*This is NOT a sponsored post. This is just me, loving a product and wanting to pass it on!
A couple years ago I bought the best gifts ever for my kids. I’m not sure why I was so slow in discovering such a treasure, but Lego advent calendars are a dream! My kids anticipated opening a new door everyday before school and then would sit and play. Did I mention they played together? Nicely, even? It was amazing! Everyone had their own, so there was no fighting, and they loved helping each other decide where the new pieces should go.
I knew this was a tradition that I wanted to continue because we had such success the first year, but I also knew I didn’t want to pay for three advent calendars every year. They are not cheap if you’re buying more than one! So, right after Christmas I devised a plan to save myself from spending nearly $100 the following year.
I had the Ibotta app on my phone, but had largely ignored it. Maybe many of you are the same way. It takes a conscious effort to use it and start saving money until it is a habit! The Ibotta app is a way to get cash back on purchases that you have made, typically at the grocery store. The amounts may seem small- sometimes only .25 for an item, but it can add up! Once your savings add up to $20 you can trade in for e-gift cards or PayPal or Venmo credit.
I decided that I was going to use the Ibotta app for an entire year and use the money I saved to purchase Amazon e-gift cards so I could buy my advent calendars at a discounted price. I would check the app in the evenings after my kids were in bed and would plan my grocery list. And I only bought things that I would normally buy- I didn’t spend unnecessary money just to get Ibotta money… because that would be silly.
In November when I was ready to purchase my advent calendars, I had over $60 saved in my Ibotta account. I bought three Amazon e-gift cards for $20 a piece and was able to purchase three calendars for a total of $30. It was awesome and totally worth the few minutes before and after shopping trips that I spent on my Ibotta app.
How it Works
There are three ways to earn Ibotta points: scanning your store receipts, linking a loyalty card and in-app purchases. I almost always get my cash back from scanning my receipts. Before I head to the store, I open my app and pick the store I am going to. I then look for anything that I usually buy and add it to my offers. When I get home, I hit redeem, scan the receipt and watch my cash earned increase!
OK, sometimes it’s not that easy, but it usually is. There are some stores that require you to take a picture of the receipt rather than scan the barcode. If that is the case, it will also want you to scan the barcode on the item to make sure it matches. It’s not hard and only takes a couple minutes. Almost immediately after redeeming my purchases, I receive an email letting me know that my Ibotta account has been credited.
Linking a loyalty card is as simple as opening that store in the app and adding your loyalty number. When you check out at the store, it automatically looks for your saved offers and credits you for them. You do still have to go in and save the offers- it does not do that on its own! Simple.
The in-app purchases is newer than the other two options. I’ve actually only just start using it, myself. For example- I love the Jane app. Last week Ibotta had a deal where if you went through their app to purchase anything from Jane, it gave you 20% of your total purchase price back on your account. Not bad for something I was already going to buy, right? I don’t use this feature nearly as much as the other two, but it’s always nice to know there are other options!
Getting Started
Download the app from your app store. You can actually also sign up on their website, as well search for offers and save them to your account. But, you do need the app to redeem those offers.
The process of saving an offer is fairly simple: click on the store you are shopping at; click on the item you are interested in, then hit the + sign. It will usually ask you a simple multiple choice opinion question about your purchase. Once you’ve answered, the item is added to your offers. That’s it!
The other fun thing about this app is the more you redeem, the more bonus money is offered to you. There are bonuses for certain products, some for how many offers you’ve redeemed, and others for how well your team has done. Your team is made up of friends who also use Ibotta. Your number of offers combined can give you each added bonus money. The more you redeem, the faster your team reaches those goals and gets free money!
Now, I’m going to share my friends code that you are welcome to use to be added to my team, but you are under no obligation to use it! As a disclaimer, it does give me a $5 referral bonus every time someone signs up. And I wouldn’t feel good about giving it without you knowing that. So use it or don’t. It’s really fine with me! I’m not sharing this information to make money- only to save us all more money. Start your own team with your friends and family! The more people using it, the better your savings.
My referral code is: gawoofc
You also get a bonus the first time you use the app! $10 is credited to your account with your first redemption. Pretty cool, right? So, start now and tell yourself that you’re working towards savings for next Christmas. Let your Ibotta money sit for the year and redeem it for something really cool next November. Those Lego Advent calendars are worth every penny!
