Back to School Shopping Stressing You Out? Ibotta to the Rescue!

I received compensation in exchange for my honest review. However, all opinions expressed are 100% my own. I only promote what I truly love! 

It seems that at the stroke of midnight on August 1st, my social media feeds were suddenly flooded with parents of school-aged children talking about gearing up for heading back to school and stressing over everything they still have to do to get their little ones ready for the start of the new school year. I’ve seen a mix of parents rejoicing over their children heading back, and some parents feeling a little emotional about the summer coming to an end. One common topic amongst these parents is their children’s school supply shopping lists (and how this time of year always puts a rather large dent in the family budget.) I’ve seen people sharing sales and posting pictures of where they’re finding certain items on the shopping list, hopping from one place to another trying to get everything they need in a timely manner and for the best price.

But friends, what if I told you there was a much easier way? What if I told you that you can not only get everything on those shopping lists without leaving your house, but you can get them without even getting up off of the couch! AND you can make sure that you’re saving money while doing it without having to drive from store to store to find the best deals! You can navigate with ease through the back to school shopping season with no stress at all, and you can do it all from the Ibotta app on your phone!

Perhaps you’re already familiar with Ibotta, but in case you’re not, allow me to fill you in on my favorite not-so-secret shopping weapon:

Ibotta is a cash back and rewards app that’s completely free to download, and it allows you as the consumer to save money on your purchases when you shop at your favorite stores. Ibotta partners with hundreds of in-store and online retailers such as Walmart, Target, Publix, Amazon and Overstock.com. No matter if you’re shopping in store or online, starting out the shopping trip with Ibotta means you’ll be saving money! Simply download the app, browse through and add your favorite offers to your account, purchase the products and then redeem the offers to receive cash back!

  I’ve been using the Ibotta app since 2012. Over time, I’ve earned hundreds of dollars with very minimal effort that I save each year to go towards my holiday shopping fund. It’s so much fun to earn cash rewards back on items that I am buying anyway, and now that I’m able to shop online with Ibotta, my earnings are on the rise!

So, how exactly does this help you take the stress out of your back to school shopping? Why, I’m so glad you asked! You can earn rewards from Ibotta on things such as grocery items, clothing, electronics, beauty and wellness items, and basically everything you see on those school supply shopping lists you’ve been carrying around. You can even earn what I like to call “just because” money from time to time using the app by taking advantage of different rewards, such as the one pictured below:

I recently earned $5 cash back just for making an online purchase on anything I wanted from any store that’s partnered with Ibotta…and now I’m able to put that straight back into purchasing school supplies or other school related expenses that may come up! I don’t know many places that will give you money just for shopping online like that. It’s such a nice treat!

So to help you get the biggest bang for your buck and to help you save a little time this summer, I’m going to walk you through how I’m saving money during this season through a back-to-school shopping guide and how Ibotta takes basically all of the stress of it for me! 

Depending on the age of your child, your shopping list will of course vary, but I’ve put together a few things that I’ll be purchasing that most other consumers are purchasing right now, too, to gear up for back to school!

• School Supplies
  • Every student needs the basic school supply necessities such as pencils, pens, packs of paper and 3 ring binders. You could go in store to Walmart, fight the crowds and walk down every aisle trying to find everything you need, OR you could place all of your desired items into your online cart straight from your phone, choose 2 day shipping or their site-to-store feature, and earn cash back on that purchase without leaving your house. Bada bing, bada boom! You can check that purchase off of your list and do a little happy dance!
• Clothing
  • If you’re stocking up on new threads for your children to wear for the new year, hop online to your favorite retailers and see what rewards are available through Ibotta when you make a purchase! While browsing through the app, I noticed some great cash back offers at places that I frequently shop for clothing, such as 5% cash back at Dick’s Sporting Goods, 8% cash back at Charlotte Russe, and 7.5% cash back at ThredUp! The Ibotta cash back offers can be combined with any store sales and promo codes that you may have, so shop smart and stack up those savings!
• Backpack
  • Once you purchase all of your new school supplies, you’ve got to have somewhere to put it all! Places like eBags.com are currently running some great promotions on backpacks, and through Ibotta you can earn 12% cash back when you make your purchase there! You can also browse places like Amazon, Target and Kohls to find your favorite brands and styles!
• Lunch Box Supplies
  • This category is my favorite thing to shop for during this busy time of year! Who doesn’t love to stock their pantry with their favorite snacks?! Ibotta has bookoodles of cash back offers on so many different brands of foods, and there are tons of retailers to choose from! To save time, utilize those grocery pickup services some retailers offer, or if you prefer to stock up online, you can earn 10% cash back on wholesale goods and 15% cash back on back to school items at Boxed.com just by using Ibotta! (Bonus alert: Right now you can snag a $5 bonus when you redeem your first Boxed offer! It doesn’t get much easier than that, folks!
• Teacher Gift (optional)
  • It seems that the trend of bringing a gift for the teacher during the first week of school has been growing in popularity over the last few years. While it’s totally optional, it’s always a kind gesture to spring for something nice to give to the educator that is in charge of keeping up with your little ones 5 days a week! Take advantage of online cash back offers from retailers such as Ulta, Etsy and 1800Flowers.com to pick out the perfect gift or gift card!
• Treat for Mom (for making it through the summer AND saving money on everything else on the list!)
  • I’m a huge advocate for treating yourself to something nice whenever possible, and after tackling the back to school shopping list and getting the kids prepared for the first day of school, I’d say you deserve something extra special! Redeem some of those Ibotta earnings on a Hulu subscription, a weekend getaway for the family using VRBO.com, or a lunch date with friends at your favorite restaurant (check your Ibotta app first to see what local places offer rewards!)

And just like that, your shopping list for the new school year is taken care of! If you haven’t downloaded the Ibotta app yet, what are you waiting for?! New users can receive up to $20 in Welcome Bonuses, and the average Ibotta shopper makes about $20 every month on purchases. It’s 100% free to download and use on iOS and Android devices, and access to tons of cash back rewards on your favorite items is literally right at your fingertips! Don’t let the back to school season stress you out. Sit back, relax, and let Ibotta save the day!

*All offers were valid as of publish date. Don’t forget to check your app for details as offers change frequently and may not be available in all areas.