AARP Rewards Online Community Smart Saver Contest

[AARPTeri]

Share your best savings strategies—and what you’re saving for!

Join the AARP Rewards Community Smart Saver Contest here in the AARP Rewards Connect forum and inspire others with your favorite money-smart tips. Whether it’s a clever budgeting trick, a savvy shopping habit, or a small daily habit that adds up over time, we want to hear about it.

If you’re using the AARP Rewards program to help you save and achieve your savings goals, please share that in your post too!

By sharing your savings strategy in this thread, you’ll be entered for a chance to win one of six $100 gift cards.

How to Enter

Reply to this post and share one or more of your best money-saving tips, stories, or strategies during the Contest Entry Period of March 23, 2026, through April 19, 2026, by 11:59 PM ET on April 19, 2026. See link to Official Rules below.

Let’s help each other save smarter. Post your tip and join the conversation!

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Open to legal residents of the fifty (50) United States and the District of Columbia who are 18 or older. Odds of winning depend on number of eligible entries received. Void where prohibited. Official Rules: https://community.aarp.org/t5/AARP-Rewards-Connect/AARP-Rewards-Online-Community-Smart-Saver-Contest... 

[ej64073754]

Hey, I DID NOT use AI in my comments. Can you please show me where you found that I paraphrased anything? I don't know who you are, but you're accusing me of plagiarizing, and I don't appreciate that at all. My comments came from me and my experience with Walmart+, so please stop spreading false information!

[Davidcbarnett]

I used to work in higher education. I know one situation where a student posted comments on a class online discussion board. This was supposed to be accessible only to the professor and students in the class. A day or two later, these comments showed up in ChatGPT when the discussion prompt was entered -- with the same typo and factual error. So, it did seem to be the student copying from an AI answer but rather the AI stealing the student's essay as the basis for its comment. How ChatGPT got access is beyond me. How do I know the student didn't harvest this from ChatGPT? I went to ChatGPT and some other AI programs and entered the discussion prompt before assigning it to my class. I saved the answers they generated. None were similar to what students in my class generated. Also, this particular student had a great deal of difficult typing "student" correctly -- it often came out as "studnet" in other discussion posts. This was the misspelled word (again) in the student's discussion post. But then turnitin reported this one discussion response as plagiarized from ChatGPT. It had the same factual error included in my student's post. But, when I also saw "studnet" in the ChatGPT post, it seemed obvious it had somehow gotten access to what my students had shared in our allegedly secure discussion group on Blackboard. 

So, I would give ej64073754 the benefit of any doubt given that this discussion is pretty accessible to AI tools scraping the internet for content. AI can be helpful but the lack of ethics or consideration for copyrighted content programmed into their tools make me skeptical in asking them to produce reliable and ethical content in response to prompts.

[SereneSeagull]

My apology is to you further down…now on the next page.   

[lori615]

I always order my groceries thru walmart+ because I am no longer able to shop in store. I have never paid a delivery fee no matter how small the amount of my purchase. I find it insulting that you would question my submission being authentic. 

[ej64073754]

Serene Seagull falsely accused me of the same thing! I'm wondering if SHE'S AI. 

[SereneSeagull]

That was funny @ej64073754  about me being AI!  Nicely done. 👍✌️

[SereneSeagull]

I deleted my post to you @ej64073754   Apologies as it matched the AI with paraphrasing pretty good.  

@lori615 who you just responded to thought I was speaking to her, because she didn’t see the reply tagging your name in my post.  All good.

Have a blessed day.  👍

[SereneSeagull]

@lori615 , if you notice I wasn’t tagging you in my post. So that wasn’t to you.  That’s why people tag the person they are responding to.  It can get confusing since there’s not much of an indentation between posts when replying to someone. 😊

edit to add, —  you can use the setting feature to display the posts in a thread so it can make it in chronological order with the newest first or oldest etc…. That can help as well.

[ELew0011]

I buy giftcards from Aarp reward program at a discount so I could treat my family out for a good dinner.

[SchuylerB886496]

Earn those awesome AARP rewards. Hurry and do the EXTRA CREDIT at the first of the month before they are gone.

[SereneSeagull]

I always forget to start the month with those @SchuylerB886496 , good reminder to do that.  Those cards go quickly on those! 

[habanero45]

Buying store brands instead of name brands saves money!

[SereneSeagull]

Aldis has some really good off brands that we’ve switched to.  I agree store brands can be really good and saves a lot.

[delyseb740282]

I shop at Harris teeter on Thursdays to get senior discount. I usually buy items that are already discounted. The rewards I earn, I use them to buy gas from the Harris Teeter gas station next to the store.

[ma4558]

EVERYTIME I HAVE SOME CHANGE LEFT OVER I PUT IT IN A JAR AND SAVE IT I ALSO PUT 25 DOLLARS IN MY SAVINGS ACCOUNT EVERT MONTH IT ADDS UP

[JanetJ604247]

If you have a Piggy Wiggy Grocery Store or Roses department store in your town. Both offer senior Discounts on Wednesday. And at Roses reduced prices are good on most items any day of the week.

[KathleenR597491]

Every July1 I increase my retirement contribution by 1% 

[DeniseH356601]

Compare prices, look for online discounts, and stack your errands into one trip. Make a list so you go in order and buy what you need. It's okay if you treat yourself to one thing, but don't do it at each stop or else you'll overspend your budget and defeat the purpose.

[BrendaJ370759]

i shop in stores on days they give senior discounts like Ross Tuesday is senior day I save 10% Kohls discount is on Wednesday 

[lg1145]

Bartering is not just a thing of the past.  Trade a meal  for half off music lessons.  My daughter's music teacher was a bachelor and he loved having  a home cooked meal once a  week.  I traded catering my gym's open house for a free year's membership.  Whatever your special skill, see if you can use it as currency .  It doesn't hurt to ask.

[SereneSeagull]

Yes, and prices are almost always negotiable for things, just have to ask.

[jjenrette]

We have Lowes Foods here in NC.  Some of them have a hot food bar where they put hamburgers, ribs, etc.  I always check it for mark downs.  Their hamburgers are $3.99 full price and they mark them to $2.67 in the evening.  The trick is they have double meat in them. I buy rolls and take out half the meat.  Voila!  2 hamburgers for $2.67, fully cooked.

They also even have cooked steaks!  They marked down 2 steaks to around $5, down from $20.  Enough to make stir fry.  

They chicken breast pieces in the warming station were dry, so I made chicken salad! Delish!  

Happy shopping!

[EveA327500]

II use AARP rewards program.  I use a loyalty program at Publix supermarket, receiver weekly information on food reductions on my computer. I try to only buy when I see BOGO's or products are price reduced that week.  I also shop Aldi's which is lower in price and I compare prices at both places before I even buy Bogo's.  I have a loyalty credit card at Walgreens, use it when they have 20% off days for seniors -this way I save both ways. I buy item a the $store and buy many items at a local thrift store which also supports 20 charities.

[PegACRIA]

  I participate in the programs to earn rewards on the AARP site but am also able to receive gift cards when I donate blood at the local blood drives.  I was giving at the rec center where I participate in the Silver Sneakers program but had problems with my blood pressure plummeting and was about to give up even though it was a passion of mine.  I decided to go to the blood center and donate.  Not only was my donation successful but they have promos at the blood center periodically that will award and increase dollar amount gift card from what I was earning at the rec center.  What a blessing to benefit from a savings with the gift card and being able to donate to help someone in a health struggle.

[pd25333426]

sign up for rewards programs from stores, restaurants, etc.  The points add up and they send freebies on your birthday. 

[r893854m]

I also love playing the sweepstakes games the points really add up

[VanessaS660703]

Take advantage of different rewards programs like AARP Rewards, Microsoft Rewards, ibotta, etc. The savings and gift cards you can earn can take money off your grocery bill and really add up!

[Sunella]

Anytime I go through my wallet and have a $5 bill I put it in a special Vase or jar.  Some months I put in 5 times - sometimes 1x month and by year end I usually have a few hundred dollars. It's easy to save this way as $5 won't make or break you.  But by end of year this is a special treat.

[HelenB284168]

ii think having a hobby that you really enjoy and then being able to share finish project with someone is a great way to save.  I get so much of my fabric pieces are a very low price or someone gives them to me and they I put together a throw or shawl or small child quilt and have put a big smile on someone face.  I also really enjoy gettting the $5 & 10 off on rewards from AARP because it lets us eat somewher for the fun of it.

[pawlow]

Check your bank's credit card to see if they offer an enrollment to round up each of your credit card purchases to the nearest dollar and deposit that "spare change" directly into your savings account.