Answer questions to save while you shop

Earn while you spend: Companies want to know what brands you're buying, so they'll pay you to share your habits.

The Ibotta app has you answer questions to get cash back.  For example, when we buy bananas at Publix, to unlock a 50-cents-off rebate, we answer the question, “how many children live in your household?”

Next on the list is bread and it says there’s a rebate available on any brand, 50 cents off. Combined with a Publix buy-one-get-one-free option, we essentially made five bucks.

Ibotta can be used for a variety of stores and products and has categories ranging from kids and babies to medicine and wine.

When we try the wine rebate, they ask “which of the following is true?” regarding the brand of Malbec, a marketing tactic to get you to learn interesting details about the company. We get $4 back on a $9 bottle of wine.

Ibotta works best for the open-minded consumer, according to the personal finance experts at The Penny Hoarder.

“If you have really strong brand loyalty, you probably won't earn too much from Ibotta because they want to see if that cool new product will sell,” explained Lisa Rowan.

LINK: www.ibotta.com

Another app that will pay to learn your habits? Receipt Hog. You upload your receipt to them just like Ibotta and get paid via PayPal.  What's nice here is you don't have to try specific products; they just want to know what you're buying and pay you monthly

“You get $3 a month to use that -- not a big amount, but it adds up to 40 a year towards a cellphone bill or something. It’s really about the small amounts to help you,” Rowan added.

LINK: www.receipthog.com

If you use several apps at once, the dollars can add up too -- just for sharing how you shop.