Alright, Blackfriday is come and gone. It is time to send in the Mail-In Rebate forms(MIR). I am sure many of you bought items on sale especially with  Mail-In Rebates(MIR) hoping to get your money back and prove yourself that you really saved some money by getting up early and waiting in line for hours.

In order to be successful in getting your MIR's, you need apply properly. I always had 100% redemption rate in my Mail-In rebate claims because of proper planning and applying without giving chance for any errors  

Mail In Rebate Facts

According to wikipedia.com report, PMA, a marketing firm, estimated that in 2005 $486.5 million worth of rebates were redeemed. The redemption rates averaged only 21.1% when calculated as a percentage of total sales, and 67.6% when calculated as a percentage of incremental sales. That is not an encouraging news but MIR system has come a long way since 2005. Now you have option to apply your MIR either by mail or online to get your money faster.

Most rebates are handled under contract by rebate clearinghouses that specialize in processing rebates and contest applications. The source of their fees is not readily discernible with conflicting reports from different sides. There is always a concern about rebates being rejected and invalidated by these clearinghouses to show more savings to the company to earn more fees.

Young America, a rebate clearinghouse claims that "Young America receives the same fees whether a submission is valid or invalid," giving them no incentive to unfairly invalidate customer rebates. Whether it is true or not, we cannot verify but if you do your part right and apply correctly, they can never reject or invalidate your claim. Let's work towards that goal.


How MailIin Rebates works?

Lets say the item usually costs $100. Retailers put a tag on it for $75 with $25 Mail-in Rebate. You will pay the full $100 at time of check out and apply MIR to get back $50 via mail. In most cases, you need to apply for the rebate via mail with all the required things like original reciept and purchase proof(UPC). Nowadays you can also apply online to get it faster with any retailers like bestbuy, staples, officemax etc., It takes 4-8 weeks to process and you will eventually get your money back.

Retailers and Manufacturers play with the psychology of the buyers and try to gain by taking advantage of lazy people who forget to send rebates or don't send the required proofs. Also the retailers use this opportunity to get rid of the items which doesn't sell well as freebies and change them to money. 

Tips and Tricks for Quick Rebate Redemption

1. Before leaving the store, check whether you got all the mail-in rebate forms and seperate original reciepts to send with those forms. Some stores would give seperate reciepts but others you need to either send copy or original reciept. Check the requirement.
   
2. Unpack the item and save the package materials. Check and make sure whether the item works as expected. If not you have the option to return the material with the original package. Try it out for few days and if it is all good, then cut out the UPC code required for rebate and trash the package material. The reason, you cannot return the material without UPC code. You need the original package with the UPC to return it. If you cut it out and sent the Mail in rebate and want to return it, you will have tough time doing so.
   
3. Now sort out the reciepts to seperate out the rebate form and rebate reciept for each item which is on rebate. Read the requirements carefuly and try to do one item at a time. Some rebate might require you to send the original UPC Bar code  and some don't. They will all specify a time frame for the rebate to reach their office. If you can submit online which saves postage and time, just do it. It will also help to track the status. If not, you might have to do via mail.
   
4. Collect all the requirements for each item and  put them in a envelope. Don't paste it yet. Do rebates in batches instead of doing all together to avoid any confusion.
   
5. Use address labels on the envelopes for clarity and save time instead of writing. 
   
6. Once you are done with all the items to send, don't forget to make copies or scan (save paper) of all your documents for each rebate which is CRUCIAL! It will come handy when companies disqualify rebates for missing document. You can always reapply with the copy. So, make sure you copy everything including UPC code.
   
7. Next save the scanned copy in proper computer folder with right naming to identify later. If you copied, file them in your cabinet folder for future purpose. Also make an entry in text file or journal about the rebates like product, date rebate sent and how much is expected for future reference.
   
8. Finally, put all the document back in the envelope after cross checking the requirement last time and apply proper postage (first class) and mail it out. That completes the applying process.
   
   
9. Once you sent it out, you need wait patiently for minimum 4 weeks and see whether you hear any feedback from them via email. Nowadays many companies send out email status or directions via email to check your status online. If not you can visit the retailers website and check the status using rebate code. Track them periodically and if they are having problem, call them up and resend any proof needed. 

Hope these points will help you to make the rebate process bit easier. They work almost all the time. Final word, don't give up if they reject or disqualify your rebate. You can always reapply with your rebate copy and don't forget it is your money and you better try to get it back.  

If you have other tips to add, please don't hesitate to share it.  
 
Photo source: wikipedia.com

Many times we end up paying financial charges or late fees on our credit card and utility bills, even after being extra careful in paying them on time. It may be an one time affair and rare mistake from our part. Still we feel hesitant to ask for credit. Because, we don't want to embrass ourself to hear the answer "NO" since it's our mistake.

"Only crying baby gets the milk"  - Author unknown

Did you ever heard of this saying? It is a more common phrase used back in my native place(south India).   Babies cry when they are hungry to get the attention of care giver, so they are feed them milk. But not all babies are smart enough to cry out of milk. Some babies just don't cry or cry enough to catch the attention of care giver who assume the baby is alright.

I want to use this phase for adults to make some money sense.  Being human, we all are prone to make mistakes. If it's one time thing or rare one, I feel the mistake should be forgiven and charges should be voided. I sure, No company will do unless you ask for it.

You need be expressive enough to request or ask for credit when you are charged with fees  by your service providers after being loyal to them.  I don't mean to literaly cry out like baby instead express your concern in words. Just try to ask for credit in a good way and you will get money back most of the time. If you hesitate to ask at first place, you are going to miss out on those dollars wasted on fees and charges. 

Let me share few of my real stories on how I "Cried like a baby" asking for credit when I really deserve.

Credit card Financial charges
Usually I pay my bills on time and never charged with any financial charges. I always like to walk my talk. As I money mentor, I better follow my own advice and be an example first. In many years, I didn't pay a penny as fees/charges. That's the big reason for my FICO score to be in upper 700's.

I guess there is always an end to any pride. My proudest moment came to an end last month. I was slacking on paying bills because of my unplanned trip to India in March. When I got back, I wasn't paying attention messing up my payment schedule. 

First on the list was my credit card bill. I paid my credit card bill wrongly. Instead of March amount due, I paid the Feb amount due. I didn't notice until I got my April month bill with a financial charge of $9.32. (Below is my original statement)



Always call the bank/service provider

I wasn't sure why I was charged the financial charge. I wanted to email rather decided to call. It is always better to have personal conversation either by phone or going to the bank if you need any credit back. Emails doesn't work well because it doesn't express your emotions properly.  So I called my credit union and seeked for explanation. Customer rep checked my accounts and came back to sayg, "You paid the amount less than amount due for Mar bill". I was surprised because I never paid less amount and always paid full.  I myself checked the statements and found that I made the mistake. I did confused with amount due from March and Feb. 

Accept your fault if any

I realized my fault and I accepted it. I told her, it was the first time it ever happened. I asked her to check  my account history. Afterwards I kindly requested her, "Is there any way possible to get the credit of the financial charges? if I pay the balance". She took her time to check my account history and said, "Yes, you do have a good history of paying on time full. So we are going to give your credit of the financial charges. Just go ahead pay the next month bill full. You will see the credit month after next bill". I was happy and Thank'ed her for the kindness.

Do your job right

Next month, I paid my full bill including the financial charges since its added to the bill to avoid any more charges for not paying amount due. The month after next(May), financial charge was credit in my bill as shown below.





You sure worth more than you think. You deserve, what you are worth. It is always good to pay bills on time whether you are paying minimum or full amount. It builds a rapport with your service provider which helps at times to negotiate deals or requesting for credits. 

It is always good to cry means ask for help instead of expecting things to happen on its own. It is nothing to be embrassed when it comes to money.

More stories to come on your way...