The next time you’re tempted to throw away your receipt as you walk out of the store, or when you get home and unpack your groceries, STOP and remember this article. By throwing away that receipt you’re basically throwing away free money. No joke. Here are the easy ways to make money off your receipts, and the best part is they take very little time or effort. Hope these help you as much as they help me.

1. First, Get Cashback with the Ibotta App

The first thing you should do with your receipt is to scan it with the Ibotta app and collect a bunch of instant rebates on your grocery shopping.

The cool thing about Ibotta is many of their rebates are available on generic items like bread, milk, and eggs. These deals allow you to earn cash back even if you didn’t buy a specific brand—perfect for those who shop store brands or generic items. Plus, it doesn’t matter what store you shop at.

From Walmart, Target, Kroger, to any Ma and Pa store in your town, you can score money back by instantly scanning in your receipt.

They give you 7 days from date of purchase to get your receipt scanned into the app. (full review)

PRO TIP: SUBMIT RECEIPTS AFTER YOU SHOP TOO

Most shoppers assume they need to activate Ibotta offers before shopping, but you should scan your receipt AFTER checkout to redeem eligible offers. Ibotta typically allows you to upload receipts up to seven days after your purchase.

Also, be sure to maximize your savings by stacking Ibotta offers with paper coupons, digital store coupons, and store loyalty rewards. For example, if you use a manufacturer’s coupon at checkout, you can still redeem an Ibotta rebate for the same item, doubling your savings.

2. Then Use Fetch and Get Cashback

The Fetch app is a must-download as it allows you to earn cashback anywhere you shop.

All you have to do is take a pic of your receipt via the app and collect a cashback percentage on those purchases.

You can then redeem your cashback for gift cards or cold, hard cash.

Use it conjunction with the other apps listed above and double-dip (or triple dip) your savings.

Click Here to download the app and then be sure to enter referral code RATHER to score an instant 1,000 sign-up bonus points.

Check out our full Review HERE.

PRO TIP: FETCH WORKS ON ONLINE PURCHASES TOO

Connect your Amazon, Target, Walmart, and email accounts to Fetch, and it will automatically scan your digital receipts for eligible purchases. This works for online grocery orders, Target drive-up, Instacart, and even restaurant takeout.

This means you don’t have to manually upload every online purchase—Fetch does the work for you.

Fetch can scan e-receipts from your email inbox (Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook, etc.) and your Amazon account for eligible purchases.

To connect:

• Open the Fetch app
• Tap on the ‘Me’ tab (or your profile icon)
• Select ‘E-Receipts’
• Follow the prompts to link your email and Amazon accounts

Once linked, Fetch will periodically scan your email for new digital receipts, awarding points automatically for purchases from participating brands.

3. Next, Hit Up the Receipt Hog App

With the Receipt Hog app, shoppers earn points (known as “coins”) just by snapping photos of your receipts, turning everyday purchases into extra cash or gift cards without spending any extra effort.

The app not only rewards you for purchases, but also offers insights into your spending patterns, helping you make smarter shopping decisions along the way.

Unlike most rewards programs, Receipt Hog doesn’t limit you to specific stores, so you can upload receipts from virtually anywhere and start earning right away.

The coolest thing is they let you take money out of your account via PayPal so it’s essentially free cash.

PRO TIP: PLAY “HOG SLOTS” FOR BONUS REWARDS

Every time you upload a receipt, you earn a spin on the Hog Slots game.

These spins give you chances to win extra coins, bonus spins, or even cash rewards and it’s just kinda fun.

The more receipts you submit, the more spins you get, so don’t skip those small receipts.

4. Then Snap Your Receipt with Receipt Jar

With Receipt Jar, you can finally tell those old receipts to pull their weight and earn you some extra cash or gift cards, instead of just crumpling up in your bag.

Simply use Receipt Jar to snap your receipts and earn rewards that you can turn into gift cards to all your favorite stores.

With Receipt Jar, you not only get rewarded but can also monitor your shopping patterns, helping you keep tabs on where your money goes each month.

The app also lets you submit receipts from virtually any store, so you can earn rewards no matter where you shop.

PRO TIP: LET YOUR POINTS BUILD UP FOR BEST VALUE

As mentioned above, Receipt Jar lets you redeem points for gift cards (Amazon, Starbucks, Visa, and more). The higher your redemption tier, the better the value you get per point.

So instead of cashing out immediately, save up for bigger rewards to get WAY more for your receipts.

The points-to-dollar conversion improves when you wait and redeem at a higher tier.

For example, here’s how it currently breaks down:

• 1,000 points = $5 gift card
• 4,500 points = $30 gift card (a better value per point)
• 9,500 points = $70 gift card (even better value!)

5. Finally, Check the Bottom for a Coupon or Survey

Have you ever noticed how long some store receipt are?

The next time you notice this, look at the receipt a little closer. Typically the bottom will have a coupon or discount on it for the next time you shop at that particular retailer.

Some of the stores famous for this include CVS Pharmacy, Michaels, Joann Fabrics, Famous Footwear, Rite-Aid, Safeway, and Walgreens.

Also, some stores like Home Depot and Lowe’s have a phone survey on the receipt that will score you a great coupon for future use.

Ask the Reader: How long do you typically keep your receipt before you throw it out? Hopefully this article will make you think twice before crumpling it up.

By Kyle James

Kyle James( Owner/Founder )

I started Rather-Be-Shopping.com in 2000 and have become a consumer expert and advocate writing about out-of-the-box ways to save at stores like Amazon, Walmart, Target and Costco to name a few. I’ve been featured on FOX News, Good Morning America, and the NY Times talking about my savings tips. (Learn more)