found money?

All of this couponing and deal-ing is causing me to take a closer look at magazines and store displays.  I used to think that rebates were a total and utter waste of time.  Surely it wasn't worth my 10 minutes to fill out a form (and keep the receipt I needed to send with it!) in order to get a check for a measly $2.99 in 2 months.  Why bother?

On the other hand, I'd still fall for the marketing trick.  I'd be in the store and pick up an item that said "try me free!".  I'd buy it, thinking "oh I'll mail it in for the rebate!" but once I got home, I'd either forget all about it or look at the pile of crumpled receipts in my hand and decide- you guessed it- that it wasn't worth my time.

As you can imagine, I've changed my tune when it comes to rebates.  In fact, in the last month I've stumbled across THREE rebates for items that I'd already bought-- and I'd had no idea I could get money back on them.  Two of these rebates were for salty foods, deli meats, prepared foods, or frozen pizzas from Budweiser.  We're not beer drinkers and I had NO IDEA that beer companies offer these rebates- and you don't even need to buy beer!  Honestly, I don't get the point of these at all- no clue how it helps Budweiser in any way- but if you'll give me back money on stuff I bought last month and (luckily) kept the receipts for, heck yeah, I'll take it.  I mailed in $11 worth of rebates to Budweiser this morning.

I stumbled across the other rebate when I was reading Real Simple magazine- a subscription I got super cheap thanks to one deal or another in November or December.  Hidden in a page of ads, stuck in the middle towards the magazine spine, was a column with a picture of a k-cup on it.  When I looked closer I realized it was a mail in rebate for $5 back when you buy at least $10 worth of Green Mountain k-cups.  Now, I have a Keurig, and it's about the only place where I don't save money.  I love coffee, I love k-cups, and Tom loves tea k-cups.  I buy online from sites with discounts and free shipping, or sometimes I'll get a box of k-cups with a 20% off coupon at Bed, Bath & Beyond, but I do still spend a lot on coffee.  I'd ordered a large number of boxes from Green Mountain coffee a couple of weeks ago.  So this was a no-brainer!

All in all, I'm sending in for $16 back today, all on stuff I'd already bought.  It took about 20 minutes to fish out receipts for the right products, fill out the forms, and stamp the envelopes, but is that work worth it for $16?  You bet it is.