The whole making extra income thing is definitely something to get used to. It’s hard to keep up, and at times it’s quite tedious. I understand that every little cent counts, that compounding exists, and faith as small as a mustard seed can move mountains (Matthew 17:20), but sometimes you don’t want to wait until your 75 to have enough money to buy a yacht. Sometimes, you want that right now big bucks. However, I downloaded a few point/money acquiring apps that are semi-popular today. These include ShopKick and Ibotta, which I downloaded maybe the end of 2017 and thought, at first, “What’s the point?”
One week, I brought my mother to the stores to look for clothes. I chose the mall since, well, she takes a while, and it gives me time to use these apps, ShopKick and Ibotta. Why not? I’m already at the store.
Target was the first stop. I considered that I should check both apps to see if they had things I intended to buy. Neither did and neither did Target. I mean, what West African and their American children you’ve met who bought tiny bags of rice? Anyway, I’m getting sidetracked here. The point I’m trying to make is that particular Target didn’t come with everything I or my household needed. Therefore, many items in both apps were out of the question.
My experience in Target made me overall super excited. I was able to scan every item on ShopKick’s list and got some points. ShopKick’s points lead to gift cards at selected stores. I looked to see if I got any prizes and BEHOLD, I earned a $5 gift card to TJX Maxx stores. I rejoiced. Then I checked Ibotta and saw that I only received $2.50 for the lifetime of having the app.
“You win some; you lose some,” I had texted my friend who introduced me to these apps.
ShopKick and IBotta do make shopping in major retailers fun. Particularly, when you don’t have anyone with you and no podcasts to have you laughing by yourself while other people stare at your strangeness. But I must warn you, ShopKick is on to you.
I went to Walmart to continue my app adventure. With confidence, I turned on ShopKick with plans to try to scan every single item I could. Unfortunately, I had a better experience with Target than Walmart that day. I went to get the specific Tresseme shampoo Shopkick asked for, but the scanner refused it. I also couldn’t find the Tresseme midst that the app was looking for. When I saw that item at CVS, a notification came stating the app didn’t know my location. It only wanted me to scan the item at Walmart. It seemed like ShopKick didn’t realize that Rhode Island doesn’t sell liquors in regular stores. So it was interesting to see only two cans of beer available on ShopKick to be scanned at CVS.
The issue I’ve had with Ibotta is that many times it seems to have deals for things I don’t usually buy. However, it’s good to know sometimes you can get money back for buying say, a drink when you’re thirsty. For example, at my Target trip, I was able to purchase two Bai drinks to get some money back on the app. When I receive enough money back, I can get a $20 gift card. I do get nervous about Ibotta because it reminds me of the times I tried couponing. They sometimes require that you get more than one item to get some change and sometimes a dollar back. The coupons I’ve used required me to get more than one somewhat pricey item to get one free or a small percentage off. Coupons encouraged me to buy the store brand.
I had great experiences with both apps during my Target trip but not with Walmart or CVS. Walmart didn’t have much of what I needed and nor did it have stellar reception to really go through the whole store with both apps.
I enjoy using ShopKick because I get points for scanning giving me the opportunity to look at items that I’ve never seen before and possibly consider buying next time. Ibotta and I are still working on our relationship, and it’s okay. I do enjoy that every now and then Ibotta does allow you to get cash back to uploading a receipt or purchasing an essential like bread or milk (Hello, there New England).
My friend said this whole thing is like riding a bike so I’ll just ride along. It’s not like I designed these apps. I’m just a twenty-something-year-old looking for some deals.
Kou T. Nyan 