Quick Rebate Tips and a Non-Frugal Tidbit About Me

I’ve had several questions lately about rebates.  If you submit a rebate I recommend you fill out the form the day you bring the product home from the store and get it in the mail that day.  It’s easy to use a product and throw the packaging away, only to realize you needed to cut the UPC off for the rebate.  If you can’t submit the rebate right away, note the submission date in your e-mail system’s calendar so it will send you a reminder to submit it before the “postmarked by” date.   Also, you should always keep a copy of a rebate submission for proof.  Instead of a printed copy, I scan my rebate form, UPC, and addressed envelope into my computer and save it in a folder marked rebates.  One less paper to keep up with, no ink wasted and I have a virtual copy that can be e-mailed instead of mailed (with another stamp) as proof when there’s a problem.  (I scan the envelope because a customer service rep once told me that I must have mailed it to the wrong address!)  This gives me a record of the day I mailed it (the date of the scan) and I can easily see the expected time for rebate to be received.  Once the rebate comes back I delete the scan.  If you don’t have a scanner, be sure to keep a folder with copies of your submissions and the date you sent them in.  Once you receive the rebate check you can discard the copy.  

Now, here’s an admission of a non-frugal tidbit about me.  I usually don’t submit rebates.  You’re probably thinking, “but what about all those opportunities to save so much money?”  Yes, there are some super rebates out there and occasionally I will submit one.  This is just not the time in my life for them.  Why? Time vs. Money, and Follow Through (or lack of it).

Time:  If there’s a rebate for $1, then after the stamp and envelope it becomes only a $.55 rebate.  It’s just not worth my time to buy it, hold the receipt out (or dig through the receipts looking for it later), fill out the form, scan the form, mail it, watch for it in the mail, make a special trip to the bank to deposit it.  Especially if it’s to get me to try a new gimick product that will just end up cluttering my life. Whew, I’m tired just thinking of all of that, even though it’s actually a simple process.  

Money: Besides it not being worth the $.55 on a $1 rebate, there are other money making things I could be doing with my time that don’t require follow through on my part. The only 3 rebates I’ve submitted in the last year were Pantene for $20, Pediasure Try Me Free for $10.99, and Tena for $9.99.  All of these were actually moneymakers. I used coupons for all the products and combined the Pantene with an ECB promo.  This made them all well worth the amount of time to submit them.  The risk of losing a higher $$ amount gives me some ambition also. 

Follow Through: Ah, the biggest issue I have with rebates. How many times would my 3 yr. old interrupt me while I was trying to submit a rebate?  That’s enough reason right there, but quite honestly I struggle with anything that isn’t part of my daily or weekly routine.  Actually I just struggle, period.  You know those little pills many women take daily to prevent having more little pills blessings running around?  Besides the fact that they messed with my hormones too much I gave them up years ago because I couldn’t remember to take them every day at the same time. Anything that doesn’t have a person holding me accountable is just hard for me.

So buying a product because it’s on my list- easy.  Remembering to fill out the form AND copy it AND mail it before the “postmarked by” date – hard.  Remember those Easy Saver Rebates that Walgreens used to do before the RR days?  I can’t count how many times I mailed them on the Monday or Tuesday following the last Saturday they had to be postmarked by.  Fortunately that company kept their PO box open for a full week after the “postmarked by” date, so I never lost out.

Eventually in an empty nest life I’ll be able to stay on top of the rebates.  Until then, more for the rest of you that have it all together a bit more than me