Making Money from Everyday Items that You Throw Away

Did you know that items and products that you purchase every week when you shop can make you some extra money? We all go grocery shopping once a week and when we use those products, we think nothing of throwing the packaging into our trash bins. Part or all of that package can make you some extra money. How you say? Well, manufacturers of these products occasionally put rebate forms in our Sunday papers, on the package itself, or on tear off pads near the products that you purchase. They all have expiration dates, but if you read the fine print on the rebate forms-save the part of the package that the rebate asks for with the receipt showing that you purchased it-you can mail this into a rebate center and receive checks back in about 6 to 8 weeks. This seems like a long time to receive a check from a rebate center, but this is the normal waiting period for a rebate check. The best rebate forms that I have found are from Beer and Wine as well a liquor purchases. Most of these require just the upc code cut from the package or soaked off the bottles along with the receipt showing the item and the amount of the purchase price circled.

There are also some good holiday rebates that are available right now for this year. Turkeys and all the trimmings purchases can reap you a check for about $15.00 which would be a great rebate for a FREE turkey dinner -when you receive the rebate check back in the mail. Games, videos, DVD's and other items of this nature have rebate forms for up to the price of the DVD in the form of rebate checks. Even your prescriptions can earn you some good rebate checks-these rebate forms can be printed right off your computer. Most of the websites for any type of medication will have some type of rebate form that you can print and mail in for a refund on your prescription costs.

I know, myself, because I send a considerable amount of rebate forms to the rebate centers each year, that you can amass a modest income or supplement your income with rebate checks. It will not make you rich, but, it is like getting a product FREE when you receive the check in the mail.
I like to deposit these into a "special" rebate check account and use the extra savings for a special one time shopping trip. I have also used these rebate checks for vacation purchases and Holiday Shopping. If you send in several rebate forms during the course of a month over a years time, you can completely pay for all of your holiday shopping at the end of the year.

Tips You May Want To Remember When Sending In A Rebate Form:

If you are shopping and plan on purchasing multiple items for several rebate forms, ask the clerk to re-print the receipt for you. Usually the rebate forms ask you to send the original store dated cash register receipt with the product price circled on the receipt. If you purchased different products for different rebates, you will only be able to send that receipt with (1) of your rebate forms. So ask for a re-print from the cashier.

Another tip: Purchase items for each rebate that you intend to mail in-as a separate order. You can separate your items out from your regular shopping purchases and have the cashier ring them up as separate orders. This way, you will have a receipt for each rebate form that you are mailing in. It will be the original receipt and you will not have to ask for a re-print of your receipt from the cashier.

Make sure that you have all the elements required to mail in the rebate. This means, all of the parts of the package that they are asking for, the form filled out properly and the receipt with purchase price circled. This is an important factor when you are mailing in rebate forms.

Make sure that the form has not expired and give yourself plenty of time to purchase the items and mail in the rebate form before it expires. Each form has an expiration date or cut off date as to when it needs to be post marked by.

A good plan is to place your rebate forms into a photo album that has multiple pages. Arrange them by month and expiration date. As you purchase the items for the rebate, place the correct items with the rebate form and use a highlighter to highlight the expiration date of the rebate form. This is a great way to keep the receipts, the parts of the package you need to mail in and the rebate form together. I usually have the envelope addressed and ready to fill with proper postage right beside the rebate form that I am working on.

I recently got my husband involved in this as well. He was un-aware that items he was throwing into the trash every week could make use a few dollars in the form of rebates. Well, I quickly clued him in and showed him copies of rebate checks that I had received in the mail--he was hooked, so now I have him trained to save packages from products that we purchase-including his cases of oil he buys for our vehicles. I usually sit down once a week and clip or cut out the part of the package that I need for the rebate/rebates that I have in my folder.

Good luck with this and as I always say-happy form hunting and rebating!!!