A couple months ago a friend of mine (a younger single friend mind you) posted this about an app called Ibotta.
“Sooooo, Brin and I are obsessed about a new app.
And okay, I hate when people post gimmicky crap or try to message me about the latest pyramid scheme. But this is one of those rebate apps and I’m super apprehensive about those usually…but Brin told me about it so I was like, well…Brin is smart this should be okay.
Anyway, I downloaded it and since yesterday I’ve made like $11.75 for stuff I buy anyway… and I’m not even trying. Like I could try, but I’m not.”
I figured that was an app for young single girls so I didn’t pay much attention. Then she posted this and I was intrigued.
I am also very apprehensive about gimmicky crap and I don’t like to sell stuff for commissions, but since it was free I had nothing to loose, so I used her code and signed up.
I started at the very beginning of September and got the automatic $10 bonus with my first rebate.
From there I just looked at what rebates were available in the stores I shopped at and I check off what I might be interested in. I have a grocery budget and I stick with it! I use some coupons and always look for generic/clearance/sale items. With Itoba I strayed from my list just a little bit knowing that I was earning money for some converse shoes that I wanted. I DID NOT go over budget though. I repeat I DID NOT spend more money on groceries in order to “save” money or “make” money.
What I did do however is modify my usual list to make room for some items that I wouldn’t normally purchase. I like to treat myself to a candy bar pretty much everytime I shop so instead of my usual I tried the Oreo ones that had an awesome rebate. I also tried a new shampoo (which I really like now by the way). I added pork tenderloin to the menu because there was a rebate, but the pork tenderloin is something we enjoy and it’s a really economical meat. I can feed my whole family for 6 bucks with that meal. So you get the idea.
In full disclosure it doesn’t always go as planned. Some of you may hate the idea of worrying about rebates. The cash back may not be worth it to you.
Sometimes I checked off rebate items then I got to the store and realized they cost too much and I was no longer interested so I didn’t buy them. Some items I could never even locate. One time I bought some sliced cheese and when I went to scan the barcode for the rebate it didn’t match so I guess I bought the wrong kind. That really frusterated me.
Even with all that I have managed to make $71 in less than 2 months!
I say earned not saved. When I go to the store I don’t deduct the rebates in my head. I stack coupons and sales and if I don’t want to pay the asking price without the rebate I will not buy it. I look at the rebate as a bonus, not a coupon.
The minimum cash out is $20 which is not hard to get to and you can get it sent to your bank account through pay pals with no fee!
Or if you don’t want to mess with PayPal there are tons of gift cards to choose from. That part of it was surprisingly simple!
The video below is a very brief account of how I got my new shoes using Ibotta and keep in mind this is without any referals!
*I can’t get the video small enough to load, but you can watch it on Facebook*
I have since started getting referal bonuses including my husband who was amazed and jealous at my shoes and wanted to sign up! I told him he won’t get as much as me because I buy the groceries, but there are some other options besides groceries on there. Anyway with that said I certainly won’t mind if you do use my referral code *wink wink*. It’s cdwuljf and here is another link if you are interested.
https://ibotta.com/r/cdwuljf
One last way you earn besides rebates and referrals is you get bonus dollars here and there just for getting a certain number of rebates or if your team meets a goal.
I know team sound very scammy, but your team is anyone you know on Facebook using Ibotta. I have never talked to these people about being on my team. I didn’t even know that I had a team! I just clicked on that part of the app one day and realized not only do I have dozens of Facebook friends using Ibotta some of them have earned hundreds of dollars.
That’s my personal experience and if you want to save up for some new shoes are Christmas gift for someone special I’d give Ibotta a try. Okay enough already.
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