Deal Diary is a free library of plain-English guides for keeping more of the money you already earn: cashback apps, coupons, grocery savings, freebies, and the money you are quietly owed. This page is the shortest route through it.
How the site works
- New guides every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Some are new topics, some are older guides we have gone back and re-checked.
- Every guide shows its date at the top. If we re-checked it, you will see “Updated” with the date, plus the date it first went up. Store policies and app terms change, so the date tells you how fresh the details are.
- Rules come from the source. Payout minimums, coupon policies and program rules are checked against the company’s or agency’s own pages, and each guide lists those sources at the bottom.
Three habits that pay you back every week
If you only read three guides, read these, in this order. Together they take about an hour to set up and then run in the background of a normal grocery week.
- Scan every receipt. Ibotta vs. Fetch explains the two kinds of receipt app and why most families run both. If you already use Fetch, here is what your points are worth.
- Stack before you check out. How to stack cashback apps shows the order to use apps and cards so one purchase pays out more than once.
- Trim the grocery bill. How to cut your grocery bill by $200 a month ranks every tactic by effort against impact, so you start with the ones that move the most money.
Find what you came for
- Groceries: markdown times, store brand swaps and meal planning that sticks.
- Shopping: price adjustments, clearance and getting money back after you have already paid.
- Cashback apps: what each app really pays, the payout minimums, and what they do with your data.
- Coupons: digital coupons, stacking, and store policies like the Publix BOGO rules.
- Freebies: free samples worth claiming, birthday rewards and what your library gives away.
- Get paid: surveys, focus groups and user testing, with honest notes on what they pay and how to spot a scam.
- Budgeting: a 10-minute weekly routine, sinking funds, and finding forgotten subscriptions.
- Bills & benefits: official programs for utility bills, school meals, phone and internet discounts, and unclaimed money.
Two free tools
The True Price Calculator shows what an item really costs after a coupon and an app rebate. It runs in your browser and stores nothing. The Cashback Starter Kit is a one-page setup list for receipt apps, and it comes with our daily email: one short message with the best deal we find that day.
How we make money
Some links on this site pay us a commission if you sign up or buy, at no extra cost to you, and the site may show ads. That is what keeps every guide free. The full details are on our affiliate disclosure page, and the rules we write by are on our editorial standards page.