How to use free money app Ibotta (plus a $10 bonus!)

I used the free money app Ibotta to save on purchases I normally wouldn't have … plus I got a $10 bonus!
This past year I got back on the smartphone wagon through Republic Wireless (check out my review), and have installed some money apps mainly to get me using my phone a bit.

I just installed a money-saving one called Ibotta. Getting rebates for something I'm doing anyway — grocery shopping — is hard to pass up. It looked like all I really needed to do was scan my receipts after shopping with this free money app, and then goodness would happen, so I gave it a shot.

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Spending less at stores you're already shopping at

Ibotta already has relationships with the grocery stores we go to most often (Walmart, Costco, and Wegmans). Since Walmart is less than a mile from us, I used that one as my first trial. Here's what I did (and also what to do):

1. Register for an Ibotta account, and download the app

I went over to the site to register. Signing up is free. Nothing difficult about this.

Since my Republic Wireless phone is an Android, I went to the Google Play store to download the app. Then I logged in with the account information I just set up, and I was good to go.

2. Select your favorite stores, and look at the products that are money-savers

After the account setup, Ibotta asked about my favorite stores. I started with Walmart, Costco, and Wegmans. (There are hundreds of stores to choose from.)

3. Select the rebates you want to take advantage of

This part takes a bit of time but not too much. (I tap the Find Rebates button in the app.) Ibotta categorizes the rebates by things like Frozen, Dairy & Eggs, Breakfast, etc., so you can head to the sections that are interesting to you. For my first time around, I selected four things: Any Item, Any Yogurt, Any Pasta, and Klondike Bars. (The Klondike Bars rebate triggered my $10 bonus; more about that later.)

4. Go shopping just like you normally do and make sure to get your receipt

It's probably not necessary to have everything checked off before you walk in the store, but I did this time. (At the entrance of the store, there was a sampling station for some cheese, and the sign there pointed out that the product was on Ibotta, so I assume that I could have added that while I was in the store.) I had my phone just to remind myself of the items that had the rebates. Then I checked out and went home.

5. Claim the rebates by scanning your receipt and (possibly) some barcodes

After I got home, I tapped the Redeem button to cash in. The first thing I did was scan the QR code on the bottom of the Walmart receipt. From there, I checked off the items that I actually bought (which in this case was the four items I listed above). I additionally had to scan the barcodes for the pasta and the Klondike Bars. After that, I submitted the receipt.

6. Profit!

Ibotta says that receipts can take up to 48 hours to be credited, but mine was credited the same day (I think it only took a couple of hours!) I happily now have $11.50 in my Ibotta account: $0.25 for the yogurt, $0.25 for the pasta, $0.50 for one of the other items (basically for scanning the receipt!), $0.50 for the Klondike Bars, and $10.00 for fulfilling my signup bonus!

Yes, there's a $10 Signup Bonus with the first receipt

I mentioned above that the trigger was the Klondike Bars. I'll explain. In order to get the $10 bonus, I needed to fulfill one rebate that wasn't an “any item” or “any brand” rebate. The other three rebates I got were this kind, so I needed the Klondike Bars. (That's what I told myself, anyway. And my wife.)

You can do exactly the same thing! Simply sign up with Ibotta to get started with your rebating!