HOUSTON – If you throw away your receipts as soon as you leave the store or toss them into the abyss that is your car console, you are throwing away good money. Consumer expert Amy Davis has four ways the little scraps of paper can make and save you some extra cash.
Let's say you just completed a shopping trip at Walmart. As soon as you get to your car, use your smartphone to scan the QR code on the bottom. Walmart's Savings Catcher app looks at the ads of nearby retailers. If it finds a product you purchased advertised cheaper at one of those competitors, it gives you back the difference between that lower price and what you paid in store credit. On one shopping trip, Davis got back $9.12 that she can spend on her next trip to Walmart.
Recommended Videos
Take that same receipt and look on the Ibotta app . Every time you open it, you will find new products and offers. For example, it offered $1 if Davis' scanned a receipt that proves she purchased Oreos. Once you've accrued $20 in rebates, you can request your money to go straight to your Paypal account or get it in gift cards to stores like Best Buy, Amazon or Starbucks. Davis' cash back total is up to $10.12.
With the same receipt, open the new app Yaarlo.
"You can actually scan your receipt and it's gonna give you money back on your purchase no matter what you bought or where you bought it," explains Rather-Be_Shopping blog founder Kyle James.