How We Save Money with Ibotta, Fetch Rewards, & Ebates

*This post may contain affiliate links.

Now that I’m jobless, Brian and I are constantly trying to find ways to save money here and there when we can.  Brian has joined a few different cash-back programs in the last few months and I wanted to let all of you know about a couple of them because we love them so much.  Since Brian is the one who uses the programs, I’m going to let him explain in his own words how each one works since he understands the ins and outs better than I do. 

Take it away, B!

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Ibotta

Ibotta has tons of cash back offers for a very wide selection of stores, including grocery stores, clothing stores, liquor stores, and more.  We primarily use the cash back offers on groceries and wine which are available at stores like Target, Walmart, Publix, Kroger, Sam’s Club, and many more.  We have been using the app for about a year, and our total cash back so far is a little over $250.

Here’s how Ibotta works…

Ibotta gives you cash back for buying products that you select via the Ibotta app.  You start by finding offers/products in the app that you plan to buy.  You can select as many offers as you want… we typically select anything that we think we might buy, even if we might not necessarily end up buying every item.  They also occasionally offer cash back for things like “any grocery item” or “any brand of granola bar”, for example, where you don’t necessarily have to buy a specific product or brand.  After your shopping trip, you use the app to scan or take a picture of your receipt.  You then select the offers/products that are on that receipt and submit it to Ibotta.

Once you have submitted a receipt, Ibotta will take a short time to validate your submission and if everything checks out, they will deposit the cash back into your Ibotta account.  When your Ibotta balance reaches $20 or more, you can transfer the money to your Paypal or Venmo account.

Walmart receipts are especially easy to submit, because Ibotta reads the QR code on the receipt and automatically matches the products you bought to the cash back offers that are available to you.  Other stores take a little more time because you have to take pictures of the receipt and manually select the offers.  One example of this is Publix, and the Publix receipts are typically so long that you have to take multiple pictures in order to get the full receipt submitted to Ibotta.  For some purchases, the app also requires you to scan the UPC symbol on the product packaging itself to prove that you purchased the correct eligible product.

If you sign up as a new user, Ibotta currently offers a welcome bonus where they will give you a bonus $10 in your account after you submit your first receipt.  And we would love it if you would use our referral code because we get a bonus, too.  Who doesn’t want free money?!  (Lindsay added that.  Hehe.)

Click here to sign up.  Our referral code is subhxeh

Fetch Rewards

Fetch Rewards gives you rewards points for purchasing various popular brands/products.  Some examples of brands they currently offer bonus points for are Kraft, Heinz, Pepsi, Doritos, Miller, Coors, and Gatorade, among many others.  We have been using the app for about 6 months, and we have earned about $20 in rewards.

Here’s how Fetch Rewards works…

Fetch Rewards gives you rewards points for scanning and sending images of your grocery receipts.  You get a small amount of points just for submitting a receipt, and you get bonus points if you buy certain brands/products.  You can maximize your rewards by browsing the app before you shop to find the brands that will earn bonus points (and then buying those products).  We typically just buy what we always buy, and get whatever points are available on those items.  This is why we’re not earning tons of rewards, but someone who buys more of the brands that are offered in the app could earn a lot more.  After your shopping trip, you use the app to take a picture of your receipt.  The app automatically (and instantly) finds any products on your receipt that earn bonus points, and adds the points to your account.   On occasion, the app might miss something, but it has an option to submit a correction if you didn’t get the rewards you expected for an item.  This is pretty rare though… the latest app does a really good job of identifying the items that are eligible for bonus points.

Rewards points can be redeemed for gift cards.  Every 1,000 points is currently worth $1 in gift cards.  Gift cards offered include Amazon, Target, Walmart, and Nordstrom, just to name a few.  You can redeem starting at 3,000 points or $3.

Fetch Rewards is very easy to use and takes very little time to submit receipts.  So although we haven’t earned a ton of rewards, it’s still worth using because it is so quick and easy.

If you use our referral code, you will automatically get 2,000 bonus points (worth $2) the first time you submit an eligible receipt and we get a bonus as well.  Click here to sign up.  

Our referral code is K5JXK

Ebates

Ebates has tons of cash back offers for a wide selection of stores.  Most offers in Ebates are for a cash back percentage on your total online purchase (not necessarily for buying a particular product ).  Examples of current online stores that offer cash back are Walmart, Old Navy, Kohl’s, Macy’s, Gap, and Carter’s, among many others.  There are also some offers for making in-store purchases at certain retailers.  Current in-store offers include Bed Bath & Beyond, Express, and Best Buy.  We primarily use the cash back offers for online clothes shopping.  We have been using the app for about 4 months, and our total cash back so far is about $20, which isn’t bad considering we haven’t been shopping as much lately.

Here’s how Ebates works…

Ebates gives you cash back for using their app to do your online shopping.  You start by using the Ebates app to find the stores/sites you plan to buy from.  You must start from the Ebates app.  If you start from the retailer’s website or app first, you won’t be able to get cash back from Ebates.  After you make your purchase from inside the Ebates app, Ebates will follow up later with an email notifying you of your cash back amount.  It typically takes anywhere from a couple of hours to a couple of days for Ebates to notify you.

Every three months, Ebates automatically transfers your cash back balance to your PayPal account.  Alternatively, I think you can have them send you a paper check, but we have not used that option.

Ebates is very easy to use, but the hardest part is remembering which stores offer cash back and starting from the Ebates app whenever we do our online shopping from those stores.  We often forget to do it, so then we miss out on the cash back.  Also, we have had one problem where the retailer’s website did not seem to be working correctly from inside the Ebates app.  This has only happened to us once, so it is probably very rare, but it was annoying.

If you sign up as a new user, Ebates currently offers a welcome bonus where they will give you a bonus $10 in your account after you make your first qualifying purchase of $25 or more.  We will also get a bonus if you use our referral link to sign up and make a qualifying purchase.  Our referral links are here or here if you want to sign up!

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Thanks, babe! 

So friends, if you’re looking for some easy ways to save a little bit of money on stuff that you already buy, check out these three apps!

A penny saved is a penny earned, and every penny counts when you're living in a one-income household!  I'd surely like to keep it that way, too.  ;o)