Hi there! My name is Chelsea and I’ve been around the blog behind the scenes as Steph’s virtual assistant for over two years. My husband, Nate, and I have been married for 11 years in June, have a 4-year-old bio daughter named Everly, and are in the process of adopting a teenager through the foster care system. S is 16 in July and we hope to finalize the adoption over the summer. Steph and Eddie have been our biggest cheerleaders and an incredible resource as we venture down this path that the Giese family has been on for over a decade.

I met Steph through our old church and the connection was instant. I’m sure this is what draws so many of you to Steph, but her thoughtful approach to tricky topics, boldness to stand up for what is right, and willingness to change her beliefs when she learns something new are qualities I admire in a friend. As Steph’s virtual assistant, part of my job is to read through old posts and create graphics for her blog entries from the early days of her writing. It’s wild to see how her views (and kids!) have changed over the years.

While working through older posts, I came across a $20 couponing challenge Steph created for herself during the Extreme Couponing era from the TLC series. I recently started couponing and asked Steph if I could share what I’ve learned with you all. I’m a little bit obsessed. My husband says that it’s become a personality trait and I’m just going to own it. I really can’t get over the fact that I am getting brand-name stuff for FREE and even making money by buying things my family needs. It’s kind of insane when you think about it. I’m starting a series for my favorite apps and stores and I’m starting today off with Shopkick because one of the deals available right now is just TOO GOOD. I talk in CAPS LOCK a lot when it comes to saving money. Sorry, can’t help it.

Shopkick is a free app. You earn points four ways with the app and those points turn into gift cards. You have a huge selection of options for gift cards but I always pick Paypal. I want that money right back in my bank account where it belongs, thank you very much.

1 point =.$004. 250 points=$1.00. That’s helpful to keep in mind as you shop so you can work towards a payout amount. For Paypal, you need 2,550 points to cash out, which is $10. The app also has a $25 Paypal cashout which is 6,300 kicks.

You can earn points in 4 ways:

1. Walk-in Kicks: Turn your Bluetooth on for the app during setup. Some stores offer walk-in kicks. When you enter the store, you can automatically get 10 to 100 kicks when the app is open for that store. Not every store has this option. Target, Walmart, CVS, Walmart, Carters, and Marshall’s are some of the stores that do and usually offer the walk-in points around one time per week so you can’t walk in and out of the store over and over again to rack up points.
2. Scan Kicks: This is one of my favorite options. You don’t have to buy anything, you simply scan the items they have on the app that day. Today at Target, I scanned Clorox for 40 points, Twix for 25 kick, People magazine for 30, Us Weekly for 20, Magnolia magazine for 15, Infuse cleaning products for 25, and a bunch of Grove Collaborative products it had for 20 kicks each. Some days (like today), I’ll scan to reach a cash-out amount. I earned 6,000 points through something I bought (keep reading for the details!) and needed 300 more kicks to meet the $25 Paypal cash out threshold. Other times, I’ll scan enough points to make up for what a coupon didn’t cover on another deal so I can say I didn’t spend any money on it. A few weeks back I got an amazing deal on 9 Elements bathroom spray and I had to pay $.77 out of pocket. Even though the deal wasn’t with Shopkick, I scanned enough things to add $.77 cents in points to my Shopkick account so I could call the purchase a wash.
3. Receipt Kicks: Shopkick offers points for buying products listed on the app for that particular store. Some of the current offers at Target right now on the app are 200 ($.80) kicks on Heinz Ketchup, 250 ($1) kicks on fresh blueberries (any brand), 250 kicks ($1) on Carter’s Baby clothes, and 450 ($1.80) kicks on Tidy Cats. Where the real magic is though, is in the bundles. For buying specific sets of items, you get bonus kicks which often make the products totally free or even a moneymaker (MM)! Check out the example below for an AMAZING deal on Grove Collaborative products where you will MAKE MONEY!
4. Discover Kicks: These don’t add up to much. On the app, click on the book icon at the bottom right labeled Discover. You can often watch videos for 1 to 10 kicks. Nothing too exciting.

Okay, so let’s look at an actual deal you can do TODAY and make money! Yep, you read that correctly. You are going to make money! Finish this post and then RUN to Target. It’s that good.

Target currently has Grove Collaborative cleaning products on sale: buy the cleaning solution and get a reusable glass container for free. Target’s deal expires May 22, 2021.

Here’s the Breakdown:

• Buy Ultimate Dish Soap for $4.99, get a Dish Soap Dispenser for free ($14.99 value)
• Buy Multi-Purpose Cleaner for $6.99, get a Reusable Cleaning Glass Spray Bottle ($14.99 value)
• Buy Hydrating Hand Soap for $4.99, get a Hand Soap Dispenser free ($13.99 value)

The scents don’t matter. This is what I purchased.

You don’t need to do anything at Target to get this deal. Bring all 6 items to the checkout and it will deduct automatically. The full retail value of all 6 products is $61 but you will only pay $18 out of pocket (oop) at checkout or $17 if using a Target Red Card.

After purchasing, open up your Shopkick app and click on Target. Click the circle in the center of the screen labeled Receipt. Select all three Grove Collaborative bundles at the top, each of them is worth 2,000 kicks. Bundle deals always appear first. You can buy just 1 or 2 of the bundles. You don’t have to do all 3 bundles, but you must match the cleaner with the container for the rebate to work on Shopkick and for the freebie to work at the checkout at Target. Then click the blue button that at the bottom that says Claim 6,000 Kicks which is equal to $24! You will be prompted to take a picture of your receipt and then click submit. That means these sustainable products cost you -$6 or -$7 with a Red Card. Shopkick and Grove Collaborative paid YOU money to take THEIR products! To cash out for a $25 Paypal gift card, you’ll need an additional 300 points scanned in stores. If you sign up with my promo code JOY625250 and either complete a walk-in, scan, or earn 10 kicks, you’ll get 250 kicks.

You should receive your kicks within 48 hours. For this deal, I actually got the kicks added to my account within a few hours and THE OFFER RESET!!! That means I was able to do it again! So I went back to Target and did the whole thing over again and got double the products and double the cashback! You never know when the offer will disappear from Shopkick so when you see an offer you want, buy it quickly and scan the receipts right away.

Shopkick Tips:

• Scan the products in the store for receipt/bundle offers to make sure that the product matches the offer.
• Often times the offer may exclude a specific product (size, flavor, scent, etc) so pay attention to the offer details to make sure you find one that qualifies.
• Look for bundles to get extra bonuses!
• Make sure your Bluetooth is on for walk-in kicks.
• Scan kicks reset every few days so you can scan products again. In the beginning, it may take you longer to find the products in the store to scan them but you’ll become an expert on the aisles of your favorite stores very quickly. The whole point of Shopkick is for you to be aware of new or interesting products and have you learn about them by visiting them in stores.
• You CAN combine Shopkick deals with store digital coupons, paper coupons, and other rebate apps to get the most savings!
• Offers can occasionally reset (like the Grove deal) so you can get it again or it may reset with a lower amount of kicks. You can change the gift card type and amount any time before redeeming it.
• Multiply the number of kicks by .004 to figure out how much cashback it is worth.
• Remember this is a rebate app. You will pay for the products out of pocket and ten receive cash back after scanning the coupons.

I don’t buy things we don’t need. I only do Shopkick offers things that will be free, a moneymaker, or under $.50 and I make sure I scan enough things in store to cover any remaining cost.

Some things I’ve gotten from Shopkick since I downloaded the app are hair ties, bobby pins, cleaning supplies, ketchup, BBQ sauce, trash bags, body wash, shampoo, cereal, hand sanitizer, face masks, and more! I’ve gotten $182 back through Paypal since I started using Shopkick.

Keep an eye on your kicks activity by clicking on the white bell icon in the top right corner. This will show your past activity and what offers are pending.

If for some reason an offer doesn’t redeem correctly, you can submit a help ticket. Click on the white person icon on the top left corner. Scroll down and select Questions and Support. Scroll all the way to the bottom and click the blue Email Us button. Shopkick is great about correcting missing scans and adding them to your account.

If you have any questions, please leave them in the comments below or on Steph’s Facebook page. Use code JOY625250 or click here to download Shopkick. I’ll be back soon with more apps and ways to save. And let me know if you score the amazing Grove Collaborative deals!