Multi-Store Deal 9/10: FREE + $6.83 Moneymaker

A Kroger and Dollar General haul that finished free plus $6.83 in pocket. Four jars of Barilla Pesto returned $28.45 through BeFrugal, and a $5 Ibotta Weekend Bonus stacked on top of $12.75 in rebates.

This one ended in the black. A $5 on $10 Ibotta Weekend Bonus stacked on top of some genuinely wild moneymaker deals, and after every rebate landed the whole haul across Kroger and Dollar General came to FREE plus $6.83 back in pocket.

The Barilla Pesto Sauce at Kroger is the deal that carries it. Four jars at the $2.99 mega price come to $11.96, and the BeFrugal points offer pays out $28.45 on those four jars alone. That is free pesto and $16.49 in profit from a single line item.

The rest of the Kroger run is strong on its own. Back To Nature crackers land at $0.38, Miracle Whip on clearance at $0.80, and Back To Nature cookies at $1.20. Kroger alone finished at negative $9.33.

Dollar General covered the Henkel deal, where three laundry items plus a $3 off $15 coupon and $6.25 in Ibotta rebates brought $16.75 down to $7.50.

Every line was recalculated before publishing, and all seven deals reconcile exactly with the source, including the BeFrugal point tiers and both Merryfield conversions.

Watch the full video walkthrough for visuals and bonus tips:

OhioValleyCouponer on YouTube

How This Haul Worked

Two account-specific bonuses are baked into the headline, so read this part first.

⚠️ The $5 on $10 Ibotta Weekend Bonus is a targeted offer. Not every account gets one. Check your Ibotta bonuses tab before you plan around it. Without that $5 the haul still finishes at negative $1.83, so it is a moneymaker either way, just a smaller one.

⚠️ There was also an extra $1 Snuggle bonus on the shopper's account for completing one more Snuggle rebate. We left it out of the headline number because it was account-specific. Counted in, the haul would be negative $7.83 instead of negative $6.83.

The Ibotta bonus needed $10 in redemptions and this haul delivered $12.75 — $6.50 at Kroger and $6.25 at Dollar General. That is $2.75 of cushion, so the bonus was never at risk.

Kroger's mega event applies to most of this trip. The Barilla Pesto and both Back To Nature items are starred mega items, and this haul brings 10 qualifying units, well past the five-item minimum. Buy fewer than five and you pay $1 more per item.

⚠️ BeFrugal did not auto-detect the pesto on the receipt. When you upload, BeFrugal may fail to pick up the item. Request a manual review so they verify it and credit your account. Do not assume the $28.45 posts on its own.

The Miracle Whip was a clearance find at $1.80. Clearance is store-specific and will not be everywhere. Since we are measuring against the clearance price rather than the regular shelf price, the real savings on that line are deeper than what is shown.

Dollar General's $3 off $15 needed a $15 subtotal and the basket came to $16.75, leaving $1.75 of cushion.

Quick App Legend

🟢 BeFrugal — Receipt-upload points portal, the biggest payout here (Sign up for BeFrugal)
🟠 Ibotta — Add offers before you shop, then scan your receipt (Sign up for Ibotta)
🔶 Merryfield — Points plus percentage cash back on qualifying brands
🎯 Ibotta Bonus — Targeted spend-and-get bonus, check your own account
🎉 Mega Event — Kroger price requires 5+ participating items
🟰 Clearance — Store-specific markdown, availability varies
🏷️ Store Coupon — Dollar General's $3 off $15
💵 Moneymaker — You come out ahead after rebates

About point conversions: BeFrugal figures use the published tiers, with 20,000 points at $21.50 and the remainder at $1.00 per 1,000. Merryfield combines points at $1.00 per 1,000 with the brand's 8% cash back. All three checked out to the exact cent.

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💵 Kroger: The Barilla Pesto Moneymaker

💵 🎉 🟢 Bought (4) Barilla Pesto Sauce, $2.99 each mega price ($11.96)
Submit the $28.45 BeFrugal rebate (13,476 points per 2 jars, so 26,952 points for four; 20,000 points redeems at $21.50 and the remaining 6,952 at $6.95)
Net: FREE plus a $16.49 MONEYMAKER

This single line is worth more than everything else in the haul combined. You buy $11.96 of pasta sauce and BeFrugal hands back $28.45, which works out to negative $4.12 per jar. The points math is unusual because the 20,000-point tier pays a better rate than the leftover balance, and buying four jars is exactly what pushes you past that tier.

Request the manual review. BeFrugal did not pick the pesto up off the receipt automatically. The $28.45 is real, but it needs you to ask them to verify it.

Worth noting if you read the 9/9 breakdown: the same Barilla Pesto was listed there at $1.49 each using a $3 on 2 Inbox Dollars rebate. The BeFrugal route on the same jars is dramatically better — take this one instead if you can only use one.

🎉 The Rest of the Kroger Run

🟰 🟠 Bought (2) Miracle Whip Dressing 19 Ounce, $1.80 each clearance ($3.60)
Submit the $1 Ibotta rebate (x2 = $2.00)
Net: $1.60 for 2 — $0.80 each
🎉 🟠 🔶 Bought (2) Back To Nature Crackers 5-6.5 Ounce, $1.99 each mega price ($3.98)
Submit the $0.75 Ibotta rebate (x2 = $1.50)
Submit the $0.86 Merryfield rebate (x2 = $1.72) — 700 points plus 8% back on Back To Nature
Net: $0.76 for 2 — $0.38 each
🎉 🟠 🔶 Bought (4) Back To Nature Cookies 5.5-8.25 Ounce, $2.99 each mega price ($11.96)
Submit the $0.75 Ibotta rebate (x4 = $3.00)
Submit the $1.04 Merryfield rebate (x4 = $4.16) — 800 points plus 8% back on Back To Nature
Net: $4.80 for 4 — $1.20 each

The Back To Nature crackers at $0.38 are the best per-unit buy outside the pesto, an 81% cut off the mega price. Both Back To Nature nets match the 9/9 Kroger breakdown exactly at $0.38 and $1.20, which is a good sign those offers are holding steady through the week.

The Miracle Whip is the one line to check carefully. The source lists a $1 Ibotta rebate without noting a second claim, but the stated net of $1.60 for two requires the rebate twice. Since that is the only input that can produce $1.60, we published it as $1 claimed twice. Verify the offer allows two submissions on your account.

Kroger totals: $31.50 at the register, $40.83 back, finishing at negative $9.33.

🏷️ Dollar General: The Henkel Deal

One transaction, three laundry items, one store coupon:

🟠 Bought (1) Snuggle Fabric Softener 74.8 Ounce, $8.00
Submit the $4 Ibotta rebate
🟠 Bought (1) Snuggle Fabric Softener 27.2 Ounce, $3.75
Submit the $0.75 Ibotta rebate
🟠 Bought (1) All Sensitive Fresh or Free and Clear Detergent, $5.00
Submit the $1.50 Ibotta rebate > TOTAL: $16.75 > (LESS): $3 off $15 Store Coupon > (LESS): $6.25 Ibotta Rebates > FINAL PRICE: $7.50 FOR ALL THREE

The $4 Ibotta rebate on the 74.8 ounce Snuggle is half the item's price and the largest single Ibotta offer in the haul. Three laundry products for $7.50 is a 55.2% cut, and it is what pushed the combined Ibotta redemption past the $10 bonus threshold.

The shopper also picked up an extra $1 because this trip completed one more Snuggle rebate toward a $1 Snuggle bonus on their account, bringing their personal cost to $6.50. That bonus is account-specific, so the $7.50 figure is what we carry into the totals below.

Final Numbers

Store	Items	Register	Back	Net
🛒 Kroger	12	$31.50	$40.83	($9.33)
🏪 Dollar General	3	$16.75	$9.25	$7.50
Combined	15	$48.25	$50.08	($1.83)
🎯 Less $5 Ibotta Weekend Bonus	—	—	$5.00	—
TOTAL FOR ALL	15	$48.25	$55.08	FREE + ($6.83)

Fifteen items, $48.25 rung up, $55.08 back. That is a 114.2% return on the register total, which is what a moneymaker haul looks like when a points offer overpays on one line.

Without the targeted $5 Ibotta bonus it is still negative $1.83. With the shopper's extra $1 Snuggle bonus counted it would be negative $7.83. We published the middle figure because that is what a reader with the same bonus can reproduce.

Full Verification Table

All seven deals, every register price, rebate total, and net recalculated from the listed values.

Deal	Store	Qty	Register	Rebates	Net	Per Unit
💵 Barilla Pesto Sauce	Kroger	4	$11.96	$28.45	($16.49)	($4.12)
🎉 Back To Nature Crackers	Kroger	2	$3.98	$3.22	$0.76	$0.38
🟰 Miracle Whip 19 Oz	Kroger	2	$3.60	$2.00	$1.60	$0.80
🎉 Back To Nature Cookies	Kroger	4	$11.96	$7.16	$4.80	$1.20
🏷️ Snuggle 27.2 Oz	DG	1	$3.75	$0.75	$3.00	$3.00
🏷️ All Detergent	DG	1	$5.00	$1.50	$3.50	$3.50
🏷️ Snuggle 74.8 Oz	DG	1	$8.00	$4.00	$4.00	$4.00
TOTAL — 7 DEALS	Both	15	$48.25	$47.08	$1.17	$0.08

The total row excludes the $3 off $15 store coupon and the $5 Ibotta bonus, since neither attaches to a single item. Add those two and you get the $55.08 and the negative $6.83 in the Final Numbers table above.

Where the $55.08 Came From

Source	Amount	Share	Offers
🟢 BeFrugal	$28.45	51.7%	1
🟠 Ibotta	$12.75	23.1%	6
🔶 Merryfield	$5.88	10.7%	2
🎯 Ibotta Weekend Bonus	$5.00	9.1%	1
🏷️ DG $3 off $15	$3.00	5.4%	1
TOTAL	$55.08	100%	11

One BeFrugal offer accounts for more than half the entire haul. That is the whole lesson here: a single overpaying points offer on a cheap mega-event item can outweigh a dozen well-executed rebates. Ibotta did the steady work across six offers, and it was Ibotta volume that unlocked the $5 bonus on top.

Rebate Apps You'll Need

BeFrugal — $28.45 from one offer, 26,952 points on four jars of Barilla Pesto. Redeem at the 20,000-point tier for the better rate. Request a manual receipt review if the item does not auto-detect.
Ibotta — $12.75 across six offers, from $0.75 up to $4.00, plus a targeted $5 on $10 Weekend Bonus. Add every offer before you check out.
Merryfield — $5.88 across two Back To Nature offers, combining points with 8% brand cash back. Both conversions matched to the cent.
Dollar General app — the $3 off $15 store coupon. Clip it before checkout.

New to Kroger Deal Stacking?

1. Count your mega items before you get in line. Five or more participating items unlocks every starred Kroger price. This haul had 10 qualifying units, so it was never close.

2. Check your Ibotta bonuses tab first. Spend-and-get bonuses like the $5 on $10 here are targeted, and they change what a trip is worth. Build around yours, not someone else's.

3. Watch which points tier you land in. BeFrugal's 20,000-point tier pays $21.50, better per point than the leftover balance. Buying four jars instead of two is what reached it.

4. Request a manual review when a receipt misses an item. Portals like BeFrugal do not always auto-detect. The payout is still owed to you.

5. Rebates stack with mega prices and store coupons. Kroger mega pricing, Dollar General's $3 off $15, manufacturer offers, and receipt apps all layer on the same items.

6. Hit the store coupon threshold on the subtotal. The Dollar General $3 off $15 needed $15 and the basket was $16.75, leaving $1.75 of room.

7. Load Ibotta offers before you shop and confirm how many times each one can be claimed. The Miracle Whip line here depends on claiming the same offer twice.

8. Clearance is a bonus, not a plan. The $1.80 Miracle Whip will not be at every store, so treat markdowns as upside rather than something to count on.

Tips for This Week

The Barilla Pesto BeFrugal offer is the whole story. Four jars at $2.99 return $28.45, so this is the line to run before anything else expires.
Buy four jars, not two. Two jars is 13,476 points and misses the 20,000-point tier entirely, which costs you the better redemption rate.
Confirm your Ibotta Weekend Bonus before planning. Without it the haul is negative $1.83 rather than negative $6.83.
Back To Nature crackers at $0.38 remain the best non-moneymaker per-unit price, and both Back To Nature nets match the 9/9 breakdown exactly.
Check whether the Miracle Whip Ibotta offer allows two claims on your account before counting on $0.80 each.
The $4 Snuggle rebate at Dollar General is worth a trip by itself, and it helps push you over an Ibotta bonus threshold if you have one.
Make sure your store's prices match the ones listed here so your mega count and coupon thresholds land the same way.
All figures are pre-tax, and every rebate here arrives after you shop, so you will pay $48.25 plus tax up front before any of it comes back.