My Top 4 Cash Back Apps

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As a homeschooling mom of 4 and a lifelong cheapskate, I love the chance to make some money as long as it requires little to no extra work added to my busy routine. If I can make a little cash back on some apps in 5 minutes or less of effort, then sign me up! So, I put together a little post about my top 4 cash back apps for grocery and restaurants.

I’ll elaborate.

Here is my list of my current top 4 favorite cash back apps (I’ve tried a bunch). Disclosure:If you use my referral links for each of these, I will get some money back if you sign up through my link. This costs you nothing and on a few of these, you earn some points as well from using a referral link…thanks in advance!

  1. Fetch Rewards
  2. Dosh
  3. Shopkick
  4. Ibotta

Fetch Rewards

Fetch Rewards gives you points for scanning your grocery receipts. They have a list you go through when you first sign up of their partner products. Click them all. Then, when you go grocery shopping, you will scan your receipt. If you happened to buy any products on the partner list (like Goldfish, Gatorade, etc) then you earn extra points. If not, you always get a minimum of 25 points. Even if you just run in Dollar General and buy a pack of gum, it’s 25 points.. You can cash out at 5000 points.They have a large selection of $5 giftcards or you can keep scanning until if you want to get larger denominations. This might not sound like much money. But, who cares if it takes forever to get there! If takes me less than 2 minutes to scan my receipts then it’s not like I’m putting in much effort. Between Costco, Wal-Mart, Aldi, Kroger (we go through lots of food), I scan every time and even if I don’t purchase any partner products, I still manage to get about 250 points per month, usually more. In less than 6 months, I’ve received $20 cash back in the form of Amazon giftcards! This is FREE money! Use my referral code, AJ1FF, during signup and you’ll get 2,000 Fetch Points ($2.00 in points!) just for starting. Download it free here or enter AJ1FF.

Dosh

dosh cash back app
You can see it in a list or pull up the map.

This one is fairly new to me, but I already love it. You link your credit card, and then simply shop. If you use your card at a restaurant or store that is on their list, you automatically get rewarded (usually between 3%-5% cash back) as soon as your credit card transaction is complete. It requires no effort on your part at all—nothing to scan, no code to use! I have earned money back at Pizza Hut, Firehouse Subs, Dunkin Donuts, Smashburger, and buying a pair of shoes online at Journeys! You can search by city and choose to see a list or a map of locations. It truly couldn’t be easier. When you hit $25, you can cash out via Paypal or Venmo. Check out the app and start making some easy money! This helps me justify my current unsweet tea obsession at DD:/

Ibotta

This was the very first grocery cash back app I ever used. I still like it, but it is very much hit or miss and as far as offers go and requires a little bit more work than the others. You can pick the store where you are going, click the offers you are interested in, and then when you purchase them, you will upload your receipt. Most of the time, the offers are for popular brand names. Sometimes, however, they have “any brands”. For example, it will list “any brand of milk” and you can get between .10 and .50. The name brand offers are always worth more. You can cash out via paypal, venmo, or pick a giftcard once you hit $20. I have earned $295 in 2 years and all I did was click some offers and scan my receipts. I recently took a new mom in our church some diapers and I made $3 back because I bought Pampers (they were on sale and I used a coupon so after Ibotta, each pack cost me less than $4.50). All of the main stores are on the app. Here are some current offers for Kroger.

Ibotta cash back
Click the plus sign for the offers you want to redeem. For Kroger, you just enter your card number and click “use card” and it will automatically scan your receipts.
ibotta cash back
These any offers are applicable to any brand you want. I can easily make $3-4 at Aldi when they have lots of any offers available. It can be hit or miss at times.

And, here is proof that you can make some money with a little effort and consistency! I will say that Ibotta goes through times where it is awesome and times where it is incredibly lackluster. But, it is still free money and I feel like it’s worth it. If you like to earn free money, sign up here or enter qbjcqlg.

ibotta cash back
I just cashed out so I’ve got $1.50 towards my next pay out.

Shopkick

This cash back app is a little different and requires the most effort. But, it is also the easiest and quickest of them all to hit the threshold for cashing out which is why its on my top 4 cash back apps list versus some others. The app uses your location to determine which stores are closest to you. It uses your location and bluetooth to know you are in the store. When you enter a store, you will open up the app. Sometimes you earn “kicks” just from walking in the store. Then, the app will list the products that will earn you kicks. Find one of the products listed for that store and click on the its picture in the app. Scan the product’s barcode in the window that pops up in the app. If it matches, the app will chime and you will earn the kicks. This sounds like a lot of work and if you’re my husband you might find it annoying, but if I’m in Wal-mart shopping in the health and beauty aisle and there are offerings there, then I might as well scan. Kicks per product range from 10-50. Wal-mart almost always as 800+ scans available and you only need 1250 kicks for a $5 giftcard! That’s two trips to Wal-Mart. I just cashed out for $25 Paypal card. If you choose to redeem for Target, you get a barcode that you can scan in the store! It’s truly so easy and free money. Sign up here and we’ll both get 250 kicks or enter FUN696629.

I hope you enjoyed my top 4 cash back apps list and it helps you to start earning some easy passive money back on spending you are already doing!

Making An Essentials Binder for CC

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This will be our fourth year of CC’s Essentials class, two as participants and two with me tutoring. I have finally figured out my preferred way to organize my Classical Conversations Essentials binder. Exciting stuff, I know, but once it’s done, it feels so good to be organized! Or maybe I’m just weird!

I’ll elaborate…

First, you need few supplies to put your Classical Conversations Essentials Parent and student binders together. Amazon has almost all of what you need.

Supplies:

  • 2 Binders–I prefer these from Case It because they are sturdy and you’ll be in Essentials for 3 years (or 11 if you’re me:/ and you want it to last)
  • 24 tab dividers—get 2 sets
  • 3 mil laminating pouches (unless you have Office Depot or another place laminate these for you)
  • 1 pack of dividers with 5 tabs (you’ll only use 4)
  • copies from the Gear section of the EEL guide (make single sided copies of pgs. 400-433; pg. 396; pg 450 then make double sided copies of pgs 435/436; 437/438; and 61/62)
  • Extra copies of the blank Charts A, C, E, F, H, I and L
  • 3 hole punch
  • shop ticket holders (you only need about 7, so maybe try to split these with someone else), you can also find these at Dollar Tree

Okay, so you’re probably thinking that this seems overly complicated. It really isn’t and remember that this is a one and done kind of thing! You get these binders made and you’re good for 3 (or more years!) So, let’s get started with the parent essentials binder!

Parent Essentials Binder

Your EEL guide has four sections. You will use one of the regular tab dividers for each of these sections. The first is the Expedition. This is important info and helps you understand what you’re about to learn and study, so definitely read it at least once.

The second section is called the Itinerary. This is your where your weekly lessons are. You’ll want to read each lesson before class so you have an idea of what your tutor is talking about. Well, in theory, it would be helpful. Did I always do it my first year? It depended on the week! This is where you will put the 24 tab dividers to separate the weeks to make them easy to find.

The third section is called the Gear. This contains the grammar charts, weekly sentences, task sheet, etc. This is the section that you will photocopy for your student’s binder (instructions above on which pages to copy)

The final section is called the Excursion. This has spelling lists and other things that honestly, I’ve never used. We do a different spelling curriculum so I rarely access this section.

Here is what it looks like when its all complete.

Student Essentials Binder

For the student binder, laminate all those copies you made (or you could use page protectors…they just stick out and cover the numbered dividers which bother me, but you do you!) Then, cut the excess lamination away so the pages fit within the dividers instead of blocking the numbers (this is why I don’t like page protectors, they cover up the numbers of your dividers). Then, hole punch them. At the top of each chart, it will tell you which week that chart is used. Example, Chart A and Chart B are used in week 1. So, put your 24 dividers in the binder. Insert Charts A and B (the filled in one and blank one) behind the #1 divider. Repeat. Not all weeks will have charts.

Chart A is the most important chart that first year students will memorize.

In the front of the binder, place the abbreviation sheet, weekly sentences, example analytical task sheet, and the blank analytical task sheet (these are the sheets you made double sided copies of). Your student will want to have easy access to these.

CC Essentials student binder
I put the abbreviation page first because it takes the students a little while to memorize them and its here for easy access.
  • student essentials binder
    It’s so easy to change out the sheet and it wipes off so clean. You need these!

Shop ticket holders are my best discovery yet for Essentials! Dry erase markers wipe away clean and leave NO trace! They’re infinitely better than writing on pages that have been laminated or on page protectors! I laminate the pages for the student’s binder to make them last for 3 years, not so my student can write on them. I make extra copies of blank charts A, C, E, F, H, I and L and keep them in shop ticket holders permanently for them to pull out and copy! This way, nothing has to be removed from their binder for it to get lost or forgotten. This makes copying charts so easy! You can even use it for the analytical task sheet starting week 3!

I hope this makes sense and helps you put together your Classical Conversations Essentials binder. Essentials can seem overwhelming those first few weeks, and being organized always helps me make sense of things better or at least stress out a little less! Hang in there those first few weeks! After week 3, the pace slows down and it gets manageable and I daresay even fun!

Leave a comment and let me know if you have any questions or other ideas.

Caesar Creek Kid Friendly Hiking Trail

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Here is proof that I love my kids. I’ve been going hiking. And, I actually do enjoy it. Mostly.

I’ll elaborate…

This last Saturday, we drove about 35 minutes away to Caesar Creek State Park to do the Horseshoe Falls Trail.  I estimate that we did a little over 2.5 miles.  When you get close to the falls, there is a big creek bed and the kids had a blast walking on the rocks, getting their feet wet in the creek, and finding lots of rocks with fossils on them.  The falls are only about 3 feet high, but sound awesome and look pretty.  Then, just a little further on the trail is a suspension bridge that they kids loved jumping on and making it sway back and forth.  You can walk along the creek bed in the water up to the bridge or use the trail.  The paths are marked well with trail markers and maps or you can print a map from this link for the more detailed trail map and then a larger view here.

To get there from Cedarville, we took 42 North, turned left at the first light in Waynesville, then right on Clarksville, left on Oregonia, and then left into the Wellman Camping area.  We should have turned left at the first parking area, but we missed it so we drove down to the boat ramp area which has a huge parking lot.  On the opposite side of the boat ramp, there is the entrance to the trail starting at F.  It probably added about a third of a mile to our hike.  We began at F then went to E, G, B, A where we caught the blue trail and went down to the swinging bridge.  On the way back, we circled around on the red trail from E1-C for something different and had gorgeous views of the lake.  We definitely want to go back and do some different trails and see the Pioneer Village (not sure what this is but sounds nerdy/fun).

Hooray for making memories. I remember nothing before high school, so maybe they won’t be like me and might remember that their Dad and I weren’t lame and tried to do fun things. Maybe. Fingers Crossed. If not, this blog is my proof:/

suspension bridge
The suspension bridge near Horseshoe Falls.

Birmingham on the Cheap with Kids

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Things to do in Birmingham, AL with kids on the cheap.

I’ll elaborate…

One of my very favorite things to do is to explore a new city.  I like to do all the touristy stuff and see things that maybe aren’t as popular or well known.  And, with a family of 6, I like to keep it fairly cheap!  We stopped in Birmingham for 2 nights on our way to Destin this year.

On our way down, we stopped in Huntsville, AL to go to the US Space and Rocket Center. I have to say, it was pretty awesome. This is where the super smart people in the 1960’s figured out how to use rockets to propel us into space. The kids had a blast riding in the simulator, doing the Mars climbing wall, and riding the outdoor rides which are all included with admission. If you have a local science center membership, you can get in free! Saved us $100!

This was incredible to see in person.
Mars Climbing wall…you had to be wearing close toed shoes to climb.

The next day, we went to see the Vulcan Statue which is the largest cast iron statue in the world and overlooks the city on a small mountain. There is a small museum that tells the history of Birmingham. They have a fun little scavenger hunt for kids to do of things to find in the museum. Then, you can take an elevator about 4 stories up to walk around the base of the statue and see amazing views of the city. This cost us about $26 for all of us and was worth it for the view alone.

Southern Flight Museum fun!

Then, we drove over to The Southern Flight Museum, mainly because we could get in free with our science center membership card.  It was pretty interesting and had lots of planes, helicopters, engines, and flight simulators.  The kids had a good time and I’d say it was worth it to do once. 

Next, we went downtown to the McWane Science Center.  Again, we got in free.  This place was huge!  It had 4 floors of exhibits to explore and a pretty good food court.  We spent about 3 hours here. 

Then, to end the day, we wanted to go to the park that commemorates some of the civil rights history of Birmingham. Its called Kelly Ingram Park and it is right across the street from the 16th Street Baptist Church where 4 girls were killed in a KKK bombing in 1963. We had learned about this at the Civil Right Institute in Atlanta so it was interesting to see it in person. The park also had many statues depicting some of the horrors that occurred during that era.

The next day, we stopped in Selma, AL to see the bridge where the march to Montgomery began and to learn about the first attempt to march called Bloody Sunday. The National Park System has 2 interpretive centers to visit to learn about what happened. One is in Selma and depicts the violence towards the peaceful protesters from the police. It was hard to see some of the pictures and how awful people could treat other human beings. The other interpretive center is halfway to Montgomery and teaches about the Voting Rights Act.

All, in all, we learned a lot and enjoyed seeing new things before our week at the beach began!

Here’s where I get really excited about our trip though. We stayed at a Hyatt Place in Hoover, AL near the Galleria. We stayed for FREE with points that I transferred from my Chase Sapphire Preferred Card to my Hyatt account. This took 1 minute of my time to do! It’s that easy. The hotel would have cost us $300 after taxes for 2 nights. Instead, I used the equivalent of $100 worth of points for 2 nights! ****I saved $200***You must have a sapphire level card from Chase to transfer to their travel partners. Here is my referral link if you’re interested in the Chase Sapphire Preferred (Disclosure: I get 15,000 points per referral up to 5 referrals per year). I’ll briefly mention that I just booked flights to Denver for a trip in September on Southwest using Chase points that I transferred (saved $150). And, I transferred points to Hyatt to cover the 5 nights at our hotel (saved $155). This makes me so happy! 🤗🤗