My 1 year Ibottaversary!

 

I wouldn't be surprised if at some point you've seen or heard an AD for the phone app Ibotta, but have you ever wondered exactly how it works or if it is worth it? I have been using Ibotta for exactly a year now and I am going to share my experience with you and my thoughts on the whole process. I originally signed up last year when I saw they were teaming up with Walmart to offer free Thanksgiving meals to users on the app. After cash back we got a free turkey along with several sides and even a 2L of soda to go with it, and this year they are offering a similar deal. The free items are enough to make sides to feed our family of four, so it is an awesome deal to get a majority of our Thanksgiving meal for free after cash back. Below are a few of the free items they are offering:

How does it work?

1. Download the app and sign up for an account (if you sign up please use code bxmndnw), they also have a browser extension you are able to download on your PC. 

2. Open the app to it's home page, you'll see a number of retailers, a freebie section, bonuses information and more. Select the store you want to shop at to see what offers are available, I often shop at Walmart so it is generally the store I use on the app.

3. Look through the available offers and if you see any you want hit the little "+" sign in the corner to add it to your list. I've found they have offers for a lot of the brands and items I already buy, which means I am earning cashback on items I'd be buying anyways without the cashback.

4. Head to the store and do your shopping.

5. After you are done shopping and head home, open your app and hit "Redeem" follow the easy instructions to claim your rewards.

6. Collect that money! After scanning your receipt verifying any offers you have in your list, they will tell you how much you are getting back and add it to your wallet.

7. Cash out. You can connect your paypal account to collect your funds or redeem them for a gift card to a ton of different stores. They used to have a $20 minimum before you could cash out, but I noticed recently the limit for Walmart has decreased to a $10 minimum.

As mentioned I usually shop at Walmart anyways so I usually roll my cashback over into Walmart gift cards, they are stored on your Ibotta account however I prefer to take a screenshot of mine and I scan it at Walmart that way. Here are some of the items I picked up yesterday and received cash back on;

Freebies! Ibotta often has several active free after cashback options, many of which I have claimed, it can be a nice way to try new things or just save a little bit of money. Sometimes there will be two coupons that attach to one item, for example during October they had two different cashback options for Butterfinger bars in the fun size bags, the bags in store cost $2.98 and you received $2 back per bag (up to five bags) making them just $0.98 per bag of candy, the candy went right into our bucket to hand out to trick or treaters, nice to provide a delicious candy without breaking the bank.

Couponing! Sometimes you will get lucky and Ibotta will have a cashback offer for something that matches a paper coupon, so you can use the paper coupon in home then also get cash back when you get home. Depending on the value of the coupon and the cash back offer, you'll score the item for cheap and sometimes even free or you'll get back a little more than what the item was worth. I've managed to score packs of shaving razors for $1 per pack between using a paper coupon and Ibotta.

I know some people also use other cash apps alongside Ibotta so they get even more cashback for shopping. It really helps those who live pay check to pay check, or just like couponing. 

As of right this moment, in the last year I've received almost $700 in cash back, that is pretty dang good in my opinion. Keep in mind, the amount of cash back you will receive in a year of using the app will vary, it depends on your shopping habits and what you buy. They have cash back offers for diapers, formula, etc. but I don't have a baby and they have plenty of other offers I don't cash in so you could go well over my amount or a bit under if you don't shop a lot. 

If you think this is an app you might enjoy using and want to sign up, I'd love if you could use my referral code bxmndnw (I do get a bonus when people sign up, it helps me save for my family). 

* This is not a sponsored post, I just wanted to share a bit about an app I love using on a weekly basis.