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How I Made Over $700 While Shopping Using These Cash Back Opportunities
In just a few months I have made over $700 while shopping. That’s right, while I bought things I also made money!
Below I will show you exactly how to earn money while shopping using these simple cash back methods. Use these cash back apps and sites to save money on groceries, home products, electronics, clothes, and more.
What are Cash Back Apps?
A cash back app is exactly what it sounds like. It is an app that you can use in order to earn money back when purchasing something.
Using cash back apps is the best way to earn money while you shop. Before you go buy anything check in on your cash back app to see if you can earn money back for that specific item.
I consider using cash back apps as a form of side hustle. Especially because I have earned so much money from using them. So let’s talk about how to use cash back apps to earn money while shopping.
Best Practices to Using Cash Back Apps
- The key to using cash back apps is to only buy what you need or were already planning on buying. Do not go out of your way to buy something in order to earn money back. You will be losing money, in the long run, that way.
Make a list of the things you want to buy this month and browse through your cash back apps to see if any of those items are listed there. - Read the fine print before making a purchase. For example, there are certain cash back opportunities on Ibotta that are only achieved if you buy 2 of that item.
- Always compare cash back opportunities. There are a lot of overlapping cash back opportunities. To maximize your earnings/savings, compare the cash back opportunities in different apps as well as to other brands.
7 Cash Back Apps
9 Ways To Earn Money While Shopping
1) Make money taking pictures at your local grocery store with Field Agent
Field Agent is my favorite money making app. I have made over $300 in just a few months performing tasks at my local grocery stores.
These tasks may include things like taking pictures of displays, checking out sample carts, and talking to store employees.
Not only have I made a lot of money doing these tasks, but I have also earned free stuff worth over $100! Things like pizza, hair products, yogurt, ham, and more.
Read more about how you can become a Field Agent and earn over $200 in just 2 months here!
Sign up for Field Agent here!
2) Earn cash back on your groceries using Ibotta
Ibotta is one of my favorite cash back apps. Before you head to the grocery store, check out what kind of discounts you can get using the Ibotta app. Add those discounts to your account then go shopping.
After you buy your groceries, simply scan your receipt and Ibotta will send you your rewards for purchasing the items that matched their discounts.
The cash back can be small, but overtime your earnings build up. I have earned over $200 using Ibotta while I grocery shop.
3) Get cash back from your online purchases with Rakuten
Rakuten, formerly ebates, is a great way to get cash back while shopping online.
The best way to maximize your cash back potential with Rakuten is to download their browser tool. Doing so will allow Rakuten to notify you when there is cash back potential on a website you are visiting.
I recently started using Rakuten while buying Christmas presents and earned $20 cash back with just a few big purchases. At this point I have earned almost $30 using Rakuten!
4) Get even more cash back from your groceries with FetchRewards.
Fetch is similar to Ibotta except that you earn points that can be turned into different gift cards.
I’m not a huge fan of apps that reward points, mainly because I tend to forget to turn them into gift cards. The points tend to add up very slowly
However, the one thing I like about Fetch over Ibotta is that you will earn points on every single grocery receipt. With Ibotta you only earn cash back when you purchase items that are listed on their app, whereas with Fetch you can scan all of your grocery receipts and earn points on all of them.
So at least Fetch makes me feel like I am getting something back each time. However, I have only earned about 5000 points and that adds up to only $5.
Sign up for FetchRewards here!
5) Link your credit card to Dosh to get instant cash back while shopping.
What I love about Dosh is that I never have to think about it. We have all of our cards linked to the app and I receive notifications when I have earned cash back.
They give cash back at one of our favorite places to shop, Sam’s Club! We earn a lot of money by shopping there because our purchases tend to be so large (we buy a lot of cereal and pasta in bulk).
As of right now I have earned almost $40 without doing anything besides connecting our cards to the app.
6) Use Rakuten or Ibotta when purchasing Groupons
I love using Groupon because there are so many great places that you can enjoy at a discount. We love using Groupon when picking out a restaurant to eat at.
But before you go to Groupon to purchase any of their awesome coupons, check out the cash back opportunities through Rakuten and Ibotta. At times, Ibotta will be doing 10% cash back for Groupon. On average, both places typically have at least 4% back.
Make sure you go through either the Ibotta app to get to Groupon or through the Rakuten site to ensure you earn money when you purchase your coupon!
7) Earn cash back on gas by using GetUpside
Get upside is an app that helps earn you cash back when you buy gas for your car. They only work with certain gas stations so you need to find one before you stop somewhere.
I have only been using GetUpside for about a month and I have already earned $15 back from using it.
Sign up for GetUpside here and use the code UKCWW to get an extra $0.15/gallon bonus.
8) Download the Honey extension to your browser and never miss out on online coupons
Honey is another great way to save and earn some money while shopping. If you get the browser extension, Honey will automatically try out the best discount codes during your online check out. I have been able to save a lot of money this way!
Not only do they do coupons, but they also do Honey Gold which turns into points. Once you hit 1,000 points, you earn $10 back! I have earned over $30 which I then turned into an Amazon gift card and used on Christmas presents!
9) Earn 5% back on Amazon purchases with the Amazon Prime Credit Card
We buy a lot of items on Amazon so we thought that getting the Amazon Credit Card was a great idea. It has definitely proved to be a fantastic idea. We earn 5% cash back on every purchase we make on Amazon. We also earn 2% on restaurants, gas stations, and drugstores, and 1% back on everything else.
We use it mainly on Amazon alone, however, we try to use it at most restaurants as well. In just 2 months we have made over $40 back from our purchases, and over $200 in the past year.
How to Earn Money While Shopping
I want to give you an idea of how I have been successful in making over $700 in just a few months by using these different cash back apps.
Groceries
When I get ready to buy groceries, I make a list of the items I need. Before leaving the house, I will look through the Ibotta app to see if any of those items are listed there. I verify which store I can get the cash back on through Ibotta and go to those stores to buy the items.
Also, before I head out, I will check in with Field Agent to see if there are any jobs I can complete at either the locations I am going to or nearby stores.
If I go to Walmart, I will use Ibotta pay in order to get 1% cash back on the trip. Afterward, I scan the receipt into Ibotta to also earn back the money from that trip. I will also scan the receipt into FetchRewards.
Electronics
Before I buy an electronic item, like a printer, I will search around on Rakuten to see what kind of deals and discounts they offer. If I don’t find any major discounts or cashback I will check Groupon next to see if there are any coupons.
Then, if I don’t find any great ones being offered, I will buy the electronic from Amazon to ensure we get our 5% cash back!
Final Thoughts
Remember that these companies are working with the different brands and grocery stores to get you to buy specific products. Ultimately, it is a great big marketing scheme to get you to buy a certain thing over another. Be careful that you are not buying more than you already planned to in the first place.
Don’t start paying for things just because you can earn a little bit of money back. In fact, I would recommend just the opposite. Try your best to always be cutting things out of your budget. Use these cash back opportunities to your advantage and do not let them take advantage of you!
If you use cash back apps properly they can really help to propel you towards financial independence. So if you are truly trying to reach financial independence, creating the habit of using these apps will help to set you up for success!
Do you use any other cash back apps? What other ways are you earning money while shopping?
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