[Guide] - How I use rebate apps to get paid to take groceries

Getting Started

As some of you may know, I periodically post my grocery hauls where I get paid to take a bunch of groceries. Making money with rebate apps/sites is similar to couponing, but it's easier to keep up with in my opinion. The basics are:

1. Get your rebate apps/sites

2. Find some good deals

3. Go shopping

4. Submit your receipts

Just like coupons, rebate apps are not meant to turn a profit. This means that like learning any other skill, it may take some time become proficient. I usually get ~5 items per month for free, and maybe one trip every 1-3 months that is a decent money making haul. My money making hauls usually net me $50-80 in products and a few bucks profit.

 

Clearing things up / A small rant

People seem to have some misgivings when it comes to using rebate apps. Common complaints I see are that "they aren't worth it" or "they don't have products I buy". My favorite is "I can save time and money by shopping at Aldi's". (FYI: Some rebate apps work at Aldi's, and their prices aren't always the cheapest!)

But people seem to forget that this is r/beermoney where we exchange our time for compensation. In the case of rebate sites, we're exchanging our time for cash back. Sometimes that means we only get a discount, and other times we get freebies or even a small profit. And yes, it takes time to become proficient at it - learning a skill always does. But it becomes easier as you start to learn prices and can recognize a good or bad deal. Personally, I absolutely love getting things for free, and it feels amazing being able to say "I got paid to take this." If that doesn't interest you, that's fine! Go ahead and do surveys or microtasks or games or whatever else you would rather be doing. But DON'T go discouraging other users from giving something a shot! People are allowed to like different things.

 

Step By Step

Everyone is going to do things a bit differently. Personally, I don't need rebate apps to make ends meet, and my methods reflect that. I don't buy Sunday papers or use coupon clipping services. I don't price check every single rebate available, and I certainly don't force myself to meet every bonus (or any bonus for that matter). I only take a cursory glance through our (very small) clearance sections. I pretty much only shop at Aldi's and Wal-Mart, so that's where I look for my deals. If I'm sick or getting burnt out, I just grab the freebies and the usuals. I miss plenty of deals, and there are tons of people who get more cash back than I do - and that's fine! I choose to strike a balance between getting good deals and keeping my sanity.

If you are new to this and aren't sure what sites/apps to use, we have plenty mentioned around the subreddit.

 

That being said, this is what I do step by step.

 

1. Get the field ready.

I choose to use the computer whenever possible. I open up Wal-Mart Grocery (for price checking), Checkout51, Coupons.com and Swagbucks In-Store on my computer. I start up Ibotta on the phone. I personally use a spreadsheet to keep track of everything, so I open that up on my other monitor.

 

2. Take a look at the Earn More section in Ibotta

I always check the Ibotta bonuses in the Featured and In Progress sections first so I know whether I'll be trying to turn a profit or just grabbing the essentials. Ibotta frequently gives out Mid Week bonuses and Weekend Warrior bonuses. Sometimes these will be named something else, and every so often you will get multiple bonuses that can be stacked together. Personally, I look for at least $2 for every 5 rebates. Anything less, I usually can't make a good deal out of.

 

3. Start looking through the rebates

Now that we know whether we're going for a money making trip or not, it's time to look at the apps. You can do whatever order you want, but I prefer to look at rebates in this order: Checkout51 -> Swagbucks In-Store -> Shopkicks -> Fetch -> Ibotta -> Coupons.com -> Anything else

 

I look at Checkout51 and Swagbucks In-Store first because most of the deals for these three apps are not allowed to be redeemed on across multiple apps, and the offers don't change too often. Although I look at Swagbucks In-store, I typically use MyPoints to redeem since they usually pay a little bit higher. MyPoints has a weird point to dollar system, so it's easier to use Swagbucks at a glance. Doing these apps first helps me to mentally categorize what can and can't be stacked.

After that comes Shopkicks and Fetch because there usually aren't many things I'm interested in, but occasionally I can pair it with other apps or find a freebie. Following that is Ibotta which takes the longest. Afterwards I take a glance through Coupons.com just to see if there are any freebies or rebates for things I needed to purchase anyways. If I'm feeling up to it, I might check other apps that only occasionally have deals I like.

Anything I'm interested in gets added to my spreadsheet as I go along.

 

4. Looking through Ibotta

If I am not planning for a money making trip, I only look through the Freebies, Buy it Again, and the Any item. I also glance through my list just to see if there's anything I want and forgot to grab last time. This usually only takes a minute or two.

 

If I am planning for a money making trip, this is where it gets a bit more time consuming. Personally, I like to look through -every- offer. Any freebies or things that I already buy get put at the top of my list. Any items <$2 or things that looks useful/tasty and I might be interested get put at the bottom of my list. If there's something I don't recognize at all, I'll do a price check on Wal-Mart Grocery.

If you're just starting out, you may only want to look at the first few sections: For You through the Any Item, and perhaps do a search for anything you plan to buy. If you buy a lot of one of the other categories, perhaps take a look through those as well. The Household section frequently has good deals, but they are rarely money makers. When I'm feeling particularly lazy, I usually only look through the first couple sections and the Pantry items.

If I am short on Ibotta deals to meet my bonus, I usually go back through the Beverages and Pantry items. There are almost always deals where you can get items ~$1 after rebates.

 

5. Finalizing your list

Now that I've gone through everything and have all the potential deals on my list, I finish putting my spreadsheet together with all of the prices and any available rebates. If the site allows coupons, I start searching to see if that product has any coupons I could pair with it. I follow a handful of groups on Facebook, and I do some web searches to find various blogs that report their deals for the week. If I missed anything, it gets added to the list as well.

 

6. Deciding if it's worth it

This is one of the hardest parts for me. After making my list, I need to decide whether it's actually worth getting everything. Sometimes, it ends up not being worth it. For me, any items I normally wouldn't buy must be a money maker.

 

For example - Let's say I plan to get 10 items with Ibotta rebates:

• 2 items I definitely will buy. Perhaps I love them, they're free, or they're a money maker.
• 2 items I normally, buy but I can get the same deal pretty much any time.
• 6 item that either cost more than my usual brand, or I don't normally use.

Since I plan to get the first two items, I cut those completely out of my calculation. They don't matter for determining if the bonus is worth it because I'm buying them regardless. The next two items depend - are they things I would buy relatively soon or not? If I would be purchasing them in the next month or so, then I cut it out of my calculation as well. Now I look at the remaining items and see if the bonuses make those items profitable. If it's a money maker, great, I'll get all of the items. I also like to prepare an extra deal or two just in case something is sold out in the store.

It can be a bit disheartening to realize the deal isn't worth it after you have spent all that time, but it's better than wasting money on things you wouldn't normally use.

 

What to do with all this crap

It would be great if you would use everything you get, but chances are that won't always be the case. I'm a really fussy eater, and I'm allergic to basically every cleaner, scent, and chemical. So, it's not surprising that about half of the stuff I get are things I simply won't use.

 

Sell it

I see people make bundles of 5-20 items and sell them for 50-75% of the retail cost on Facebook. This is great for the regular staples like toilet paper, tooth paste, cleaners, etc, but oddball items might not make a desirable package.

 

Mix it in with the stuff you already use

If you get something you don't really care for, try mixing it in with things you do like. For example, if you got a crappy tasting ramen cup, you could throw out the seasoning packet and put your own seasonings or some sauce. Have a plant based burger that tastes like crap? Crumble it up and throw it in when you make tacos. If you have a food item you don't know what to do with, try seeing what recipes would work with that as a substitution. I got a ton of pasta kits at some point which tasted terrible and the pasta is too soft. I threw out all of the flavor packets, and now I substitute about a quarter of my normal pasta for it. I barely even notice it when I'm eating.

 

Give it to friends or family

• Candy and snacks make great birthday/graduation/starting-college/etc gifts. If I start getting too much, sometimes I'll just give it out as a "Happy Tuesday" gift (or whatever day of the week it is).

• Cleaning supplies, daily essentials, and canned/dry goods are appreciated by people who are going through a rough patch financially.

• Pet owners can never have too many pet supplies.

• If you work in an office, you could put out a candy bowl or give out the office supplies.

If your friends or family feel awkward about receiving stuff, consider inviting them over for dinner. Afterwards, tell them to pick through "all of the stuff you got for free, but won't use" or just give them one or two things randomly when they go to leave. If they're really adamant, consider letting them pay what they want or ask them for a small favor in return. That's how I started out with my family.

 

Donate it

• Food pantries will take any shelf stable item that is unopened.

• Homeless shelters and women's shelters can always use the essentials, dried and canned food, and even fresh produce. Some centers may be able to use frozen or refrigerated goods, but make sure to ask before dropping it off.

• Churches are always willing to help redistribute anything you don't need. Many of them take donations through the year and then hold a small sales. Foods often get handed to those in need or sometimes to the youth groups. Even if you don't go to the church, I've never seen one turn away items that are in good quality.

Of course, there's also the regular donation centers, but I find that the smaller local places appreciate it so much more and you're truly helping your local community.

 

Give it to strangers

• Health foods, soap, and sanitation supplies are often welcome at the local gym.

• Water, snack bars, and other easy-to-consume products are great for construction workers.

• Candy, snacks, and art supplies are great for teachers, girl/boy scouts, and other similar groups.

• I've even handed things out to people who were loading groceries in their cars in the parking lot (just make sure you don't need to scan the barcode!) I just tell them I had a coupon to get it for free that was about to expire, but I don't have a use for the product (you could say you're allergic, on a diet, diabetic, etc). I usually look for people who I think could use the item though, and make sure not to make it look awkward by going out of my way. For example: cereal for people with kids, pet supplies for someone with a dog sticking its head out the window, etc. Sometimes I'll give some completely weird "what even is this?" food to a random young, happy couple. It's always amusing to watch them joyfully take it right before staring at it like "wtf do I do with this?"

• If you want to be lazy, just throw it in a box on your porch (or your neighbors porch) with a "Take Me" sign. If you're somewhere remote, you could put an ad on Craigslist to let people know it's there.

 

Time Spent

Most of the time, I do all of my planning while watching TV, waiting for a game to load, browsing reddit, playing with my animals, etc. I can't remember the last time I actually focused on it entirely. I usually spend 1-2 hours preparing a money making shopping list. If I don't have any good bonuses, I'm usually done in under 15 minutes.

Shopping at the store adds maybe 15 minutes if I'm really struggling to find things or need to make substitutions. I check every item before purchasing it and scan them whenever I can.

All together, I spend maybe 5-10 minutes scanning all of my receipts and making sure I got all of the rebates I expected.

submitted by /u/Mikazah
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source https://www.reddit.com/r/beermoney/comments/oumew0/guide_how_i_use_rebate_apps_to_get_paid_to_take/