How much do you think I paid for all of this?I've been using my Ibotta app quite a bit lately so I thought I'd share a couple tips on how I've been maximizing my returns.
Almost every week there are bonus opportunities that show up in the app.
Usually there is a "Midweek Money Maker" bonus that runs from Monday morning to Wednesday night and a "Weekend Warrior" bonus that runs from Thursday morning to Sunday night. In addition, there are other themed bonuses that pop up from time to time. These are in addition to brand bonuses which run for longer periods of time where you can get some extra cash back by completing several different rebates offered by the same brand. Purchase requirements for the Midweek and Weekend bonuses vary from person to person and week to week. I think that the more you buy, the higher the purchase requirement becomes. This is just a theory though.
I had some particularly good bonuses this past week so I thought I'd use them to illustrate how I play this game.
I had a Weekend Warrior Bonus of $5 for completing 10 offers that started at 7 am on Thursday morning 3/26/22. I also had a "Swish" Bonus of $5 for completing 17 offers that also started on 3/26/22 and ran until Wednesday 3/30/22 at 1:59 am (so essentially Tuesday night). I also ended up with a Midweek Money Maker Bonus of $3 for completing 6 offers that started on Monday 3/28/22 at 7am and went until Thursday 3/31/22 at 1:59 am (so essentially Wednesday night).
You can double dip on the bonuses, meaning a purchase on Thursday will count for BOTH the Weekend Warrior Bonus AND the Swish Bonus, while a purchase on Monday will also count for the Midweek and Swish Bonuses. That meant I could complete 10 offers over the weekend to get $5, then complete 7 offers Monday - Wednesday and get another $3 plus $5.
The only downside about these bonuses is that you only get credit for ONE purchase of a required item per receipt even if you get money back on more than one item. That means if the purchase limit on widgets is 5 per receipt and you buy 5, you will get the rebate back for 5 but only get credit for one item for the bonus.
So here's my breakdown in actual items.
List will be ITEM / price / coupon / Ibotta rebate / store
Friday March 26th
1. Kraft Parmesan Cheese $2.98/ no coupon / $1.00 / Walmart
2. Sargento Creamery Cheese Shreds $2.70/ no coupon / $1.00 / Walmart
3. (2) U by Kotex 40 ct liners @ $2.97 each/ $4 off 2 /$ 2.00 each / Walmart
4. Johnson & Johnson body wash $4.92 / $1.00 / $1.50 / Walmart
5. Johnson & Johnson lotion $4.92 /$1.00 / $1.50 / Walmart
6. Schick Intuition Bamboo razor $5.97 / $4.00 / $2.00 / Walmart
7. Skintimates 4ct razor $5.97 / $4.00 / $2.00 / Walmart
8. Dixie 10ct Disposable cutting boards $4.88 / no coupon / $2.00 / Walmart
9. Siggis Skyr yogurt $1.99 / no coupon / $1.69 / Kroger
10. Mountain Dew Zero Sugar $1.99 / no coupon / $1.98 / Meijer
11. Canine Carry Outs $1.00 / no coupon / no rebate / Kroger*
*I messed up and bought this at the wrong store so it didn't count
Total before tax: $43.26
Total with tax: $45.47 ($35.59 in taxable items, 7% tax)
Total after coupons: $31.47 (45.47 - 14.00)
Total after Ibotta rebates: $12.80 (31.47 - 18.67)
Total after Ibotta $5 Weekend Warrior Bonus and $0.50 J& J Bonus for purchasing 2 different items: $7.30 (12.80 - 5.50)
Monday March 28th
1. Kraft Parmesan Cheese $2.98 / no coupon / $1.00 / Walmart
2. Sargento Creamery Cheese Shreds $2.70 / no coupon / $1.00 / Walmart
3. (2) U by Kotex 40 ct liners @ $2.97 each / $4 off 2 / $2.00 each / Walmart
4. Skintimate 4ct razor $6.08 / $4.00 / $2.00 / Walmart
5. Aspercreme 3ct Flexi-Motion patch $20.49 / $19.00 / $4.00 / CVS
What I really wanted a deal on this week was cheese and I was hoping the rebate would reset so I was really happy that it did. I also really wanted to try out the Aspercreme patches. Those were purchased at CVS and I used a combination of coupons and ECBs to get it for $1.49.
I was also glad both the Kotex and the razors reset as I was making $1.64 for every two boxes of Kotex I bought (2 x 2.97 plus tax = 6.36 - 4 coupon = 2.36 - 4 Ibotta = -1.64) and the razors were basically free with the $4 coupon and the $2 Ibotta rebate.
One of the keys to gaming a bonus is to find items that you can get for free to increase your item count if you don't already have enough items that you really need or want. On the other hand, there will be some weeks when there really isn't anything that you need or want. In that case it's senseless to chase a bonus.
I picked up a different "flavor" of razor on Monday and didn't realize it was $0.11 more; either that or they raised the prices over the weekend!
At this point I needed two more items to complete both bonuses. I saw that I could get 9 Elements bathroom cleaner for free if I drove to the Walmart across town and I could also get Compeed Blister Care bandages for free if I also drove to the Walgreens across town (the stores near me did not have them in stock) but I really didn't need those even if they were free, plus I didn't want to waste my gas and time driving to the other side of the county for two items so I just stayed put and hoped the cheese rebates would reset again in 24 hours.
I considered just buying more cheese on a separate receipt on Monday and hope the rebate reset by Tuesday but I also knew I'd be driving by the Walmart again on Tuesday so I decided to wait it out.
If I was going to buy cheese early I needed a separate receipt because the transaction limit on the cheese was five, meaning I could buy five at once and get a dollar back on each one, but it would only count as one item for the bonus. If the transaction limit had been one I could have bought them all on the same receipt and used the same receipt when the rebate reset.
Tuesday March 29th
6. Kraft Parmesan Cheese $2.98 / no coupon / $1.00 / Walmart
7. Sargento Creamery Cheese Shreds $2.70 / no coupon / $1.00 / Walmart
Yay!! Cheese reset. Totals for Monday and Tuesday...
Total before tax: $43.87
Total after tax: $44.82 ($13.51 in taxable items*, 7% tax)
*my CVS transaction got royally messed up so it had to be re-rung and when they re-rang it all the coupons I had used came off as CVS coupons pre-tax so I only paid tax of $1.49 instead of $20.49.
Total after coupons: $17.82 (44.82 - 27)
Total after Ibotta rebates: $3.82 (17.82 - 14.00)
Total after $5 Swish Bonus and $3 Midweek Bonus: -$4.18 (3.82 - 5.00 - 3.00)
Grand total of all items after all 3 Bonuses: $3.12
In reality, these items all ended up being free and actually a bit of a money maker because, in addition to Ibotta, I also utilized my Shopkick and Fetch Rewards apps. Using them in combination will be a post for another day.
So let's look at this picture again...
I track my purchases because, as I've mentioned before, the main reason new couponers stop couponing is they find themselves actually spending MORE money by chasing crazy deals on stuff they don't need. I don't buy things I don't need UNLESS I get paid to take it out of the store. However, if acquiring something I don't need gets me a deal on something I will use, then YES, I'll get it. Tracking my purchases keeps me accountable and I can make sure I'm not wasting money on stuff.
Here's the breakdown on what I got this weekend and let's say I ended up spending $3.12 total.
This is what I really wanted...
Is it worth $3.12? Heck ya, it is.
These are things I don't really need but will use... I mean, at least my dog will be happy and I have a killer apple dumpling recipe that uses Mountain Dew...
Let me know if you have any questions.
If you don't have Ibotta and want to try it out you can sign up with my referral code: nshhsjp
You will get $10 with your first receipt and I will too :)
