How Penny Hoarders Use Swagbucks Hacks to Make Extra Cash: Our Favorite Reader Tips

We love Swagbucks — where else can you earn money watching cooking shows and get rewarded for shopping your favorite brands at the same time?

Turns out we’re not alone when it comes to Swagbucks love!

When we posted our complete guide to Swagbucks on Facebook, our readers — you guys! — responded with some great tips and tricks.

We heard you loud and clear, and want to share your wisdom with the world! Here’s some of what we learned — and what to consider next time you use Swagbucks.

Use Swagbucks Earnings Toward Your Next Vacation

Reader Lydia McGee and her daughter each earned $300 in Target gift cards from Swagbucks.

They used them to buy Disney gift cards to use as spending money on their upcoming vacation.

“Not too bad for doing stuff you normally do!” Lydia says, perfectly summing up our feelings on Swagbucks-style passive income. “Love Swagbucks!”

Hack Your Holiday Spending Budget

Instead of using Swagbucks earnings during the year, reader Michiele Dillon saves her rewards for Christmas.

She also optimizes her earnings by participating in multiple Swagbucks opportunities. Not only does she do all her online shopping through their portal, she also completes the daily poll and other offers.

Nicole Montgomery also saves her Swagbucks for holiday shopping.

“I have not spent a penny out of pocket for a single holiday or birthday gift in over two years,” she says. “That’s with three kids, a husband and many nieces and nephews.”

Nice work, Nicole!

Take Advantage of Monthly Cash-Out Discounts to Save Even More

The first cash-out every month has extra benefits, according to reader Georgie Whittle.

“It’s usually on $25 gift cards[; you] get them for 2,200 Swagbucks as opposed to 2,500. I’ve done it twice on Walmart gift cards,” he writes.

Use Other Awesome Apps, Too

You industrious penny hoarders know of lots of other awesome money-making apps, too! Here are some of your best suggestions.

Shopkick

Sarita LePine mentioned Shopkick, a free app that lets you earn points just for walking through the doors of your favorite stores, like Target or Walmart.

You get bonus points by scanning specific barcodes — kind of like a scavenger hunt! Sounds like fun to me.

“Save up your points for the prize you want and cash in,” Sarita says. “This year I paid for my Black Friday shopping from my Shopkick rewards. Check it out!”

Kellie Nickerson also uses Shopkick, and says she’s received $150 in Target gift cards since she started.

Since Target sells gift cards for major travel vendors like Disney and Southwest, use those points toward your next vacation — just like Lydia mentioned above.

Cash-Back Receipt Apps

Ruth Augustine mentioned a few of our favorite cash-back apps, like Ibotta.

These are so simple! Do your usual shopping, then take a picture of your receipt to earn cash back on items you’ve already purchased.

The best part? You can earn cash back on healthy groceries, like fresh vegetables. You can even look ahead of time to see which items earn the biggest rebates — and then plan meals around those savings.

We love learning more ways how to become better penny hoarders from our readers!

Jamie Cattanach is a junior writer at The Penny Hoarder and a native Floridian. She’s passionate about learning, literature, chocolate and finding ways to live the good life as cost-effectively as possible. You can wave hi to @jamiecattanach on Twitter.