Today I’m sharing with you how I save money  using coupon and rebate phone apps  when grocery shopping.  I have sifted through a good many coupon and rebate apps out there and the four I am presenting today are my favorites and save (and make) me the most money.  All of them are free to sign-up.

 (Oh and please take a moment to tell me about your favorite shopping apps and why in the comments below!)

1. Ibotta   (This is the best rebate app out there.)

• It is easy to learn to use.
•  You scroll through offers and click on anything of interest. (There are offers for produce and staples which are nice.)
• You may be required to watch a brief video or take a very short survey to unlock an offer.
• When you find the item you want at the store, you  take a picture of the barcode to verify it is the correct item. (If it has one.)
• After your purchase you upload a picture of your receipt in-app and if it checks out (i.e. you’ve done correctly)  money will be credited to your account quite quickly.
• There are money bonuses you can acquire every month along with your team. This makes it more fun too.
• Please join my team!  The more on the team the easier it will be for us to get our bonuses each month.  Cool right? (Click here)
• If an offer only works at a certain store, it tells you.
• There are quite a number of rebate categories besides groceries to explore, including restaurants.
• You can cash out through Paypal or Venmo at the $10 level -Or- you can choose from various gift cards.
• It offers a $2 cash bonus for sign-ups from your friends.

2. Coupons.com

• There are a ton of grocery coupons! (Great savings on common items.)
• Simply scroll and click to get store coupons you want.
• You can print out coupons from the app or receive a link to the coupon in your email.
• It will add coupons to some loyalty cards too.
• This app is super when used with the two apps below.
• No messy Sunday paper, just the coupons you really want.

3. Favado

• This app will show you what’s on sale at some your favorite grocery stores.
• You can choose which store’s special you want to see.
• Each will show if there are coupons or loyalty cards  that can be used to drop the price even further.
• It will mention rebate apps like Ibotta, if they have an offer too.
• Want to buy more than one item or use more coupons at your favorite store?  You can look at the store coupon policy in-app.
• This app includes specials from both Whole Foods and Sprouts, which organically speaking, I really appreciate.
• The only disadvantage is that while it does include a lot of western stores like Smiths, it doesn’t yet have Kroger’s on the list or other southern chains.

4.  Krazy Coupon Lady  (This app is NEW as of August 20, 2015.)

• This app is much like Favado, but includes a much longer list of stores and yes, Kroger’s too.
• You pick which store’s specials you want to look at.
• Scroll through the list of specials and click on your favorites.  It will show you where to find coupons and rebates.
• Items are labeled with the final cost after coupons and rebates, which is super.
• I was surprised by how many items were labeled as ‘free’. (Using the correct coupons and/or rebate app.)
• This app has very effective videos under the ‘learn’ tab that show you how to ‘stack’ offers and be a truly extreme shopper and save outrageously.
• Nice website too.

There you go.  These 4 are my faves.  So how do I use them?

An example of how this all works:

• I  came across a rebate on Ibotta for 1.50 off of Galbani cheese, 8 oz. or more.
• Using Favado, I found a half price loyalty card sale for 8 oz. Galbani fresh Mozzarella cheese and reference to a $1.00 coupon on Coupons.com.
• I took my coupon and loyalty card to Smith’s and bought the cheese. It cost a $1.55 at check out.
• I scanned the barcode off the cheese package and scanned in the store receipt into Ibotta.
• Ibotta notified me in less than an hour that I had earned a 1.50 on the rebate at Smith’s.
• The total price for the Fresh Mozzarella Cheese? …FIVE CENTS!  Tada!
• What did I use it for?  Lunch:  Steak Salad recipe here. –Enjoy!

Are there any other shopping apps I’ve tried?  Yes and some are pretty good too.  Others just seem to take a long time to add up.  Here are some of the others I occasionally use:

Snap from Groupon

Pros:

•  Coupons can be used at any store nationwide where the item is carried.
• You only upload the receipt.
• They will pay you $1.00 for each referral who redeems their first eligible offer.
• Both Favado and Krazy Koupon Lady may refer to it.

Cons:

• Very few offers available.  (Just 36 currently.)
• You have to wait till you make $20 to cash out.
• You have to request a snail mail check.  (An oddity for a digital entity.)

Walmart app

Pros:

• Savings Catcher feature lets you scan in receipts which compares prices from other local retailers and then pays you the difference in money to be used at Walmart.
• You can cash out any amount.

Cons:

• This app needs a loyalty card that the money is in.  (It has a charge card thing… but I am not doing that!)
• You have to print out a paper that has a barcode that shows how much you will save when presented at checkout..  –Don’t lose it, it isn’t replaceable.
• You can only input 7 receipts a week, so make sure they are your big receipts.
• Use only at Walmart.
• It has taken me a long time to earn any money.  But then I am crazy thrifty. 🙂

Checkout 51

Pros:

This is a rebate program that seems to have some different offers from Ibotta.

Cons:

• Very few offers
• You must make $20 before you can cash out
• They snail mail you a check after you request your money.

Receipt Hog

Pros:

• Easy.  All you have to do is upload your grocery receipts from anywhere.

Cons:

• I don’t get the whole coin thing…It doesn’t seem to be forthright about any real cash value for things. (my fault, maybe.)
• You can cash out at 1000 coins, I think.  It is vague.
• It has a slot machine thing that is annoying.
• Honestly this one just might get deleted off my phone soon.  It’s pretty weird. 🙁

MobiSave

No way to honestly review here.  I have been on the wait list for months.  Getting ready to delete and move on.

Special thanks for phone and money pics to:

Pixabay