Counting Quarters

Continuing our discussion from last week…Have these apps helped you save any money yet? I hope so. I am slowly nickel-and-diming my way to a chubbier piggy bank, but I have saved the best for last!

Ibotta

This one might be my favorite app. Ibotta gives you a percentage of cash back from online purchases at over 250 retailers. However, I mainly use it for cash back on groceries. I find my grocery store and look up the different cash back offers. For example, if I upload any receipt, I get $0.25 back. It has offers specific to certain brands OR any item (such as $1.25 cash back on Chobani Flip yogurt or $0.10 cash back for any brand of apples). The amounts range from ten cents to a couple of dollars. It also offers bonuses featuring different products each week. My lifetime earnings for this app is in the hundreds. I had one friend who saved all year and had enough to buy two tablets for Christmastime. Like the others, you can cash out via gift card or PayPal and it has a referral bonus. Check it out with my referral code: tklxohm. The deals change every week, so I try to use it every time I get groceries.

Other apps similar to Ibotta include: Checkout 51 and MobiSave.

My Points

I have had this program the longest and have earned hundreds of dollars. I started by creating a MyPoints account and allowing it to send me one e-mail a day advertising a product; if I clicked on the link in the email, I got points. If you choose to make a purchase from that email, you get more points (sometimes thousands). Right now, it takes 1590 points to redeem a $10 PayPal reward or you could save up and get more bang for your buck (or, more buck for your points). MyPoints has several other ways to earn points: online shopping, coupons, surveys, games, and the occasional bingo game. It, too, has a refer-a-friend program where both you and your friend earn points. Try my referral link: https://www.mypoints.com?rb=27124718.

Survey Junkie

Survey Junkie is exactly what it sounds like. You get points for taking surveys on a range of topics. One point equals one cent. I have tried several survey apps and what I like about this one is that the surveys are short and you can cash out once you earn $5. If you start a survey and don’t qualify for it, you still get 2 points.

Mystery Shopping

This one was actually kind of fun. I signed up as a secret shopper through a couple different websites. They offer a list of businesses where shops are available. Depending on the requirements, you shop at a specific store during a specific time frame and buy something (sometimes it is anything, sometimes it is a specific product). Then you answer the questions and upload your receipt. Sometimes you get a flat fee and sometimes you get a fee plus reimbursement. I happened to like the ones where I could get reimbursed for lunch. Two to try are secretshopper.com or second-to-none.com.

What other ways have you found to make some mad money? Once, I signed up to be a virtual mock juror. It took a couple hours to read through all the evidence, but the payout was worth it. I hope you found these money-saving methods helpful and I would love to hear about your creative ways to save.