The Ultimate Guide To Making Money From Your Receipts

Last updated on April 12th, 2022 at 12:23 pm

Stop throwing out your receipts! You are throwing cash in the garbage every time you do. Read on to find out how to make money from your receipts.

The Ultimate Step-By-Step Guide To Making Money From Your Receipts

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1. Use Apps To Earn Cash and Gift Cards

This tip works for more than just grocery store receipts! Using these cash back apps won’t allow you to quit your day job, but little income streams do add up. For instance, the Ibotta app, which is on this list, reports that the average consistent user of their app earns over $100 a year! If you can receive one hundred dollars in a year using one app regularly, imagine what you could make using all of the apps I found.

This App Will Save You Money At The Gas Pump

GetUpside

GetUpside is an app that gives you cash back when you get gas at participating gas stations. My family can use this app at several different gas stations in our area, saving anywhere from 1 cent per gallon to as much as 10 cents per gallon.

The GetUpside app is simple to use; it takes less than a minute to find a gas station, claim the offer, and enter the information needed to process the cash back. Most times, you just need to use the credit or debit card you attached to your account, but other times you do need to scan your gas receipts into the app.

It generally takes less than 24 hours to receive your cash back in the “Cash Out” area of the app. You can opt to receive your cash out through PayPal, a mailed check, or a gift card (starting at $10).

Use my referral code YG5ZB during sign-up and you will receive a one-time 15¢/gal bonus. Go here to sign up for GetUpside.

This app works at more than just the gas station; they also offer cash back deals at participating restaurants and grocery stores.

Another app that pays you for uploading gas receipts is trunow. I haven’t personally used it since the reviews in the Android store are pretty dismal, but if you want to squeeze every penny out of your dollar, it could be worth trying.

Fetch Rewards

It is super simple to earn points using Fetch Rewards; keep your grocery, fast food, and clothing receipts. When you are done shopping, open up the Fetch Rewards app and take a photo of your receipt. Within a few seconds, you should receive points. What you earn depends on what you bought and their current offers.

Go here to sign up for Fetch Rewards: Use my referral code RE9FU at sign-up and receive bonus points when you complete your first receipt.

The average gift card costs 5000 points for $5. I usually cash out for Amazon gift cards.

Ibotta

Use Ibotta to collect cash back on groceries, clothing, pet supplies, home decor, entertainment, etc. Chances are the stores where you shop work with Ibotta.

Once you sign up, click on the account icon. At the bottom, you will find “how to use Ibotta.” Click on it, and you will see a tutorial explaining how and where you can use it.

Go here to sign up for Ibotta and then download the app.

Ibotta also has a Chrome extension feature so you can use it when shopping on your laptop. You can also link your grocery store’s loyalty program account to your Ibotta account to make claiming offers easier.

Shopkick

You can earn more by purchasing specific products and uploading the receipt, but you don’t have to buy anything to collect gift cards through the Shopkick app. You can sign in when you enter select stores and earn kicks for entering the store and/or by scanning product barcodes on select products while you shop.

You can find the Shopkick app by visiting the iOS or Android store.

Swagbucks

The Swagbucks app gives you 2 SB points for every grocery store and convenience store receipt you upload. One SB point is essentially worth a penny, so getting 2 cents per receipt might not seem like much, but Swagbucks has over 20 ways to earn points and many of them are super simple. If you were to combine this way of earning SB points with a few others, you should be able to receive a gift card or two a month through Swagbucks.

Go here to sign up for Swagbucks and then download the Swagbucks answer app.

Swagbucks offers dozens of different gift cards at various point values (including those for Walmart, Target, and Starbucks) or get deposits into your PayPal account. You can also cash out for a Visa gift card that allows you to spend your earnings wherever you want.

Receipt Hog

This app is so simple to use. Upload a receipt into Receipt Hog by taking a picture of it with your smartphone to earn coins and hog slots spins. Many stores qualify: it works at grocery stores, gas stations, restaurants, clothing stores, and more.

Go here to sign up for Receipt Hog. Use the code YECT1667 during sign-up to earn free spins.

Checkout 51

Go here to sign up for Checkout 51

You might know that you can scan receipts to save money on groceries with Checkout 51, but did you know you can also use the app to get money back on your gas purchases? Open the app and press the “extras” symbol found at the bottom of the screen. The “gas” tab and the map showing which gas stations it works at in your area should now be visible. Click on the offer you are interested in and follow the instructions.

You need twenty dollars in earnings to cash out with Checkout 51 and they pay by check.

CoinOut

CoinOut earns you cash back with almost any receipt/purchase. If you are an avid watcher of Shark Tank, you may have heard of the CointOut app before. It is super easy to use; just open up the app and hit scan, snap a picture of your receipt, and instantly be rewarded with a few cents. There are only a few types of receipts they do not accept. They also have a feature where you can link your email account with them so that they can reward you for online shopping receipts too.

You can choose from three payment options (PayPal, bank deposit, or Amazon) and two of them have zero minimum earning amounts. There is a limit on how many receipts you can upload in a day, but the receipts can be a few days old before you upload them–which is a nice feature for us forgetful folks.

Go here to sign up for CoinOut and then download the app.

Makeena

Makeena is an app for those who like to eat natural, whole, and organic foods. It offers rebates on these types of foods, including many “any brand” offers that include items like milk, eggs, various organic vegetables, and brand-specific deals.

Go here to sign up for Makeena and use my referral code TWNAVD during sign-up to earn 1000 points (equals $1) once you upload your first receipt.

You need a balance of $2o to do a cash out with Makeena. Once your account reaches that threshold, you can cash out for a PayPal or Venmo deposit.

Here are those apps again with the links for you to sign up and get earning!

GetUpside: Use my referral code YG5ZB during sign-up and you will receive a one-time 15¢/gal bonus. Go here to sign up for GetUpside.
Fetch Rewards: Go here to sign up for Fetch Rewards: Use my referral code RE9FU at sign-up and receive bonus points when you complete your first receipt.
Ibotta: Go here to sign up for Ibotta and then download the app.
Shopkick: Go to your app store and download.
Swagbucks Answer App: Go here to sign up for Swagbucks and then download the Swagbucks answer app.
Receipt Hog: Go here to sign up for Receipt Hog. Use the code YECT1667 during sign-up to earn free spins.
CoinOut: Go here to sign up for CoinOut and then download the app.
Makeena: Go here to sign-up for Makeena and use my referral code TWNAVD during sign-up to earn 1000 points (equals $1) once you upload your first receipt.

One more app that I don’t personally use, but think is worth mentioning is the NCPMobile app by the National Consumer Panel. You sign up here to become an NCP member and then you can download the app and use it to scan the barcodes of things you purchase. In return, you earn gift cards and entries into monthly sweepstakes for cash prizes.

2. Use Your Restaurant Receipts To Earn Free Food Through Apps

More and more restaurants are offering frequent customer rewards through apps. Many allow you to upload receipts to earn points. Here is a list of over 50 different restaurant apps, from fast food to fine dining, that offer rewards for purchase.

3. Did You Buy A Certain Brand With A Rewards Program?

Some brands have brand loyalty reward programs and when you upload a receipt that shows you purchased that brand, you get points that you can cash in for gift cards or other rewards. One such program is Kellogg’s Family Rewards. Scan the packaging to find out if a brand you buy has a loyalty program.

4. Check The Bottom, Top Or Back Of The Receipt For Coupons & Free Deals

Just yesterday, I went into Dunkin’ Donuts to buy a half dozen donuts and at the bottom of the receipt was a code for an online survey. If I take the time to complete it, I will receive a validation code that I could write down and give the cashier the next time I visit to receive a free donut with a purchase of a medium or large beverage.

I then went to Ruler Foods to purchase some milk and at the bottom of that receipt is a code for a survey that, if I complete it online, will enter me into monthly sweepstakes for a $5,000 gift card (that is a serious amount of groceries).

I will admit I don’t often take time to do these surveys–especially not the sweepstakes ones–but I will now and again fill one out for a free product with a purchase if I regularly purchase the item anyways.

Other times I have found coupons for local retailers on the back of my receipt that have come in handy for things I would purchase anyway.

5. Use Your Receipts To Compare Prices With Online Stores

From time to time, I will take my receipts from ALDI and Meijer and compare their prices with the prices of items available through the Amazon Subscribe and Save program. This is helping me save money on things such as running hydration tablets, household cleaners, and vitamins.

6. Check For Mail-In Or Online Rebates And Use Your Receipt To Claim Them

Often when we shop at Menards there will be rebates on an item or the entire receipt (their 11% off sale). At the place where we get our oil changed, the brand of oil they use gives a $15 rebate–making it worth my time to claim it.

How do you determine if the item you are buying has a rebate? It might be written on the box, in the sales flyer for the store, or the cashier may tell you about it. Some stores have a rebate bulletin board found near the customer service area.

Do You Shop Online And Not In-Store? Use These Browser Extensions To Save Money

If you shop online, don’t forget that you can save money on your purchases there too using these web extensions. I have been using them faithfully for months now, and the savings are adding up to a tidy little sum!

No time to click over to the article? Here are the web extensions I use and the links to sign up for them.

Honey: Go here to sign up for Honey.
Ebates: Sign up for Ebates here
Mr. Rebates: Sign up for Mr. Rebates here.
Swagbucks: Sign up for Swagbucks here.

And For Those Of You Who Always Pay Your Credit Cards On Time

If you are using a credit card wisely (paying your balance off each month), make sure you are being rewarded for using it by signing up for a rewards credit card. There are plenty of them out there that do not come with a yearly fee.

Once you have gone through these steps with your receipts, you can throw them out–unless you need them for tax purposes, but that is another blog post.

For a list of 52 different websites, apps, and stores our thrifty family uses to help us keep our expenses low, click here to visit our Thrifty Tools Resource Page.

3 More Posts That Will Help You Save Money On Common Household Purchases

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