Saving Money...Rebates & Class Action Suits

I always do rebates at Menard's...it is a part of the cycle of getting us home improvement items--and it saves us LOTS of money.  I recently discovered there is an array of rebates out there--in particular for groceries. 

In fact, I have to credit the last four bottles of lotions I purchased for FREE (actually I made $2.50) to rebates...and nice bottles--Olay!  In fact, many rebates you may be able to make money off of!  The rebates will ask you to purchase $xx in products and they will reimburse you--this means BEFORE coupons!  Just to break this down for you.  Olay has had NUMEROUS rebates for buying their lotion and to top that--they have had lots of coupons. 

The first rebate I did with them, I did not have any coupons (My precouponing days..).  The rebate simply said, buy 3 of their products and they will give you $15 rebate.  I purchased 3 lotions for $13.50 + tax and sure enough I received back $15.  Take tax and stamp into account--I got 3 bottles of lotion for free and made $1!    Their next rebate was to simply buy a bottle of lotion and receive a rebate for the bottle.  I bought another lotion for $4.50 and used a $1 coupon which I doubled (spent $2.50 + stamp for rebate) and I received a rebate for $4.50.  (I made $1.50 again!).  So do you see how this works???

So there are many items for free or close to free with rebates--How do companies do it?

Well, they rely on you, the consumer, to be inspired to buy the product via the rebate and then count on you to FAIL in sending in the rebate.  You can fail two different ways in sending a rebate in 1.)  You forget to send it in or 2.)  You don't fill out the rebate correctly.  Here is what I do to succeed. 

When unloading my purchases I either immediately fill out the rebate OR I put it on the counter where I won't miss it.  I then give the completed rebate to Rob to "proofread" & mail.  Remember failure 2 is not filling it out correctly.  If you forget to circle your item --you will not get your rebate.  If it is a larger rebate, I will scan the receipt and form.  I will then also put on my calendar when I expect to receive my rebate.  (For example, if it is 6 weeks from now I will mark "Olay Rebate" 6 weeks out.)  If I don't receive it, then I can look at my scan and give a call.  (So far I have NEVER had to do this.) 

Finally, you can also receive money from class action suits.  (These suits usually come from false advertising.)  These lawsuits basically state if you bought such and such, fill out this form and you will receive money.  (Many forms are online, YEAH!)  Don't expect to see your money for a long time...remember this is a lawsuit settlement.  However, if you fill them out periodically as you discover them, you will eventually see some returns.  Some you don't even have to have proof for--but be sure to be honest.  I don't file a claim for products I know I don't buy. 

So let's get you started on some good rebates that are currently out there....Here are the forms.  (Actually there is only one online currently that I am aware of.  Boo-hoo--I will start hooking you up with other rebates soon!)

Rebates

SC Johnson.  Buy 3 products get $5 back  (Potential money maker!!!)  And you can do this rebate up to 3 times!  Good until June 30, 2010.  Products include OFF!  Ziploc, Pledge, Scrubbing Bubbles, Glade, Mr. Muscle, Duck, Windex, Shout, Nature's Souce, Fantastic, Drano, Oust, Raid, Baygon, Autan,AllOut, Saran, and Grand Prix.  (I am excited about this one...I am going to stock up on bug spray for the summer and freezer bags for my garden produce!)

http://www.scjohnson.com/Files/afc-rebate-form.pdf


Class Action Suits

Did you buy any Tyson Chicken between June 19, 2007 and April 30, 2009?  Even if you don't have proof--You can still file a claim and receive anywhere from $5 - $50.  See this link for more info and to fill out a claim.

http://www.pocketyourdollars.com/2010/04/tyson-chicken-settlement-receive-cash-or-a-coupon/

Did you purchase DanActive yogurt or Activia before April 23, 2010?  Receive $30 to $100.  No proof needed.

http://www.pocketyourdollars.com/2010/05/dannon-settlement-receive-a-cash-refund/

Did you purchase a lawnmower between 1994 - 2010?  You could get an extended warranty or up to $75 back.  See this link for details...

http://www.pocketyourdollars.com/2010/05/lawn-mower-settlement-receive-cash-andor-an-extended-warranty/

So in the future, I will let you know about cool rebates/class action suits as I come across them.  As you can see PYD lady does a lot of the work for me, but I sometimes find other ones.  (Not to mention your grocery store will often have ones.) 

Next Saving Money Blog will be the BIG ONE--that introduces you to coupons.  This is where you save BIG money!  Yippee!  Expect that one hopefully sometime next week.