Ibotta - The Best App For Free Cash In Store and Online

How are people still not using Ibotta?  I'm going to assume it's because you have never heard of it. Ibotta is an awesome app that gives me cash back for my in store and online purchases.  I used it as much as I can and have racked up a nice little chunk of cash.

Now what to spend it on... Shoes, shoes, shoes.  My mind is telling me no, but my boday, my boday...

When I first blogged about Ibotta in 2017 I had earned $67.95 in rebates.  The last time I blogged about Ibotta in 2019 I was up to $155.50.  Now as of writing this post, $274.33.  That's a lot of money for little effort.  My past posts have detailed instructions on how to claim in store cash back.  Feel free to check out my past posts on Ibotta by clicking here and here.  But for those of you who are new to my blog (welcome BTW) or need a refresher on how the Ibotta app works, I'll briefly show you how easy it is to get cash back on the purchases you already make.  I still recommend you check out my past posts for more detailed instruction on using the Ibotta app.

So one new thing Ibotta has been doing over the last few months is offering "free after rebate" offers on select items.   How on Earth can you say no to that?  The answer is you don't and I have all the (free) Cup Noodles aka "cup of noodles" to prove it.

On a recent trip to Walmart I saw that the Mystery Oreo was "free after offer."

Free Oreos?  And a mystery flavor?  There is nothing like frozen Oreos (you're welcome) so this purchase was a no brainer.

And it just so happened that Walmart had two packages left.  Probably since they were going to expire in March 2020, but that's besides the point.  So I bought them, followed the instructions for claiming a rebate on Ibotta, and got reimbursed more than what I purchased the Oreos for.

It's that easy.

And the flavor was graham cracker.  It was aight.

When I first started using Ibotta you had to scan a physical copy of your receipt to upload for rebate redemption and that is still true for many stores.  My main grocery store, however, no longer provides physical receipts and instead emails you a copy of your store receipt.  For these stores you can still claim cash rebates, but you must link your loyalty card in your Ibotta app.

After you have linked your loyalty card number with the easy to follow instructions, you need to  select all the rebates you are interested in.  I do it before shopping, but I imagine you could do it while you are shopping.  That's just not an option with a 2.5 year old.  Honestly I select almost everything I think I might purchase so if I end up purchasing an item on rebate I qualify for the cash back.  And make sure to include "free after offer items":

Didn't we already establish I have enough Cup Noodles to last a lifetime?  And the cash back on any item purchase, which varies from $0.10 to as much as $1.

Within 24 hours I'll receive a notification on my phone and through email letting me know that I've "got cash" and also alerting me to which items I purchased were eligible for cash back. 

While I encourage you to select items for cash back in the Ibotta app prior to shopping in stores with linked loyalty cards, I have been able to claim rebate on items if I select the rebates in the app immediately after shopping, but this is not a guarantee.  

And for stores where you have to scan a copy of your receipt, I would highly recommend following the steps to claim rebates within a day or two so you don't forget.  Receipts are not eligible for rebate if they are more than 7 days past the date of purchase.

If you're interested in Ibotta sign up with my referral code j6igsw or link here.  I'll receive a referral bonus (thank you!) and you will earn $20 just for using the app.  And then you can invite your friends who invite their friends and receive small dividend as your team grows.  Let's get that cash money!

Free Money

The number one way I get paid to shop is through Ebates, which I have talked about many times before.  To read my last post about Ebates and how I get free cash back when I shop online click here.  Yes, it really works.  I have currently received $916.55 from Ebates and no I don't shop that much online.  Sign up for Ebates here through my referral link and get $10 bonus cash when you make your first purchase.

Today I want to tell you about one way I get free money when I shop in stores with an app called Ibotta.  I mainly use this app when I shop at grocery stores, big box retailers, convenience stores, and pharmacy chains such as ShopRite, Target, Walmart, Costco, CVS, Wawa, 7-11, etc... you get the idea.  Each week participating stores offer different cash back incentives off various items they sell from fruits and veggies, to wine, to household cleaning supplies.  Additionally, most stores offer a $0.25 cash back rebate on any item.  Yep, that's $0.25 for simply shopping in a store.  As far as I'm concerned every quarter adds up.

The Ibotta app is super easy to use and I will give you a quick overview of how it works.  Normally I would recommend looking for rebates at participating stores before shopping, but let's be real... I often forget to do this.  Follow along to see how I redeem a receipt for cash back from my recent shopping trip to Costco.  I find it easiest to manually search for stores, but scroll through the long list if that is your thing.

Nothing I bought at Costco was on rebate and that's when I appreciate the $0.25 on any item cash back rebate!   To add the rebate to your account click the "+" and then "redeem."

This will take you to a new screen that makes you read or watch an advertisement or answer a survey question.  In this case it was an advertisement for Amazon.

After clicking the link for "Add $0.25 Cash Back" I was directed to a screen instructing me to take a picture of the recent Costco receipt and confirm which incentive I was redeeming.

Sometimes you have to scan the barcode to confirm that you bought a specific item, but not in this case.  So collect that money!

And within 24 hours your account will be credited with cash.  

Ibotta is literally the second easiest way to get free money for shopping.  If you can use a smartphone, shop in a store, and follow directions then you can use this app.  Before this current rebate I had $67.70 in my account.

And after my Costco shopping trip I had $67.95.  Get it!

I am on a mission to get to $100 so I can buy groceries without having to spend anything other than cash from my Ibotta rebates.  That would be awesome and I hope to reach this goal by the end of the year.

This is honestly an extremely user friendly app and I would encourage you to sign up for Ibotta.  If you sign up by my referral link here you will receive a $10 welcome bonus for free after you redeem your first rebate.  So what do you have to lose?  Get that money!