven mitt into the trash, where it had long belonged, since by the end, I was risking a burn every time I used it. The Ove-Glove is quite heat-proof, and even my smallish hands can get a solid grip on baking pans and steaming hot pots. Plus, it's easy to clean (throw it in the washer with the kitchen towels, then hang it to dry).

The Ove-Glove is definitely one of my Favorite Things!

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The Easy Way to Price Match at Target

I freely admit that I'm the crazy person you see at Target who scans every single item with her phone before she places it in the cart. But that's because it's the easiest way to save money at Target.

All you have to do is download the Target app (iOS or Android). I have an iPhone so all the photos below are for the iOS version, although I expect the Android version looks similar, if not the same.

A few years ago, Target came out with Cartwheel, which offers discounts and coupons on select products. Cartwheel is what got me into the habit of scanning everything, and I absolutely love it.

More recently, after an update to the app, I noticed that Target was showing the online price of an item whenever I scanned something. Unfortunately, many times that online price was lower than the shelf price. This may not be - and probably isn't - the case in much of the country. But here in expensive Southern California, it happens to me all the time. I finally remembered Target's price match policy, which means they'll match their online price in-store. Even better, once I started price-matching, I discovered that I don't have to go to Guest Services - any cashier can price match at the register.

Here's how it typically goes for me:

The first thing I do when I start shopping inside Target is open the app and click on "Cartwheel offers."


Then I click the search icon at the top right.


Then I click on "Scan a barcode," and scan my way through the store, looking for deals on the items on my shopping list.


On my last trip, I bought clam juice for the clam chowder that's on my menu plan this week. I didn't get a picture of the shelf tag, but it was $2.19. However, when I scanned the barcode, it came up $1.89.


So when I was checking out, after the clam juice was scanned, I showed the cashier my phone and the lower online price. The cashier changed the price for me and I saved an easy $0.90 for a few seconds of time. You can see I actually saved an additional $0.90 by price matching the canned clams, which had a shelf price of $1.89, but were only $1.59 online.


Do you have a favorite way to save money at Target?