These days, there seems to be an app for everything. Apps strive to make our lives easier, run smoother, and in some cases even pay us money!
I’ve always enjoyed buying stuff but for those that don’t, there are apps that actually pay you to go shopping. We found the best ones below.
Get Cash Back By Scanning Your Shopping Receipts on this App
Ibotta is a super easy-to-use cash back app with 100+ retailers, both in-store and online. When you go shopping anywhere for anything, you’re bound to find a cash back opportunity!
So before you head to the store, check the app for items already on your shopping list. Dark Chocolate? Hit that + sign in the app. Wine? Tap that + sign again.
Go shop!
Then take a photo of your receipt. It’s so easy I actually scan it in the store before I get to my car.
Now you got yourself some cash back! Just for getting stuff which you needed anyway.
Here are some cash-back opportunities we’ve seen:
- 50 cents back for any item
- 25 cents back on bananas
- 25 cents back on bread
- $1 back on milk
- $3 back on a 6-pack of Shock Top beer
Ibotta is 100% free to download and you’ll get a $10 sign-up bonus after uploading your first receipt. On average, Ibotta users save $20 a month on groceries! So go on, do your shopping and get cash back.
Earn Gift Cards At Your Favorite Stores
Drop is an easy-to-use app that lets you earn gift cards on stuff you already buy from your favorite brands. It’s the ultimate & modern loyalty card without the card.
Self-proclaimed Target-addict? Get points for your purchases there.
Do you eat Cookie Butter by the spoonful from Trader Joe’s? You get points for all your purchases there too.
You need that Triple, Venti, Soy, No Foam Latte from Starbucks? Yep, you guessed it. You get points for that too! Whaaaat?
Connor from The Smart Wallet team already redeemed his $20 Starbucks card after only 3 weeks! We’re really loving Drop since you can earn gift cards on popular brands you already buy from. Easily set it up and watch the points drop in.
Get Your Kicks on for More Free Giftcards at Your Fav Stores
Are you tired of getting free gift cards yet? No? Well here’s another way to earn some!
“This app is addictive.” – Oprah.com
Shopkick is a shopping app that’ll reward you for the stuff you already buy both in-store and online. It’ll also reward you for just stepping into certain stores or scanning specific items off the shelf!
For instance, I walked into my local Target and earned 15 kicks (points). Yep, just by walking in.
I scanned a few items off a shelf for a total of 125 kicks.
I purchased some beauty items and snacks, scanned my receipt and got 1,015 kicks!
From that one Target trip, I earned a total of 1,155 kicks/points on stuff I already needed. That puts me at 97% to redeem a $5 gift card or more if I want to wait. Pretty easy stuff!
In order for ShopKick to work properly, you’ll have to turn on Location Services and Bluetooth. This ensures that you’ll get your kicks/points when you walk into stores!
Even When You’re Done Shopping, This App Has Your Back
I bought some king-sized bedsheets on Amazon and 3 weeks later it went ON SALE. Damn!
Usually, we attempt to find a good price on an item before we buy, but once we purchase, it’s a done deal. Because of this, we’re missing out on a lot of price change refunds.
Amazon alone changes their item prices up to 8 times a day and no one has time to keep track of that unless… you’re Earny.
Earny is an app that automatically gets money back when the price changes on your purchases.
So about those bed sheets that went on sale? Earny is currently claiming $5.16 back on my behalf!
And I didn’t have to do anything except set up the account.
Earny securely plugs into your email inbox and credit card so that it can be effective in getting the money back for you. It’ll scan your inbox for purchase receipts and when there’s a price change refund available, it’ll automatically credit the money back to the credit card you used to purchase.
Obviously, Earny won’t be able to do anything for you if you pay in cash but if you regularly purchase online with a credit card, this app is amazing to get those price change refunds back so you can shop in peace.
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