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Are You Throwing Away Free Money?

Wait! Don’t toss those receipts just yet!

Did you know you can make money off them?

It’s easy and only takes a few minutes a day (maximum!).

Anytime I fill up with gas, eat out, shop for new clothes or buy something at the store, I take a picture of my receipt and upload it to a few apps on your smart phone.

It’s convenient because I always have my phone with me.

And:

I’m always happy to see those points add up – especially when I have enough to cash out!

Also Read: 5 Must Have Apps That Will Save You A TON of Money

Which Apps are BEST for Earning Easy Rewards?

Interested in earning money for doing almost nothing? I’ll show you how I do it with your phone.

Earn rewards on all your purchases by submitting receipts to apps to make EASY money on the side.

It’s as simple as taking a picture of your receipt, uploading and done!

I personally use two apps, which allows me to DOUBLE up on freebies.

These are the apps that give me the MOST rewards for my time:

Available for iOS and Android devices.

Out of the two apps, this one is my favorite. This app accepts physical receipts from in-store purchases and e-receipts from online purchases.

It will accept receipts that are up to one month old. 

But:

Receipts must be submitted within the month of purchase or by the third day of the month after purchase.

Points are earned for every receipt uploaded, which can then be redeemed for gift cards. The gift cards worth $1 – $50.

Gift card retailers to choose from include Amazon, Restaurant.com, Target, VISA, Walmart + more (retailers tend to change every so often) . Receipts are processed within 24 hours, but mine are usually processed within hours.

Points do NOT expire as long as you upload a receipt every 90 days. I upload mine almost daily to get rewarded faster!

There are also weekly sweepstakes to enter, allowing you to possibly get even more freebies.

More questions ReceiptPal? Read the full FAQ here.

Available for iOS and Android devices.

This app accepts physical receipts from in-store purchases and receipts that are up to 13 days old.

Earn coins or spins for “Hog Slots” depending the retailer on the receipt.

Coins can be used to get Amazon gift cards, magazine subscriptions or have cash paid directly to your PayPal account! Hog Slots work like a slot machine where you can win more coins, $100 or the value of your last shopping trip in coins.

Plus:

There are monthly drawings for more prizes.

Fun Tip: Click on the pig to hear him oink!

More questions about Receipt Hog? Read the “About Us” section here.

How Long Does it Take to Get Rewarded?

That depends on how often you have new receipts that you can upload.

However:

I find that I am able to cash out faster with Receipt Pal. I can earn up to 400 points per week and 400 points will get me a $1 Amazon.com gift card.

The longer I wait, the better the rewards are. A $25 Restaurant.com gift card is 2200 points which equals 5 and a half weeks worth of receipts.

A $25 gift card is a lot better than that $5 in Amazon gift cards I would get if I redeemed all my points weekly.

With Receipt Hog you earn coins based on how much you spent. Receipts with purchases under $10 get you 5 coins.

Earn 5 – 20 coins per receipt and you can submit up to 20 receipts per week. You can also earn a one-time coins bonus for connecting your email account, Amazon.com account or Facebook account.

There are also surveys every now and then you can take which are worth up to 500 coins.

The lowest amount you can cash out for is $5 and that will cost you 1000 coins.

But:

Cashing out $25 will only cost you 4300 coins. As you can see, earning rewards with this app is…slower.

Because I’m already using ReceiptPal, I think it’s worth spending the extra few seconds it takes to use Receipt Hog. Just remember that being patient is what pays off!

What’s the Catch for Using These Apps?

So, how do these apps work?

And

What is being done with all those receipts?

Here’s what each company has written about this question on their website:

ReceiptPal

• “The NPD Group (creator of Receipt Pal) provides market information and advisory services to help companies make better business decisions. We help our clients develop the right products and get them in the right places at the right prices for the right people in order grow their businesses….The ReceiptPal team aggregates your receipt data with those of other ReceiptPal members, and develops market research to help brands create better products.“

Receipt Hog

• “We are part of a market research company that works with the leading consumer goods brands and retailers. Your receipt data along with the answers to any survey questions you answer will be made anonymous and summarized in market research reports for the brands that purchase this data…Your receipt data along with the answers you provide to optional surveys is made anonymous and summarized in market research reports that brands purchase. These companies pay for information such as, “Families in the Phoenix area are 20% more likely than the rest of the United States to shop for laundry detergent at a supercenter than a traditional grocery store.’ “

In summary:

These apps collect anonymous data about consumers spending habits. They then sell that data to companies who use it to improve their business and/or marketing strategy.

You can find the privacy policy for ReceiptPal here and Receipt Hog here.

Now that you have all the facts, do you think it’s worth using these apps?

Do you know any apps where the rewards stack up faster? Let me know in the comments below!

 

Related articles:

•  The Lazy Girl’s Guide to Earning FREE Gift Cards
• The Best Apps for a College Student (92 That Are Proven to Work)
• 6 Seriously Useful Note-Taking Apps for College Students