Sounds too good to be true, right?

I’ve used Ibotta for about a year now and it’s been a pleasant surprise.

The Synopsis:

I first came across Ibotta on a recommendation from a good friend. He explained that all you have to do is take picture of the item bar code, a picture of the receipt, and you get paid. I hate to say it, but my friend was never the brightest guy, but if he could make some money then it can’t be too difficult and I should be able to as well.

I checked it out for myself and he was pretty straight on.

How it Works:

Ibotta is a free app that allows you to get cash back for items you purchase. Here’s a quick rundown of how the app works:

1. Download the Ibotta app for free. Click HERE to do that (it works whether you’re on the computer or on your smart phone).
2. Open Ibotta and browse through the available rebates, unlocking any rebates for things you were going to buy anyway. (You unlock the rebate by tapping the plus sign.)
3. Shop at the store like normal.
4. Upload your receipts and (usually) take pictures of the item’s bar code.
5. Get paid.

And that’s that!

Better yet, you can join Ibotta through this link and you can get a $10 welcome bonus!

The Good:

I’ve mainly used Ibotta to get money back on our grocery store visits but there’s all sorts of rebates and a variety of stores/websites such as Amazon. They’re adding more stores and new rebates all the time.

There are often bonuses and you can link up with your friends and get bonuses based on what they redeem.

You can get small bonuses for generic things like getting a loaf of bread or a gallon of milk. These can add up.

I haven’t used the app consistently and it looks like Ibotta knows this. I recently got $5 for redeeming a single rebate; it didn’t matter what it was. So I redeemed some Milka Oreo Chocolate bars that my brother-in-law got at the store. I didn’t even have to buy it to make some money! Score!

The Bad:

• The majority of the good rebates are on processed/unhealthy foods so if these aren’t usually included in your diet, then you probably won’t get a lot of money back.
• You need to amount at least $20 worth of rebates before you can transfer any money to your account. Speaking of account, you are only able to transfer to a PayPal or Venmo account. Or you can choose to get that amount in a form of a.gif"https://ibotta.com/register?friend=isqmuvm">Ibotta on and off for the last year or so. I’ve made a little over $40 from this side hustle.

  I’ve had a good user experience so far.

  It can get annoying when you only get $0.25 back and there’s weeks that I haven’t gotten anything back. We try to eat as healthy as possible so I don’t usually get the big money rebates that seem to be available for foods that are more on the processed side. I get most of my money from bonuses on quantity of rebates redeemed or when they have some sort of special bonus going on.

  It all depends on your personal preferences so your experience with Ibotta will probably vary.

  It could work for you. There’s only one way to find out: Click here to download the app.

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  The above are affiliate links for Ibotta. If you click on them and sign up, I get a commission. These help me try out new side hustles so many thanks if you do!

  I sell old books using BookScouter. I sell stuff on Etsy and eBay. I used Shopify to run my old online business. I’m Marc the Shark , this is the Self Employed Movement, and yes, these are affiliate links too.