Rewards Programs

Derek and I both grew up in coupon using households. And as much as it was embarrassing sometimes as a kid to have your mom argue a coupon at the register (which we’ve both experienced!), we do understand the sense of savings and what coupons can actually do to your bill. (Exhibit A: Crazy Coupon Lady)

While we still are big believers in clipping coupon from the Sunday paper or printing online, I’m always watching out for other free rewards programs that gives benefits in other money-saving ways. My theory: if you’re eating/drinking/using a product anyway and it has a code on the package, why not take the time to type it into the computer and start collecting the benefits?

Here are a few of the rewards programs I participate in that you might enjoy:

(image source: MyCokeRewards.com)

I’ve been a member of My Coke Rewards for a long time now. I usually enter the codes all year long and save them for the holiday season for gifts. Come November, I’ve cashed in my rewards many times for photo books and prints through Snapfish and Shutterfly. I’ve also treated myself to annual magazine subscriptions, like Cosmo and Real Simple, with my rewards!

(image source: KelloggsFamilyRewards.com)

This is a relatively new one, I believe. But since we’re big breakfast cereal eaters in my house, we tend to accumulate these pretty easily. I have yet to “cash in” my points for anything but I don’t mind collecting them to save up for some hopefully fun gifts!

(image source: Pampers)

This is of course one of the newer programs I’ve been personally involved in. Not only can you enter the points from the packages of diapers and wipes you use, but they also offer free points often online through their Twitter and Facebook feeds, usually around a holiday.

When I was newly pregnant and in the exploring phase, I found lots of Pampers points on message boards, like that of the Bargain Hunters board of BabyCenter.com. NOTE: Points on packages cannot be reused amongst friends, but those bonus codes given out are for anyone to enter, if you do so within a certain time frame. (some holiday specific ones expire)

While I haven’t actually “cashed in” my points for anything yet, since they’ve extended the program into 2014, I’m hoping the points I accumulate this next year will get me something good!

They also just recently introduced a new program encouraging you to enter rewards at least once a month to stock up on other free goodies from Shutterfly, including a calendar, address labels and announcements. As of this post, I’ve already been rewarded with the address labels which I used on my baby announcements!

For those starting out, see if any of these codes work for you: JOINNOW4REWARDS, GTGWELCOME10PTS, WELCOME2VILLAGE

(image source: Huggies)

I guess when a company sees something being successful, they also want to join in. Huggies now offers their own rewards program so you can get points for the products you buy. Until we know which diaper brand works better on our little one, we’re going to try all brands and therefore all rewards programs! I haven’t yet turned in any of my points, but once again was already rewarded with a free item – a photo book, that I made this past Father’s Day for my daddy!

Looking for more info on savings? Check out my About Section, which includes a few coupon links.