Cashback Apps Are Good, But This Combined Offers Trick Is Genius. 🧠💰

You’re already doing the right thing. You download the cashback apps, you scan your receipts, and you feel that little thrill when you see a few dollars land in your account. It’s smart. But if you stop there, you’re leaving a significant amount of money on the table.

Think of using a single cashback app like having a single tool in your toolbox. It’s useful, but you can’t build a house with just a hammer. The real power, the genius level of saving, comes from stacking your tools—or in this case, stacking your offers.

This isn’t about working harder; it’s about working smarter. I call it the Combined Offers Trick, and once you understand it, you’ll never look at a shopping trip the same way again.

The Basic Principle: The Savings Layer Cake 🍰

The core idea is simple: most discounts and cashback opportunities are not mutually exclusive. You can combine them in layers to compound your savings on a single purchase.

A typical shopper might use one layer. A savvy shopper uses them all. Here’s what the Savings Layer Cake looks like:

1. The Foundation: Store Loyalty Programs & Weekly Sales. This is the base price you pay at the register.
2. The First Layer: A Cashback App (like Rakuten/Ibotta). This gives you money back for buying specific items or shopping at certain stores.
3. The Second Layer: A Receipt-Scanning App (like Fetch Rewards). This gives you points for any receipt, regardless of what you bought.
4. The Third Layer: Your Cashback Credit Card. This gives you a percentage back on the final purchase amount.
5. The Fourth Layer: Targeted Coupons & Browser Extensions. Digital coupons you load to your store account or automatic coupon finders.

Individually, each layer is nice. Combined, they create a savings powerhouse.

Read also: Debt Snowball Method

The Genius Trick in Action: A Real-World Example

Let’s walk through a real scenario to see the magic happen. Suppose you need to buy diapers, pasta sauce, and toothpaste.

The Typical Shopper:

• Goes to Target, buys the items on sale for $30.
• Total Saved: The sale price. Maybe $5.

The Combined Offers Savant:

• Step 1 (Foundation): They check the Target app and see that their needed items are on sale and there’s a 25% off diapers coupon they can load directly to their Target Circle account.
• Step 2 (Layer 1): They open the Ibotta app and see they offer $2 back on that specific brand of pasta sauce and $1 back on the toothpaste. They activate the offers.
• Step 3 (The Purchase): They go to Target, scan their Target Circle barcode at checkout, and pay with a cashback credit card that gives 2% back at grocery stores (Layer 3). Their final receipt total is $25 after the store coupon.
• Step 4 (Layer 2 & 4): They immediately open the Fetch Rewards app and scan their $25 receipt, earning points towards gift cards. They might also use an app like CoinOut to get a tiny bit of cash back for the receipt itself.

The Savings Breakdown:

• Store Coupon Saved: $5
• Ibotta Cashback: $3
• Fetch Points (approx. value): $0.25
• Credit Card Cashback (2% of $25): $0.50
• Total Saved: $8.75
• Effective Price Paid: $25 – $8.75 = $16.25

The savvy shopper effectively paid $16.25 for the same $30 worth of goods that the typical shopper bought. That’s over 45% off!

How to Become a Combined Offers Pro: Your Action Plan

This might sound complicated, but it becomes a quick, 2-minute habit. Here’s your workflow:

1. Before You Shop (The 2-Minute Prep):

• Check Your Apps: Before you leave the house, open your cashback apps (Ibotta, Rakuten, etc.). See what offers are available for your regular store. Activate them.
• Load Digital Coupons: Open your store’s app (Target, Kroger, CVS, etc.) and load any available digital coupons to your loyalty account.

2. At Checkout:

• Scan Your Loyalty Card: Always.
• Pay with the Right Card: Use the credit card that offers the highest cashback for that store category.

3. After Purchase (The 60-Second Ritual):

• Scan Every Receipt: As soon as you get to your car, open your receipt-scanning apps (Fetch, ReceiptPal) and scan the receipt. This works for any store, even coffee shops and gas stations.

Pro-Tips for the True Genius

• Stack Portal with App: For online shopping, the ultimate hack is using a cashback portal (like Rakuten) and a cashback credit card. You get the portal percentage and the card percentage on top of any site-wide sales.
• The One Product, Many Apps Check: Sometimes, the same product will be on multiple cashback apps. You can often get cashback from both! Check the terms, but this is a legal way to double-dip.
• Time Your Shopping: Many apps offer bonus cashback for submitting a certain number of receipts in a week. Plan your shopping to hit these bonuses.

Stop Leaving Money on the Table

Cashback apps alone are a good start. But by combining them with store loyalty programs, receipt scanners, and a smart credit card, you’re not just saving—you’re optimizing. You’re turning everyday shopping into a strategic game where you always win.

Stop thinking of these as separate tools. Start thinking of them as a single, powerful system. Your wallet will get significantly heavier, without you having to buy a single thing more.