Most of us have a stack of crinkled receipts in our wallet from last week’s grocery run or mall outing. Do you know that you can make money from old receipts you have lying around thanks to mail-in rebates and cash back apps? Your old receipts may even be hiding valuable coupons or surveys that you can take to earn freebies and special discounts. Here’s how to turn your past shopping trips and folded up receipts into money-making opportunities.
Search for Mail-In Rebates
Sometimes manufacturers will offer a partial or full refund to customers who buy a certain product and mail in proof of purchase. This incentivizes consumers to take a chance and try out an item they may not normally buy. Mail-in rebates are often advertised in stores using hang tags, which can easily fall off or be removed from products.
Since rebates are sometimes poorly marketed, you never know if one of the products you’ve purchased in the past couple weeks has one associated with it. Manufacturers offer rebates on all sorts of products from personal care items to household appliances. Doing a quick Google search with the name of the item you purchased plus “mail-in rebate” can help ensure you don’t miss any opportunities to earn cash back from your old receipts.
This strategy works even better if you research available mail-in rebates in advance and plan your shopping trips around them. The Krazy Koupon Lady has a page that gets updated with the latest rebates regularly so you can stay up-to-date.
Scan Your Receipts Using Cash Back Apps
Another way to potentially make money from old receipts is to scan them using cash back apps like Ibotta, Fetch Rewards, and Checkout51. These apps allow you to save money by shopping at your favorite stores and buying certain items that are eligible for cash back. Once you earn enough cash back on qualifying purchases, you can usually redeem it for gift cards from a variety of stores, or cash it out via bank transfer or PayPal.
Certain cash back apps may be better for different types of purchases. For example, Ibotta, Checkout51, and Makeena usually offer cash back on various food items and household products. These apps are great for scanning old supermarket receipts to see if you purchased any items that are eligible for cash back. Other cash back apps such as Fetch Rewards and ReceiptHog don’t require you to purchase certain products to earn, allowing you to scan virtually any receipt and get a small amount of cash back from it.
However, keep in mind that you may only have a certain amount of time to scan your old receipts before they become ineligible for rewards (usually two weeks, but time limits may vary depending on the app you use). So don’t wait too long or else you’ll miss your chance to make some extra cash!
Coupons and Surveys
Before you chuck your old receipts in the garbage, make sure to check them carefully for coupons. Retailers often print coupons on the bottom or back of their receipts to encourage customers to come back again soon, so keep an eye out. Some receipts might feature a link to a survey instead that you can fill out to earn discounts or freebies. I was able to get a coupon for a free Whopper with purchase just for sharing my opinions about my experience as a Burger King customer.
Return Unwanted Items
Most of us hate returning things to the store. In a recent survey, two in three consumers said returning items is the worst part of the shopping experience, and over half of respondents would do nearly anything to avoid it. So you probably have at least a few unwanted items hanging around your house that you’ve been putting off returning to the store.
Although you’re technically not making money from returns and just getting back what you spent, getting a refund on unwanted items will still help you save money. Look through your old receipts and ask yourself if you’re satisfied with the products you bought. If not, you may be able to return them depending on the store’s policy and the date of purchase.
Most stores allow you to return items for up to 30 days, and some retailers have extended return windows of 90 days or more. Even if your receipt is old and you made a purchase a couple months ago, the store may still be able to process the return or give you store credit. It never hurts to ask!
Do you have any tips and tricks to share on how to make money from old receipts? Share your strategies in the comments below!
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Come back to what you love! Dollardig.com is the most reliable cash-back site on the web. Just sign up, click, shop, and get full cashback!
Vicky Monroe is a freelance personal finance and lifestyle writer. When she’s not busy writing about her favorite money saving hacks or tinkering with her budget spreadsheets, she likes to travel, garden, and cook healthy vegetarian meals.
