Review of My Freedom Grocer

UPDATE: We no longer endorse My Freedom Grocer as the program has changed and we are no longer members so we do not have any accurate updates on the service or company.

Several months ago I had the pleasure of meeting Fred Weih, the founder of My Freedom Grocer. When I first heard him talk about My Freedom Grocer, I understood it to be a cash back rewards program geared towards those who shopped online for groceries, which excluded me. As the company grew, they expanded to include “everyone who shopped” which got my attention. I also learned (by talking to a current member) that My Freedom Grocer pays cash back rewards for all online purchases – not just groceries. Now I was seeing some value.

I eventually enrolled in the program and then the real learning began because then I saw things from the inside and had even more questions. Fred has been gracious in answering all of my questions and I finally got my system down to where I can submit my receipts and earn cash back whether I shop online or my local grocery store. I intentionally took a while to post my review because I wanted to really know the system and be able to not just answer questions but help people get up and running as fast a possible.

Program Highlights

So here are the program highlights.

1. Very Low Cost to Participate. I recommend that anyone who wants to enroll sign up as a Savings Advisor 1, which costs $23.99 for the first month, with a monthly renewal of  just $14.99 per month. The best part is that the company offers a way to refer a few members to not have to pay the fee. If you want, you can refer lots of members and actually earn a part time income (more on that later.)
2. You can earn up to $90 per month in cash back rewards. That breaks down to a $50 cap on online rewards (per month) and $40 in local grocery rewards. While that may not seem like a lot of money, if it takes just a few steps and you could get paid for doing what you are already doing wouldn’t that make sense?
3. Shopping Online Saves You Lots of Money. And you usually don’t have to pay for shipping. I learned that there is a lot of markup that goes into items sold in stores. I had experienced this a while back when I started buying some specific meal replacement bars online (saved 33% and didn’t pay shipping), but I never thought it would make sense to buy more common every day items online. Fred and My Freedom Grocer really have really educated me.
4. There are Lots of Ways to Save Beyond the Cash Back rewards. When Fred and I spoke about the program, he was so focused on telling me about the rewards, that he failed to tell me that there are lots of other savings programs included in My Freedom Grocer. These include:
   1. Coupons. You can search for coupons through a massive database online.
   2. Best Price Guarantee and free shipping on online purchases.
   3. Discounts on local shows and events.
   4. Discounts on office supplies.
5. You Can Make Money by Sharing the Program. On top of earning cash back rewards, you can actually earn $8.00 per month in commission for enrolling others in the program. When you enroll, choose to enroll as a Savings Advisor 1 to take advantage of this.
6. It Makes a Great Fundraiser. If you work with  – or want to help  – a non profit (including churches), you can get the setup to share the program as a fundraiser and the non profit could earn the $8.00 per month to help support its mission.

The Fine Print

A good friend of mine share with me a saying; “The large print giveth and the fine print taketh away.” It’s important to know how to actually submit your receipts because that is the essence of making the program work. The fine print just means you have to read and follow the rules.

Here are the simple steps to submitting your receipts:

• Scan your receipts (must be at least $10 pre tax).
• Provide the required info. This is the identifying into to ensure that you get credit. You will get the form with the details after enrolling, plus I made a template I can share with you.
• Send an email and attach the receipt.

That’s pretty much it. If you don’t have a scanner, I imagine you could use your smartphone, but I can’t guarantee that. The good news is that the company is working on an app which will make the submission process much simpler – and I am awaiting that.

When filling out the submission form they will ask for something called a TC number. I had to learn what that is and it’s the universal receipt number that you will find at the bottom of your receipt. Walmart actually calls it a TC number, but other stores don’t. I scanned a receipt to show a sample of where it could be (click to enlarge).

Who Should Use This Program?

While anyone could use this program, I believe those who would get the most out of the program are:

• Those who are considering online shopping for groceries & household items but have not yet.  I learned that you can save a lot of money by buying online and you can use this program with two of the largest online stores.
• Those who want another way to save money. Imagine if just taking a few extra steps could put an extra $90 per month in your vacation fund or long term savings.
• People who are not into zeroing out their balance with coupons. I don’t know too many people who are overzealous couponers, but if you are driving your cash cost down to less than $25 per shopping trip, it probably won’t be worth the time or money.
• Those who want to earn money by sharing the program. If this is you, I’d be happy to chat with you personally to make sure you get setup correctly (I said it earlier, I recommend enrolling as a Savings Advisor 1 to start).

What’s Coming Next from My Freedom Grocer?

Fred and the new CEO have lots of great plans for My Freedom Grocer and the two that I am most excited about are:

• A Mobile App. This is a little ways out, but it will make it easy to just snap a picture of the receipt and upload it.
• Savings on Gas and Restaurants. I don’t know of too many people who don’t use gas or eat at restaurants, so it will be nice to be able to get cash back on those too. I believe this may involve a higher fee program, but the best way to be in the know is to get on board early.

I hope you found this helpful and I’d love to hear your stories about saving or how you have helped other with the program. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me of just use the comment section below and someone on the team will respond ASAP.

Happy Savings!