Get cash back when you shop for groceries

Already a coupon clipper but want to save even more? Or maybe you hate to deal with coupons? Either way, you’ll want to check out SavingStar. It’s a great way to shop at grocery and drug stores and receive cash back. No coupon clipping, no printing. What’s the catch? As far as we can tell, there isn’t one. Here’s how the site works.

Simply go to the SavingStar site. You’ll be asked to enter your zip code for a list of participating grocery and drug stores near you. Once you have identified the ones where you like to shop, you can create an account using your email address. Then, enter the numbers of your store loyalty cards, so be sure to have them handy.

Here’s how you start getting cash back from SavingStar. While you’re on the site, check out SavingStar’s e-coupons, which can be automatically loaded to your store loyalty cards. These aren’t traditional coupons, per se, for dollars or cents off. Instead, they are products for which SavingStar pays you the value of its “coupon” for buying. Some current products include Cheerios, Fiber One bars, Windex, Huggies, and Dry Idea. If you see products you like, just click on them, and they are linked to your loyalty card. Now go shopping as usual.

To ensure you get credit for your purchases, be sure to swipe or scan your loyalty card once you get to the checkout counter. When you buy the items you checked on SavingStar, money is deposited into your account within 30 days. (Just to be clear: you don’t get any discount at the time of purchase.) Once you reach $5, you can choose to receive a payment to your checking account, Paypal account or by getting an Amazon gift card.

This will be exciting news for some readers: Soon, you’ll be able to use Savingstar at several additional stores, including Walmart, Target, Kmart, Dollar General and Walgreens. So now is a perfect time to sign up and get ready.

SavingStar has an incentive program called One or Many, which offers payouts at higher amounts if you stock up on certain products over time, typically a month (during one shopping trip or many and at multiple locations). When you meet a specific dollar amount (fairly easy to reach based on the chosen product’s price), you usually earn $5 in your SavingStar account.

LOTC Tip: Because SavingStar isn’t a typical “e-coupon,” you can use your traditional paper coupons at checkout for extra savings. Coupon stacking… Ka-ching!