Frugal Column September 25

Mail-in-rebates can be one way to help drive the price down on a product. But don’t forget to send in the form, if you don’t that good deal becomes a bad deal. Consumer Reports states that about half of consumers don’t redeem their rebates either they forgot or just say it is too complicated. Here are some hints on how to make sure you get your rebate. You do need to read exactly what they want on the rebate form. Focus on the details. Many forms say a P.O. box will not work, see if anything needs to be circled on the receipt, does the envelope need to be a certain size or addressed by hand, what additional receipts and UPCs do you need to include. Always check when the rebate expires. You will be surprised that some companies only give you seven days. The best way to ensure that your rebate arrives before the expiration date is to send it in on the day you purchase the product. I keep a box of envelopes and stamps in my car so I can fill out the form right away. It also saves me from getting mad at myself because I have lost a receipt. Would it be beneficial to make copies of your rebates? To protect you against lost mail or to dispute a rejected rebate, make a copy of all submission materials including the stamped envelope, completed forms, UPC code and rebate center contact information. I don’t do this for small rebates but the rebates $100 or over, I do. You will see many rebates now for cellular phones, televisions that can produce large amount of savings. Write yourself a reminder for the expected arrival date of your rebate so you’ll know to keep an eye out for it. Rebate checks often come in envelopes that look a lot like junk mail, so be sure to sort your incoming mail carefully. Many stores like Staples and Sears are letting you submit your rebates online. This reduced the chance of human error and eliminating your postage cost.

Receive a free Cooking Light magazine reusable shopping tote, when you purchase $7 or more on any combination of the following products: Birds Eye Steamfresh Chef’s Favorites, Eggland’s Best Eggs, or Palmolive Anti-Bacterial dish soap. http://www.cookinglight.com/marketplace/insidescoop-00400000032103/

Receive a free Real Simple brush set (ARV $15 value), when you purchase two select Cover Girl products http://www.realsimple.com/real-simple-rewards/offerings-covergirl/

Receive up to $18 mail in rebate, when you purchase any Prevacid 24HR 28ct product. http://www.prevacid24hr.com/pdfs/CPNJ11_I0001_PREV_online_Rebate_Form.pdf

Receive up to $10 mail in rebate, when you purchase a package of Senokot Tablets 50s/100s or Senokot-S Tablets 30s/60s. http://www.senokot.com/html/reb0409/sen_reb0409.pdf

Receive free 29" x 58" Zestfully Clean Towel, when you purchase Zest Bar packs or Zest Body Washes. Include $5 check or money for shipping and handling. http://www.zest.com//pdf/zestTowelCoupon.pdf

Receive a $10 Gift Card, when you purchase two qualifying baby products (select Pampers, Dreft, and Similac products) in the same transaction at Sam’s Club. http://www5.samsclub.com/OMP/02_PNG_21607_SeptBabyGC.aspx

Receive up to $12.99 mail in rebate, when you purchase World’s Best Cat Litter (7 or 8 lb. bag). http://www.worldsbestcatlitter.com/rebate/

Receive a $20 mail in rebate when you purchase $50 or more of any Dummies Product. http://media.wiley.com/assets/5016/74/September_2011_Rebate_Form.pdf

Receive a $10 rebate, when you purchase one Men’s Rogaine Unscented Topical Foam. http://www.rogaine.com/sites/default/files/pdf/COCOON61411FINALROGREFUNDFORM.pdf

Receive a $10 rebate when you purchase $50 worth of any Venus, Olay, Secret, CoverGirl, Clairol, Pantene, Safeguard, and/or Ivory products from 9/1/11 to 10/31/11. http://www.pgpinkrebate.com/pink_rebate.pdf

Receive a $15 rebate, when you purchase Olay Pro-X Clear Acne Protocol http://www.olay.com/en-us/images/offers/rebate/september122011/proxclear/15_clubolay.pdf

Receive up to $10 mail in rebate, when you purchase 3 boxes, get $5; purchase 4 boxes, get $7; or purchase 5 boxes, get $10 all purchases need to be made at Sam’s club and you will receive a Sam’s club gift card in the mail. http://www.barberfoods.com/Promotions/~/media/Files/Promotions/BarberFoodsOfficialRules.ashx

Receive a Lunch Bag, when you purchase any required number of “Original” Carl Buddig, Deli Cuts Thin-Sliced Meats, or Buddig Fix Quix products. Include $2 for shipping and handling per lunch bag http://www.buddig.com/downloads/lunchbag_offer.pdf

Receive a $10 Darden gift card, when you redeem 20 UPCs from Musselman's Apple Sauce Products. http://musselmans.com/news/forms/darden.aspx

Receive a $5 mail in rebate, when you purchase one Wholly Guacamole product and Disney’s The Lion King Blu-ray Combo Pack or DVD http://eatwholly.com/the-lion-king

Receive a $10 pre-paid rewards MasterCard, when you purchase 10 participating Kellogg’s products http://www2.kelloggs.com/AARP/rewards/FIMSingle.pdf

Receive a Philips Sonicare $5 when you purchase Sonicare ProResults or e-Series brush heads (2 single-packs or 1 multi-pack) and $10 mail in rebate when you purchase a Sonicare FlexCare, HealthyWhite, Elite, or Essence. http://www.ddpks.com/docs/sonicare_rebate_flyer.pdf

Receive a complimentary month of flea and tick control, when you purchase 6 doses of Frontline Plus or Top Spot from your veterinarian http://frontline.us.merial.com/web_coupon.pdf

Receive a $2 mail in rebate, when you purchase any Finesse product http://www.finessehaircare.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/FinesseRebateForm.pdf

Receive a $7.50 mail in rebate, when you purchase Dr. Scholl's Custom Fit Orthotic Inserts http://a248.e.akamai.net/7/248/430/20101223222638/www.footmapping.com/img/print.rebate-form-thumb.jpg

Purchase any STAYFREE product from September 15 to November 30, 2011 and receive a free Fashionista Fix-it Kit just send your original receipt, name, e-mail and return to MC Stayfree GWP Offer, P.O. Box 131, Lyndhurst, NJ 07071 While supplies last.

Get a $10 Amazon Gift Card when you buy one or a combination of Vitamin Water, Life Savers 85 count mints, or L’Oreal Revitalift Clinical Repair Laser Corrector (minimum $10 purchase) Mail your original receipts, including your name and address to “Primetime Picks”, P.O. Box 4938, New York, NY 10185. Must circle purchase price, date and must be received by October 17,2011.

Purchase two Olay or Covergirl products and receive their popular makeup case for free. Mail your receipt along with your name and mailing address to Good Housekeeping/Beauty Gift, 300 West 57th Street, 27th floor, New York, NY 10019. Purchase receipt must be from August 14-September 30, 2011 and postmarked by September 30, 2011.

Receive a $10 Walmart gift card, when you purchase a bottle of Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure at Walmart. To receive this offer, mail your Walmart receipt, your name, address, phone number and email address to:

SHAPE - Sally Hansen GWP PO Box 1919, Murray Hill Station New York, NY 10156

Receive $10 mail in rebate, when you purchase $30 worth of eligible Neutrogena Facial Moisturizers, Facial Treatments and/or Facial Cleansing products http://www.neutrogena.com/images/set_store/en_us/local/rebate/Rebate_Form.pdf

Visit the Cottonelle Facebook page every day until October 31, 2011 for a chance to instantly win a Cottonelle Brand Roll Cover. https://www.facebook.com/cottonelle?sk=wall

Hasbro Great Games Trade-In encourages you to recycle your board games. They will send you a pre-paid shipping label for you to pack up your games that may be missing pieces or not being used. http://www.hasbro.com/games/en_US/familygamenight_promo.cfm?cid=rec_fgn_ggt_090111_054

Purchase a pair of Carhartt shorts or pants and get a free graphic t-shirt. http://view.exacttarget.com/?j=fe56157370640c757d1c&m=feee117773620d&ls=fdf717707c60057c71167972&l=fe9815767461047973&s=fe1b177873600d7b731373&jb=ffcf14&ju=fe3b15737566047c751277&et_cid=13508888&et_rid=386496673&linkid=View+as+a+Web+Page&r=0

Ways to give without it costing you any money just a little bit of time.

Like P & G on their facebook page and they will donate 10 cents to the National Breast Cancer Foundation. http://www.facebook.com/PGUnitedWeBeautify

Get a $1 off coupon for got2b hair product by creating an e-cupcake and they will donate $1 to CancerCare. http://www.facebook.com/got2b?sk=app_169900553084673

Like Bissell on their facebook page and they will donate 50 cents to Petfinder Foundation. https://www.facebook.com/bissell?v=app_205718659467534

Like Hanes on their facebook page and they will donate one pair of socks to a family in need. https://www.facebook.com/nononsense?sk=app_190322544333196

Decorate your porch with a carved pumpkin that supports your favorite charity. Better Homes and Gardens have custom-designed stencils for The Humane Society, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Susan G. Komen, Rebuilding Together, and March of Dimes and they are free. For every stencil you download, Better Homes and Garden will donate $2. http://www.bhg.com/bhg/file.jsp?item=/marketing/registration/Charity_Pumpkin_Stencils/bhg_splash_charitypumpkinstencils&temp=yes&ordersrc=rdbhg1102365

Download 32 page ecookbook Healthy for Life and Better Homes and Garden will donate $1 to Susan G. Komen for the Cure. www.BHG.com/Komen