I envy those who can be extreme couponers. I think their money saving savvy is in a whole different playing field. For me, it just isn’t something I have the mental stamina for right now, but I do have some other money saving tricks up my sleeve!
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If you have never heard of or used Ibotta before, it’s basically an app on your phone that offers you rebates for buying a variety of items. My lifetime earnings with Ibotta are $184.34, who can deny that?!
There’s a few ways you can use Ibotta, so let’s take a look at ways you can maximize your earnings with Ibotta!
1. Look at Ibotta before you shop
To save the most money, make your grocery list first. This is a great tip in general, because if you don’t make a list, you’re more likely to overspend and buy things you don’t need when you get to the store.
This is also great to do before using Ibotta, because it’s the same thing – you can be scrolling through looking at deals and then add things you don’t need. The moral of the story is: always make your list first!
After you make your list, then look through Ibotta and see what rebates are available for the items you need.
This is especially useful if you don’t mind getting a different brand of something. For example, if your list has frozen pizza on it, and you only want to buy Band XYZ frozen pizzas, then you’ll be less likely to find a rebate.
If Brand ABC frozen pizza has a rebate, and you’re willing to try it out then definitely add the rebate! You might even find a new brand you like!
2. Combine with Coupons
This also works great if you aren’t tied down to a specific brand!
A lot of times I’ll find a coupon for $0.50 off a brand of toilet paper. While scrolling through Ibotta, I find that the same brand is offering a $0.50 rebate.
You can combine rebates and coupons, so that’s a saving of $1!
Either go through and find your coupons first, or go through Ibotta first, but definitely see what’s available for both!
3. Go for Bonuses
This is one of my favorite Ibotta tips! Ibotta gives us the chance to go for bonuses and get a little extra cash!
These bonuses will be for things like redeeming a certain number of offers before a specific date, buying specific brands, referring friends, etc.
If you take a quick look at the bonuses when you’re making your grocery list, you can see which are viable options for you.
The biggest tip here is to make sure you’re not buying something just to buy it for the bonus. Make sure it is something you actually need, otherwise you won’t really be saving money at the end of the day!
4. Team Up with Friends
Ibotta rewards you for referring your friends! Share the money savings with your friends, and you’ll get referral bonuses!
Double check the current promotion for referrals, sometimes you get a bonus right away, sometimes you get one when your friend makes a purchase. Make sure you know the rules so you’re not wondering if a referral qualified!
Sometimes there are also incentives for your friends signing up and they’ll get some cash back right away, just make sure to check the current promotions for referrals!
After you know what you’re working with share, share, share! Put it on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, WHEREVER! Share your Ibotta love with everyone, because it really helps both parties out!
Related Post: How to Save Money On Groceries
5. Mobile Shopping
Always use Ibotta when doing your online shopping and you’ll get even more cash back!
The trick here is to shop through the Ibotta app. So first, open Ibotta and scroll through the “Online Shopping” to see which stores you want to shop. Usually, you’ll get a flat percentage cash back for certain stores, and each one will specify the earnings.
Next, click on the link within Ibotta to shop at that store, and then browse around and shop as usual!
Once you’re finished shopping and you check out, you can close out of the store by clicking the X in the upper left corner and it will take you back to Ibotta.
It might take a bit for your earnings to show up, but they’ll definitely show up!
6. Dollar stores can really get you good deals
Sometimes there are rebates for different dollar stores like Family Dollar, Dollar Tree and Dollar General. If it’s a true dollar store where everything costs $1, you can find some really great deals!
There have been $0.25 and $0.50 rebates, and even $1 rebates for some things (yes, making it basically free)!
If you shop at a dollar store, always check in with Ibotta first!
7. Always use the any item/any brand rebates when available
It may not seem like big cash, but if you’re getting $0.10 just for buying literally anything, just go for it and grab that offer.
If you go grocery shopping every other week, that’s an extra $2.60 just for literally getting what you were going to get anyway. There’s no reason not to!
Also snag the any brand rebates. Sometimes you can buy cream cheese and they’ll give you some money back for just buying cream cheese regardless of what brand it is. Use it!
One thing to keep in mind here, is that getting any brand/any item rebates don’t usually count towards offers redeemed for a bonus, make sure you read and understand the bonus rules before counting on it!
8. Don’t buy items you don’t need just for the sake of a rebate
I touched on this in the beginning, but the whole point of Ibotta as a user is to save extra money. That all goes out the window if you’re just getting stuff you don’t need, won’t eat, or won’t actually use!
9. Don’t miss out on an item you weren’t sure about
Scan items at the store to double check you are getting the correct brand, size, and variety included in the rebate.
Since some rebates can be pretty specific as to what size counts, what variety, etc, you can open the app in the store and use the barcode scanner to make sure you’re getting something that qualifies for the rebate!
Take advantage of this easy and convenient Ibotta feature so you don’t miss out by accidentally getting the wrong item (trust me, I’ve been there) and then not receiving a rebate for it.
What will you do with the extra cash after using these Ibotta tips?
I like to cash out once a year when I have some built up and can apply it to a bill or use the money for a project.
Have some (realistic) goals! Keep in mind what you’re wanting to use the money for and you’ll be more likely to use the app and get the cash back!
Do you use Ibotta? Are you saving the money for something specific? I’d love to hear about it!