If there’s one thing that people forget about when it comes to hot store deals/freebies it’s that most stores will offer a raincheck if an item is out of stock.

For example, most Saturdays Jewel will offer some type of freebie. This last week, they offered two. When I went in to grab them, both freebies were gone. I was able to get a raincheck for both and picked them up yesterday. It was very simple at the checkout. Quite often, the Jewel stores are used to these running out and they often have the rainchecks written up at the Customer Service desk. So it literally just takes a second to ask for them.

Know what else was cool? I saw that Ibotta had a rebate for the Evolution juice I got for free so I basically got paid $1 to buy it. Don’t you love when that happens?! If I didn’t take the time to grab that raincheck, I’d have not only missed out on trying this product but also earning a little extra cash.

I also picked up a raincheck last month during that hot deal on Finish Dishwashing tabs at Walgreens. This helped guarantee me that price to be paired with the hot coupon that was out so I didn’t miss out on the deal.

So if there’s a hot deal/freebie and the items are out-of-stock, go to the Customer Service desk at your local stores and see if they’ll offer you a raincheck. To make the transition a faster one, snap a photo of the empty shelf with your phone camera to show it to them.