Saving Your Receipts May Save You Money

MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- By taking a survey at the bottom of a receipt, Deborah Walker earned $25 towards a future car rental. Receipt coupons for pet products also help her save cash she uses towards food for her pooches, nights on the town, or new clothes.

"Consumers can easily save about a hundred dollars a month just by looking at the receipts in a new way, and looking for hidden cash on them," said financial expert Denise Winston.

Financial guru Denise Winston has her own cache of receipts, and said coupons and discounts are just the beginning.

Some receipts even offer "free stuff" for giving a business feedback but statistics show as many as 60 percent of people don't participate and only about 1 percent of the coupons on the back of receipts are redeemed.

Just by cashing in on those cash register printouts Denise estimates Americans could save billions of dollars each year!

"They're really cash not trash," said Winston.

It's a lesson Denise has learned over and over.

When a watch she bought went kaput during the warranty period, having the receipt was critical to getting the repair work done.

The manufacturer fixed it; saving her $300 dollars she would have spent to replace it!

In another occasion, a wireless router went on sale soon after Denise purchased it. Her receipt helped her make money with a price match guarantee.

"All I had to do was take my receipt in, um and then they gave me the 40 bucks back," said Winston.

Experts say if you use a loyalty card at a retailer, you will get more coupons, and more targeted coupons.

If you don't, you could be losing out on savings.

"Some of the money that you may leave on the table is going to be lost because they're not gonna have that transactional data and they're not going to be able to offer you those rich, targeted receipts," said Mark Johnson of the Loyalty Marketer's Association.

How do you avoid becoming a receipt hoarder?

Denise said save them in a simple envelope or file folder. Toss coupons and surveys that have expired but save receipts for expensive purchases.

"It can be as basic or as complex as you want, but the key is start to do it right now," said Winston.

Deborah said "doubling down" at the store helps her save even more money!

"I like to play the system, look for the sale, and use your coupon at the same time," said Deborah Walker who saves receipts.