Cell phones are not cheap. At an average of $85 a month for a smartphone, that’s almost a thousand dollars a year — not including the cost of the phone.
But some savvy people like Teresa Kannenberg are earning back some of those dollars by making money on their cellphone.
We caught up with Kannenberg as she grabbed a shopping cart and headed into Target, where she planned to make some money.
No, this mom doesn’t work at the store. Rather, she shops with apps that pay her back.
So far, she says, she has earned more than $800 in one year.
Her favorite? Ibotta. She’s the third top Ibotta earner locally.
I’ve saved over $450 just with Ibotta,” she said.
How does it work?
She buys items that are up for rebates, and are listed on the Ibotta app that week.
For instance, she says “you would go into Target, you would buy chips, and you would get 20 cents when you submitted your receipt.”
Other products give her a bigger rebate:
She’ll get 50 cents back on Ajax cleanser.
She’ll earn a dollar back on a pack of granola bars.
She will receive 75 cents back from buying Juicy Juice this week.
“You buy the items that are on the list, submit your receipt, and you get money,” she said.
How You Can Earn Money
So clearly, it’s no secret you can make money using various apps on your smart phone, but knowing which apps that will work best for you will only help increase your earnings.
We’ve found the top apps that will earn you cash, and organized them into categories so you can find exactly what apps will work for you. Even better, they are all free to download.
Smartphone apps that pay you to grocery shop
Most of the grocery store apps work by the products you purchase. If it’s something you’d already be purchasing, you can earn additional money back. Another way to earn money while shopping is by uploading your reciept to the app by snapping a photo. Depending on what you’re looking for, there’s multiple apps designed to save your money on everyday items you might purchase at your local grocery store.
