The other hard work involved in rebate apps is that you have to pay attention to whether or not the rebate is store specific. Some of them are usable at any store, and others are usable only at the stores partnered with that rebate app. Others are only available if you purchase the item from a specific store. Luckily, Walmart is usually the common denominator with all of these apps, which works out well for consumers because Walmart price matches other stores advertised prices.
Here is an example: Ridley's had a sale a few months ago on Cache Valley cheese; it was $1.98 for an 8oz package, and there was no limit to how many you could purchase. On the Snap rebate app there was a rebate for $1.00 off any package of Cache Valley cheese, with no limit to how many times it could be used. The only catch is that the rebate was only valid if the cheese was purchased from Walmart. Since Walmart has the price-match policy, I just brought the Ridley's ad with me to Walmart and purchased my cheese there for the sale price of $1.98/package. Then I got $1 back for every package I purchased. Now, in this case, I purchased over 50 bags of cheese, because I'm in charge of the food for a family reunion next year, and shredded cheese freezes really well. I got all the cheese I needed for the reunion for $1.96/lb - which is the cheapest I've seen it anywhere since I started frugal shopping almost a year ago.
There are a lot of rebate apps out there, but I only have room on my phone for these ones:
Ibotta - by far the best one. Everything from food to toys to makeup to magazines.
Ibotta - by far the best one. Everything from food to toys to makeup to magazines.
SavingStar - my second favorite, always has food and personal hygiene rebates that match coupons
Checkout 51 - has a smaller selection, but gives rebates on fresh produce and SmartSource brands
MobiSave - also has a smaller selection, but deposits money into your PayPal within hours of uploading your receipt!
Snap - usually has rebates that you can redeem as many times as you want ***Update***Snap will be closing their cashback feature starting March 2016
ReceiptPal - offers a points rewards system for uploading receipts
ReceiptHog - offers a coins rewards system for uploading receipts
ReceiptPal - offers a points rewards system for uploading receipts
ReceiptHog - offers a coins rewards system for uploading receipts
Technically the last two aren't rebate apps, they are receipt apps, but you can still make money using them. Here's how rebate apps work: before you go shopping, you check your rebate apps and mark which deals you want (although some of them don't require you to mark anything). You do your shopping (ideally matching sales with coupons) and when you get home, you scan the barcode of the product you purchased, and take a picture of the receipt. Depending on the app, it can take anywhere between 20 seconds and 3-4 days to credit your account with the app money. Most rebate apps will then let you cash out (usually via PayPal) once you have redeemed a certain amount of money through their app. I've written a separate post for each app, you can read each one by clicking on the name of the app above, and it will link to the post. Other apps I don't use, but you might find useful include:
BerryCart - has mainly all organic options, but doesn't have enough of a selection for me to use it
CartSmart - works a lot like Checkout 51, but has less of a selection (as in, only about 15-20 items available at once)
Shopmium - I don't use because they only have like, 6 offers listed at a time (it's just not worth the space on my phone)
Shrink - offers you more or better rebates when you are brand loyal (which I'm usually not).
Cartwheel by Target - I just don't shop enough at Target to use this app, but I do have an account and still get their emails.
You may have noticed that I didn't list Walmart Savings Catcher. I have written a post about the so called "saving's catcher" which is found here. It is an app I have on my phone, but I don't recommend relying on them as a source of saving money. That does't mean that I don't like Walmart; I love shopping at Walmart! Their price matching policy saves me money almost every week. I wrote an entire post about price matching which can be found here.
I want to say that the best part of rebate apps is that the brands who advertise with rebate apps often are also the brands that offer coupons. I can almost always find a rebate for something I need that also matches a coupon I have, and you CAN use both for the same purchase. I have also found that sometimes the same brands advertise on multiple rebate apps, and you can use both apps for the same purchase.
Here is an example. In December there was a rebate on Ibotta for Bisquick. There was also a rebate on SavingStar for Bisquick, and I also had a coupon for Bisquick. They were all for $0.50 off 1 box. I had to be conscious of the fact that the Ibotta rebate required a larger size than the coupon and SavingStar required, but the larger size was eligible for all 3 deals. Ideally I would have combined these rebates and coupons with a sale, but Bisquick didn't go on sale and I was almost out of pancake mix. Either way, I spent less than if I had bought it without the coupon and rebates. I just used the coupon at the store when I bought the Bisquick, and then uploaded the receipt to both apps when I got home. I saved $1.50 total.
Now, another thing to be aware of is that I had to purchase the Bisquick from a store that both apps are partnered with. For example, I couldn't buy it from Ridley's, because while Ibotta honors purchases from Ridley's, SavingStar does not. However, if Ridley's had a sale on Bisquick, I could have just price matched the sale at Walmart and purchased it there, because both apps honor purchases from Walmart. Walmart really is the common denominator for all rebate apps. I haven't found one yet that doesn't honor purchases from Walmart. The only thing to be weary of is if a certain rebate within an app is available at ONLY one store, like Walgreen's or Rite Aid. Those deals are specific to that retailer because they partnered with the app to advertise specifically for them, and you won't get the rebate if you price match the item and buy it at Walmart. Like I said earlier, it takes work, but it's worth it!
I also want to take a minute to briefly explain receipt apps. Receipt apps pay you a certain amount of points or "coins" for uploading pictures of your receipts, which can be cashed in for cash or gift cards once you reach a minimum balance.. There are no offers or specific merchandise that you have to purchase, they just want the picture of the receipt (for market research purposes, I'm sure). They don't cost you money, and as a bonus you now have a digital copy of every receipt stored on your phone in the app. I really like the convenience of this because there have been several times when I accidentally lost or threw away a receipt that I needed for a reimbursement, or that I hadn't entered into my budget sheet yet, and I was able to get the information I needed off of one of my receipt apps because they stored the picture I uploaded. I haven't earned as much money with receipt apps, but my mantra for cash back apps is "It's money that I wouldn't have had otherwise!"
I really hope this post helps you, please read up on the different apps, and consider using them! They really aren't as complicated as they look, and you'll love it once you get the hang of it.
BerryCart - has mainly all organic options, but doesn't have enough of a selection for me to use it
CartSmart - works a lot like Checkout 51, but has less of a selection (as in, only about 15-20 items available at once)
Shopmium - I don't use because they only have like, 6 offers listed at a time (it's just not worth the space on my phone)
Shrink - offers you more or better rebates when you are brand loyal (which I'm usually not).
Cartwheel by Target - I just don't shop enough at Target to use this app, but I do have an account and still get their emails.
You may have noticed that I didn't list Walmart Savings Catcher. I have written a post about the so called "saving's catcher" which is found here. It is an app I have on my phone, but I don't recommend relying on them as a source of saving money. That does't mean that I don't like Walmart; I love shopping at Walmart! Their price matching policy saves me money almost every week. I wrote an entire post about price matching which can be found here.
I want to say that the best part of rebate apps is that the brands who advertise with rebate apps often are also the brands that offer coupons. I can almost always find a rebate for something I need that also matches a coupon I have, and you CAN use both for the same purchase. I have also found that sometimes the same brands advertise on multiple rebate apps, and you can use both apps for the same purchase.
Here is an example. In December there was a rebate on Ibotta for Bisquick. There was also a rebate on SavingStar for Bisquick, and I also had a coupon for Bisquick. They were all for $0.50 off 1 box. I had to be conscious of the fact that the Ibotta rebate required a larger size than the coupon and SavingStar required, but the larger size was eligible for all 3 deals. Ideally I would have combined these rebates and coupons with a sale, but Bisquick didn't go on sale and I was almost out of pancake mix. Either way, I spent less than if I had bought it without the coupon and rebates. I just used the coupon at the store when I bought the Bisquick, and then uploaded the receipt to both apps when I got home. I saved $1.50 total.
Now, another thing to be aware of is that I had to purchase the Bisquick from a store that both apps are partnered with. For example, I couldn't buy it from Ridley's, because while Ibotta honors purchases from Ridley's, SavingStar does not. However, if Ridley's had a sale on Bisquick, I could have just price matched the sale at Walmart and purchased it there, because both apps honor purchases from Walmart. Walmart really is the common denominator for all rebate apps. I haven't found one yet that doesn't honor purchases from Walmart. The only thing to be weary of is if a certain rebate within an app is available at ONLY one store, like Walgreen's or Rite Aid. Those deals are specific to that retailer because they partnered with the app to advertise specifically for them, and you won't get the rebate if you price match the item and buy it at Walmart. Like I said earlier, it takes work, but it's worth it!
I also want to take a minute to briefly explain receipt apps. Receipt apps pay you a certain amount of points or "coins" for uploading pictures of your receipts, which can be cashed in for cash or gift cards once you reach a minimum balance.. There are no offers or specific merchandise that you have to purchase, they just want the picture of the receipt (for market research purposes, I'm sure). They don't cost you money, and as a bonus you now have a digital copy of every receipt stored on your phone in the app. I really like the convenience of this because there have been several times when I accidentally lost or threw away a receipt that I needed for a reimbursement, or that I hadn't entered into my budget sheet yet, and I was able to get the information I needed off of one of my receipt apps because they stored the picture I uploaded. I haven't earned as much money with receipt apps, but my mantra for cash back apps is "It's money that I wouldn't have had otherwise!"
I really hope this post helps you, please read up on the different apps, and consider using them! They really aren't as complicated as they look, and you'll love it once you get the hang of it.
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