My cash back rewards are just a little free money from my $200 per month food budget and $80 per month gas budget, with the occasional car part purchase in between. The rewards come to $50-$100, depending on the rewards card I can use.

I’m serious, just stop spending so much money. It’s highly rewarding to your savings.

every few months Discover offers me 2% for grocery expenditures up to $500 so I run out and buy $500 in gift cards to my grocery store. I get the $10 and apply it to savings once I am able to get reimbursed. I use the gift cards to buy my groceries.

If I get double cash back offers on gas, I buy a gas station gift card equal to several months’ worth of gas. Again, I get the cash back to the maximum allowed by the card all in one transaction by doing it this way.

Since I cannot afford much beyond basic necessities, I focus on getting a card with great rewards on gas and groceries. I am applying for a PenFed Visa that gives 5percent on gas and 2% on groceries at all times, and one percent on everything else. If I am approved for that then I won’t need to use the gift card method anymore–although to tell the truth, buying three months’ worth of gift cards to a grocery store is a great way to build end enforce commitment to continue to maximize my food budget by eating in and I may continue to do that. When I’ve already spent all my food money on the Stop & Shop gift cards, it makes it feel like if I want to eat I have to get my food at the grocery store and cook it, which is a good thing for the budget. And to tell the truth my food is at least as good as most stuff I eat at restaurants.