In the fall, my co-worker told me about the ibotta app. Like most app recommendations, I never take it seriously. I’ll even download the app and it will sit there unused, until I delete it. That’s exactly what happened until about 2 weeks ago. And friends, I’ve been leaving money on the table. I don’t want you guys to make the same mistake!
It’s call ibotta and here’s how it works. You know how you can load digital coupons on to your loyalty card for the grocery store? You load deals onto the ibotta app before shopping (either grocery or for products). Also, hundreds (I haven’t counted so it could be thousands) of stores give a % back to you either in store or online. Once you shop at a participating store, you upload your receipt, then your account is credited.
The Challenge
The challenge is getting in the habit of checking the app to see if a store participates and remembering to upload your receipts (which is super easy btw). I also check the app to see if the % back is in store and online. When shopping Kohls Thursday night, the deal with for their .com site so I put everything back and ordered online.
My Savings
So here’s an example of what I’ve earned in a week:
.39 Payless Shoe Source (6% back)
.25 Target (just for uploading my receipt)
$7.00 Joann’s (10% back; this one is pending but should be in tomorrow)
$12.70 Dick’s Sporting Goods (5% back on purchases $50 or more)
You link either a Paypal or Venmo account and once you hit $20, you can have the money transferred to you.
Why Are They Giving Money Back?
It seems too good to be true, right? So here is where they make their moola. Brands/companies uses ibotta as a way to learn about our spending habits and to market to us. So for example, when I went to download $1 back on a salad brand, I had to answer 1 question about our eating habits. When I downloaded the .50 off for cream cheese, I was shown a recipe I could make with the cream cheese. Basically, we are providing insight to our spending habits and in return, we are rewarded with a % back.
The Link
So if you guys want to try it out, click here. Another way you earn is for when people download the ibotta app through a link you provide and upload a purchase. You’re then rewarded with $5. If you can get in the habit of checking, it’s an effortless way of earning a little bit of money by doing nothing!
P.S. This app did not pay me a cent for this post. I just like getting money and because I love you guys, I want you to save money too!
P.P.S ibotta is only available in the U.S. for now but keep checking back because I won’t be surprised if they don’t expand. The world’s most recognized brands (Coca-cola) use ibotta.
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