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!

Get free money when you shop using Ibotta

It's been forever.  For-ev-er.  I feel like I constantly apologize for my absences, but it is what it is.  I'm a working mom with a full time 9-5pm and a side hustle, so needless to say I'm busy AF.  But I have my eyes on the prize and I'm ok with this chaos (for now).

Ibotta... I've blogged about it before (here).  It is one of my favorite money savings phone apps and no they are not paying or giving me some incentive to blog about them, although Ibotta feel free to.  Ibotta gives you cash back on everyday purchases from places you shop at like the grocery store, drug store, liquor store... you get the picture.  The app is super easy to use and all you need to do is make sure you keep your receipts to claim your cash back.  Sometimes I check out the rebates before I go to stores, which I would recommend if you have any on the fence purchases like buying one brand versus another.  For example, if one item has a $1.00 cash back, but costs $0.10 cents more than the competitor then I'll pay the extra $0.10 to get the $1.00 back.  Common sense.  Most of the time, however, I search the rebates after I've already completed my shopping trip and generally I get lucky with at least one item offering cash back with purchase.  Yesterday I went grocery shopping and without even checking the rebates first ended up getting 5 rebate offers on items that were already on sale.  Score!  And anyone who knows me knows I love a sale / deal and free money!  Go get Ibotta, but use my referral link at the end of this posting.  The app is already super easy to use, but for you, I'll break it down (like a shotgun).

How to find rebates:

1. Download the app on your phone from the app store
2. Open the app (I told you I'd make this easy)

3. Find the grocery store you plan to shop at or just shopped at and click the icon.  You can search in the search box or if you are like me the app recommends which stores I shop most at.  And yes, Walmart is number 4.

4. Scroll through the categories to see what items are on rebate.  I personally prefer to scroll through each category such as "Dairy & Eggs," "Pantry", "Breakfast," etc. as it is easier for me to make sure I didn't miss a potential item for rebate.  Plus, it helps me remember what is on rebate before a shopping trip because mom brain.

Note:  Make sure you choose every item that you want to claim rebate on.  The app will not give you credit for items you didn't select that are eligible for rebate.

To claim items for rebate:

1. Click the plus sign to add an item you purchased for rebate. 

2. The app will either make you watch a video (generally 30 seconds or less), read an advertisement (see below), or answer a question before you can claim rebate credit by clicking the blue box at the bottom of the screen.

3. Once you have selected all your items for rebate click the "Redeem" icon at the bottom of the screen.

4. This will prompt you to take a picture of your receipt.  Receipts must be redeemed within 7 days so make sure to do this ASAP unless you like missing out on free money.  But since you are still reading this I'm going to assume free money is your jam too.  With receipt in hand press the blue bottom on the bottom of the screen that reads"Continue."

5. Take clear pictures of your receipt.  If you have a long receipt press the "Add Section" icon and keep taking pictures of sections of your receipt until your entire receipt has been captured.  When done press "Finish" button in the bottom right corner of the screen.
6. The app will find and automatically match eligible offer from the rebates you selected. Remember if you didn't select all rebates prior to scanning your receipt the app won't find them for you!  Every now and then the app misses an offer selected.  In that case click the white button towards the top of the screen that says "Add Offers."

7. A screen will pop up with offers you selected, but that the app didn't think were eligible.  But don't fear.  In this case I got deli cheese that the app missed.  Simply click the missed offer and tada...it gave me credit.  Just note that sometimes the app won't automatically give you credit in which case you will need to scan the items bar code.

8. When all the items you purchased are verified click the bottom blue button to claim your rebates.

9. And within 24 hours you will get that sweet, sweet cash in your account, which you can redeem in various ways such as via PayPal, Venmo, or gift cards.

I received an email a few hours later notifying me that the cash back had been added to my account.

Today I save $4 on items that I would have purchased regardless if they were on rebate.  Plus some of them were already on sale.   And while $4 is not a lot of money to some, I firmly believe that every little bit adds up.  I currently have $155.50 in my account that I can withdrawal at any point for whatever I want. 

So now please tell me that every little bit doesn't add up.

I hope that after you read this review you'll consider joining Ibotta and use my referral code j6igsw when you sign up.  If you use my code the app will credit me $5.

And then you can refer all your friends and get $5 every time someone you refer uses the app.  It's a win win for all of us who love free money.  Now go download the app and get that money.

If you liked this post please leave a comment below to let me know what you plan on buying with your cash back.