Guest Post - K.C. on Maximizing Rebate Offers

My wife K.C. offered to write a guest post yesterday after she read all of my rebate posts from the other day.  Hey, less work for me.  Enjoy, and hopefully save a few bucks in the process.

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Hi There! it's Mrs. Troutrageous! a.k.a. The Diaper Bag Wrangler. This post is about 2 things: shopping and saving money- so guys, feel free to forward this to your ladies if you don't give a crap about the shopping part, but want to reinforce the "saving money" part.

I saw Mike posting all the rebates last night and I offered to write a guest post about maximizing your discounts when online shopping.  I  use 2 "cash back" websites - Ebates and Shop at Home. Essentially you join for free, use the sites to search for current online cash back rebates and/or coupons. Once you decide where to shop, you click on the link and are redirected to the retailer. When you make a purchase a % cash back rebate is deposited into your account and a check is sent to you either quarterly or when you reach a specific balance. It is really that easy!

Right now (at the time of this post) the cash back percentages for 2 major online fishing retailers are:

Cabela's:
Shop at Home - 3%
Ebates- 2%

Bass Pro Shops:
Shop at Home - 4.5%
Ebates - 4.5%

The percentage cash back can vary day to day/week to week, sometimes there are double cash back days, and not all online retailers participate, but it is FREE MONEY. There are also sometimes coupon codes for free shipping or exclusive promotions. I belong to both sites because a) sometimes an online retailer is offered through say Ebates, but not ShopatHome and b) the % cash back might vary between Ebates and ShopatHome.

Here are some examples of not only (1) getting the manufacturers rebates but also the (2) cash back rebates....I call it a "double dip". Have a Rewards card for Cabela's or Bass Pro? You, my friend have hit the "trifecta" (3). I am always intent on getting the best deal, so I put a little extra effort into not only checking which cash back site has the higher % cash back for a specific retail website, but which site has a the better retail price and/or shipping deal.

Mojo Rebate - Free Swag with Rod Purchase
http://www.troutrageous.com/2011/02/free-stuff-st-croix-mojo-bass-cap-shirt.html

Buy this rod at BassPro.com:

You can get this:
1. the mail-in Mojo Swag rebate from the manufacturer.
2. 4.5% cash back from either Ebates or Shop at Home (earn $4.50 back for a $100 rod)
3. Have a Bass Pro Outdoor Rewards Card? You will earn points on your purchase as well.


Abu Garcia - Rebate / Swag with Rod and Reel Purchase
http://www.troutrageous.com/2011/02/free-stuff-abu-garcia-2011-mail-in.html

Buy this Rod and Reel at BassPro.com:

You can get this:
1. the mail-in $25 cash back rebate AND the Swag rebate from the manufacturer.
2. 4.5% cash back from either Ebates or Shopat Home (earn $12.15 back for a $269.98 product total)
3. Have a Bass Pro Outdoor Rewards Card? You will earn points on your purchase as well.


My largest cash back conquest occurred when I recently booked our family trip to Walt Disney World. You can read about it HERE:
http://diaperbagwrangler.blogspot.com/2011/02/how-i-saved-483-on-my-walt-disney-world.html