What Rebate Apps Do I Use to Save Money

My secret to saving money along with coupons is this new thing I discovered called grocery rebate apps. I discovered these apps in February and at first I was weary to download the apps. Here's the deal the apps are completely free and they save you money. I personally have received actual money with one of the apps that I'm going to mention. I bought items I was already going to buy. 

Here's how they work. You download the app and browse their current offers. Then when you get home from the store you take a picture of your receipt and select the offers that you completed. Then the money is deposited into your account. 

1. Ibotta- If you asked me about this app a couple of weeks ago I would have told you to forget it. I was only redeeming a couple offers and I only had a few dollars in my account. It didn't seem that this app was ever going to be worth it. Then in May they put great Glade offers on and Any Brand offers. I earned over $11 this month alone. I'm hooked. 

With ibotta you browse the offers by stores near you, then you completed a couple of quick tasks to unlock the offers (take less than 30 seconds), and then you shop. When you get home you scan the product and then capture your receipt. Ibotta has the money in your account within 24 hours. The great thing about this app is that you only need $10 to cash out. There are so many options to cash out. You can deposit your money to paypal or redeem giftcards through amazon, walmart, itunes, etc. I redeemed a couple of amazon giftcards this month and had them in my account within minutes. I can say that this one actually gives you money. 

2. Checkout51- This is probably my second favorite. This one is a little bit slower with earning and some weeks they do not have the best offers, but then some weeks I redeem a lot. My favorite deal that I have scored with Checkout51, so far is when I got shout and windex for a dollar each by combining a sale at Walgreens with coupons and the rebates. Some of my current offers are above. Personally since I just got a bunch of glade stuff with ibotta I won't be using the Checkout51 rebates. I did claim eggs and bananas this week. 

The pros to Checkout51 are they update every Thursday. You get new offers every week and some offers reset so you can use them again. There is a pick your own offer every week. Bananas are on the list every week and that is usually what I use. I'm a runner I eat a lot of bananas. The pick your own offer has a variety of fruits a vegetables, so you can get 25 cents back every week. The con to Checkout51 is that their cashout amount is $20 and then they will send you a check in the mail. Not as instant as Ibotta. I have $14 right now, so I'm getting closer to that cashout mark. Otherwise this app is a lot like Ibotta, you come home take a picture of your receipt, select the offers, and within 24 hours the money is in your account. 

3. Snap- This one is one of my least favorites. I don't redeem very many offers and they rarely update. The only thing that they do got going for them is that they have any brand offers sometimes. If you see an any brand offer plan to go to the store that day because it will not last long. This one is easy to use like the rest, just snap a receipt and select your offers. You have to get $20 to cash out and they will send you a check in the mail. If you are new to rebate apps I wouldn't recommend starting with this one. I will probably delete it once I cash out. 

4. Shrink- This one is at the bottom because it is by far my least favorite. If you eat organic food then this is the first app I would download. This app is full of completely organic food that you can earn money on. I don't eat organic so this app has not done me much good. The app offers new produce offers every week. Why I keep using this app is it allows me to earn points on Milk. Ibotta is great for milk rebates, but only at certain stores. I get it at a gas station at school and Shrink will accept those receipts. I'm getting there 60 pts at a time. Once I have 1000 points I can redeem a $1 to put into my account. This one is very slow earning and it is going to take me forever to reach the $20 to cash out and get a check in the mail. Another con about this app is that it takes up to 2 days to get confirmation that your receipt has been processed. 

5. Target Cartwheel- This one is brand new for me. I have only used it twice so far. When I'm at school Target is around 30 minutes away where Walmart and Hy-Vee are just down the street, so understandably I don't shop at Target very often. When I'm at home Target is only 10 minutes away. Target has some of the best couponing deals, so I would love to shop at their store more often. 

With Cartwheel you scroll through the offers and add the ones you want to your barcode. Then you put those products in your cart. At the checkout you have the cashier scan your barcode and the savings is immediate. I always get excited to look at my receipt and see how much Cartwheel saved me. In my mind every penny counts. My first transaction with Cartwheel I only saved .15 cents. The best part about this app is there is no waiting around to get the money back. The amount you saved is taken off your receipt just like a coupon.  

There are other apps I have downloaded but decided were not for me. These are the five apps that I use. Ibotta and Checkout51 are my favorites. I'm hoping to dive more into Cartwheel deals this summer while Target is close. I will do a post soon about how to stack coupons and apps to make for the best deals.