Grocery store apps make it easier to save money

If you clip coupons, you have probably forgotten them at least a few times when you go to the store. But how many times have you gone shopping without your phone? Never, right? Since we almost always have them with us, consumer expert Amy Davis is showing us three apps you can download now to save some money.

Instead of doing a bunch of prep work, clipping and sorting coupons before your shop, these apps help when you get home with all your bags.

On Ibotta (hyperlink to: https://ibotta.com/how) just click the store where you shopped; then scroll through the icons to find products you purchased. Tapping a product's icon unlocks that specific rebate, like $1 cash back for Caress body wash. Then you have to scan the UPC on the product and take a picture of your receipt.
 
"My wife will do some shopping and she'll give me the receipt," explained Kyle James, author of the RatherBeShopping blog. "I'll just go through the receipt; and it's amazing how many times there's something Ibotta has a rebate for."

After about a year of sporadic use, Davis accrued $20.25 of rebates on Ibotta. She can continue to rack them up, ask Ibotta for a pay-out through PayPal or get the money she's earned on a gift card to a slew of stores like Best Buy, Amazon or Starbucks.

Davis just installed Check Out 51 so she can't give a full review yet, but it works just like Ibotta. She found offers like 50 cents back when you buy bananas and 25 cents back when you buy eggs. Check Out 51 pays you with a good old-fashioned check they send you in the mail once you accrue $20 in rebates.

WalMart's Savings Catcher is by far the easiest shopping app Davis has used. You just scan the QR code at the bottom of your receipt. WalMart looks at the ads of nearby retailers; and if it finds a product you purchased advertised at one of those competitors, it gives you back the difference between that lower price and what you paid in store credit. In a little less than 2 years of using Savings Catcher, Davis has saved $97.79.

You can also use any of these apps in addition to coupons and price matching. There's nothing stopping you from earning rebates from both Ibotta, Savings Catcher and Check Out 51 all in the same shopping trip.


About the Author:

Passionate consumer advocate, mom of 3, addicted to coffee, hairspray and pastries.