Do you have reward or dollar points here and there?
Maybe for Sephora, Ulta, Bath and Body Works, or Kohl's? Maybe from the company that services your vehicle? Maybe for credit card purchases? Perhaps for a site you ordered from just once or twice and never thought of again?
If you think you might, or maybe even if you don't, take a few minutes today and look.
With some stores, your points do not expire. With others, they are good for maybe a year, and some less than that.
I noticed that Philosophy, a favorite site for shower gel and lotions, had a sale recently. Being a little low on one of my favorite scents, I decided to go look. Much to my surprise, I found I had a reward worth $20 off a purchase and only a couple
months left to use it. How easily I might have forgotten it.
Spurred on, I looked at other sites from which I occasionally order. To my chagrin, I missed out on almost 200 points on a very
nice skincare site.
Sometimes Amazon sends me a five-dollar credit because I have ordered some particular book on Kindle. Usually, they only give me one week to use it. I have missed a couple of good opportunities because after seeing the offer, I forgot to go back and take
advantage.
Now I store those email messages in a digital folder named "Store Rewards," mark them as unread, and flag them (with a red flag) as well.
Maybe your credit card(s) give you money back
or points that can be redeemed for travel. A friend of mine never realized she had this until I mentioned it one day. When she checked, she had enough points for a one-way airline ticket!
Another friend of mine saves up her rewards until before Christmas and then uses them for Christmas shopping or an extravagant holiday meal.
After missing out on
those 200 points from one site and nearly missing out on the $20 credit from the other, I did my usual thing and started a spreadsheet. I noted the name of the store/web site, how many points I have, their expiration date, and any other notes regarding the rewards and/or using those points.
I then added a recurring "check rewards folder notation" to my digital calendar, so a reminder pops up every month on the 15th and I remember to look at my digital rewards spreadsheet as well as my digital folder.
So now, or when you have a few minutes, sit down and check your favorite shopping sites and credit cards to see if you have some good rewards. It does not take long.
Make a list of any rewards you can or want to use, and be sure to take advantage before they expire. Maybe you too will find something you had forgotten about. I hope you get some nice surprises.
