I didn’t earn it over night, or even in a year, but I did hit the $1000 milestone this week and wanted to share with you how I use it!

Ibotta is a really intuitive, user friendly, simple app that pays you cash back (think rebates), when you redeem offers (think coupons). The offers are available at a wide variety of stores, and range from grocery staples to cocktails, to clothing, to travel, and more.

If you are ready to sign up (it’s FREE), here is my link to get yourself started (with an added bonus)!

It’s very simple to use it, I promise! To cut straight to the chase, here’s how it works for in store retail shopping (I’ll get into the details below):

1. Log in to the app and select the offers you want
2. Go shopping
3. Redeem the offers by snapping a pic of your receipt (and some stores can link your loyalty card)
4. Get paid

Online shopping is a bit different, but super simple. You basically just launch your shopping trip from the Ibotta app or website, and you will automatically receive your rebate.

There are a few ways to give your earnings a huge boost as well. This is where the cash really starts to pile up.

1. Complete bonus offers
2. Use Ibotta Pay
3. Refer Friends

Here are the details:

When you log in to the app, you will have the option to search for offers. You can search by retailer, or specific product, or you can just browse away. I usually start by selecting the store I’m going to – So when I’m planning a grocery trip, I’ll start by looking at Publix / Walmart offers.

Usually I just scroll through, and when I find an offer that I like (something I definitely buy, or would consider buying) I just click the “+” symbol. That’s literally all there is to it.

There are always “any brand” offers too – so these are a nice way to bump up your savings very easily. Plus, these can be stacked with the branded offers. For example, you might see “any cereal” and you might see “cheerios” – you would be able to redeem both of them – yay!

This one is pretty obvious 🙂 Go to the store and shop.

Now it’s time to redeem your offers. Don’t be intimidated, it’s really no big deal, I promise.

Some stores allow you to link your loyalty card directly to Ibotta (Publix, Winn-Dixie to name a few that I use). You need to make sure it’s linked in advance (which you can do right in the Ibotta app), and your rebates will automatically be redeemed for you! There will be nothing you have to do!

If you haven’t yet linked your card, or are shopping where this is not an option (or maybe you prefer to redeem manually), this is how you do it.

• Go into your Ibotta app
• Click on “Redeem Offers”
• Select which store you shopped at
• Upload your receipt (at Walmart all you have to do is use your camera to scan the code on your receipt; at other stores you take a picture of your receipt and “upload” the photo).

Depending on which retailer you used, you will likely get paid within a few hours of redemption. With Walmart, I almost always get paid in minutes (and sometimes instantly). It takes a bit longer if you are using a linked loyalty card. Once you have accumulated $20 (I usually hit this in a week or two) you can cash out to Paypal, or select a gift card.

If you really want to give your earnings a quick boost, you really should pay attention to the bonus offers. This is how I accumulate savings so quickly. These bonuses are a huge help!

Pay special attention around holidays or big events, because Ibotta will often give you extra opportunities to make money!

For example, the week leading up to the Super Bowl Ibotta had a “Go Whomever!” bonus. It was an extra $10 (yes – ten dollars) when you redeemed a certain number of offers. Then last week there was a surprise “Mid week money maker” for $3.00 when you redeemed a certain number of offers (and these tend to pop up a lot). So in addition to the rebate offers you are getting, you also get the bonus. I think I made like $30 in just that one week.

In addition to Ibotta bonus offers, some brands will offer bonuses too. For example, a common one I see is for an extra $1 if you redeem a certain offer on two different shopping trips (many of the offers re-appear shortly after you redeem them, then you can use them again).

This one is pretty new to me, but I’ve used it a few times this month and I actually like it. The gist is, you pay in store via the Ibotta app, and for doing so you earn a percentage of your total purchase PLUS it counts as a redemption (which is great if you need a certain number to earn a bonus).

In full disclosure, I was nervous about trying this the first time. I told the cashier in advance what I was doing so they wouldn’t think I was just standing there fumbling with my phone.

Ibotta explains it much more concisely than I can, so I’ll quote them: “To get started, connect a credit or debit card in the Ibotta app and head to a participating retailer. When you use Pay with Ibotta at checkout, you’ll earn instant cash back on your entire purchase. Plus, upload a receipt from your trip to earn even more cash back on individual offers and watch your earnings stack up.”

In simplified terms, at the register, you type in the amount of the transaction, and it’s just like you are buying a gift card for that store. It’s all seamless and instant. Don’t be scared to try it!

Yet another way to get a quick boost is to refer your friends. You will have your very own referral link, and when your Mom, cousin, co-worker, whoever signs up with your link you can earn a bonus too!

I hope this was a helpful overview! As you can probably tell, I’m a huge fan of Ibotta and I use it almost every time I shop. I have reached the $1000 milestone by taking advantage of bonus offers. **Update** It’s now February 2021 and I’m over $1,900. The bonuses have been great, and I’m working on earning a $10 bonus for redeeming 12 offers (so basically one shopping trip – wohoo!

If you are ready to sign up (it’s FREE), here is my link to get yourself started (with an added bonus)!