I Tried The Ibotta Cashback App And It’s Completely Changed How I Grocery Shop

I’ve got bills, debt, rent and other monthly expenses, so I’m not exactly rolling in piles of money — more like hemorrhaging it. Because of that I’m always looking for ways to make some extra money, or at least cut back on my spending. In the past, my go to money saving strategy was minimizing my diet to canned soup, instant ramen and frozen meals you can just pop in the microwave. But, I decided to do my blood pressure a favor in the name of research and try out a cash back app called Ibotta that one of my co-workers had mentioned to me a few times. Ibotta is a free cash back rewards app that has partnered with more than 1,500 brands and retailers to provide shoppers with a way to earn on their everyday in-store and online shopping from groceries and takeout to clothing and accessories to travel and more. It’s particularly popular for its grocery cash back deals. Given that it has paid out more than $275 million to its users since it started, I was curious to see if this could be a budget win for me. It was. Turns out this app can help people save about $240 a year on shopping.

Signing Up And Figuring Out The App

Signing up for Ibotta only took about a minute. All I had to do was download the app and sign up with an email address, create a password and provide two other minor details. Ibotta works for a ton stores from big brand names to mom and pop shops because it offers cash back on individual items. So I found I could use it at Walmart, Target, Whole Foods, ACME, BJ’s and even at the local corner store down the street from me. How I use it:

• I shop and upload a picture of my receipt and Ibotta scans it for individual qualifying offers
• I shop online through the Ibotta app from select retailers to earn cash back
• I also shop online using the browser extension, which has more than 500 exclusive offers for grocery pick up and delivery

One important thing anyone using Ibotta has to do before any shopping trip is browse the available cash back deals in the app and select the ones that you want. Then after shopping and purchasing those items, the cash back gets applied to your Ibotta account.

My First Time Using Ibotta Went Like…

So what was my first time, using the app like? Well, the first thing I did was search for Whole Foods in the Ibotta app (it’s where I do a lot of my grocery shopping). I browsed through the neatly organized categories to find what offers I could use. By clicking on the plus icon beside each individual cash back deal, I added various discounts to the My Offers section of the app. After shopping, all I would need to do was scan my receipt for all the my cash back offers to be redeemed. As I scrolled over the nearly one hundred offerings, I found tons of deals to put in the My Offers tab. From $1 back on La Croix seltzer and kale chips to $4 back on a 15 pack of Blue Moon beer, I was amazed by how many useful deals I found. In fact, the unexpected problem I ran into was that I was adding more groceries to My Offers list than I actually needed. I managed to muster some restraint and I didn’t buy another loaf of bread and turned my head the other way as I walked by the discounted organic chocolate chip cookies. Thankfully, I walked out of the store with only the things I needed. And, when I got home and scanned my receipt, I was happy to find out that I had saved $4.50 shrinking my bill down from $32.09 to $27.59. And after using a few of Ibotta’s other shopping options, I got a $20 welcome bonus too!  I ended up  telling my roommate about how much I saved with Ibotta and she ended up downloading the app and using it on her shopping trip the next day. And because I had sent her my unique referral code, I earned cash back from my roommate’s shopping trip.

I’ve Learned That Ibotta Could Earn Me Hundreds Of Dollars A Year In Cash Back

I usually grocery shop two or three times a month. I’ve used Ibotta a handful of times now and have gotten really good at spotting useful deals and I usually manage to save around $10 each time. So in a month, I save $20 to $30 on groceries. In a year, that will be $240 to $360 in savings. That’s a few hundred I could put towards more important things.

Final Thoughts

All in all, I did love using the app.  It was easy to use and besides some minor issues that came with learning how to use the app, it’s helping me save me a good amount of money whenever I shop. From now on, like my keys and wallet, I’m never going to leave the house without Ibotta again.

Total Savings: Approximately $10 Per Grocery Trip + $20 Welcome Bonus

Total Projected Savings Using Ibotta For A Year: Between $200 To $400

Want to save on your shopping, grocery or otherwise, in-store or online?  Download Ibotta.  Images: The Money Manual