In an effort to socially distance, you’re probably shopping on Amazon now more than ever.
You can get everything: groceries to stock the pantry, games to keep the kids entertained and even sweatpants for your own comfort.
Before making your next order (it’ll happen soon enough), use some of these tricks to help you save money:
1. Trade Your Receipts for Free Amazon Gift Cards
What if you could exchange your Amazon receipts for free gift cards?
It sounds strange, but a free app called Fetch Rewards will do just that. Download the app and connect it with your Amazon account. Then you’ll earn points for your digital receipts, which you can trade in for gift cards.
It’s perfect for us “lazy savers.” There’s no scanning barcodes and no searching offers. Fetch does everything for you.
Plus, when you download the app, use the code PENNY to automatically earn 2,000 points when you scan your first receipt.
Oh, and if you’re venturing out to the store to stock up on produce and other fresh foods, snap a photo of your receipt (up to 20 days old), and get even more points.
2. Declutter and Get Amazon Credits
Many of us have been passing our time at home by decluttering — finally cleaning up all that old, useless stuff we’ve somehow stockpiled in our closets and drawers over the years.
Why not get rewarded for all your hard work?
Chances are, you’re going to dig up an old phone, tablet or even video games your kids haven’t touched in years. It’s time to cut a deal with Amazon and trade ’em in.
Through the Amazon Trade-In program, you can send in your old eligible electronics and get Amazon gift cards for them.
Don’t worry about paying for shipping, either. Amazon will give you a free prepaid shipping label. If Amazon won’t accept your electronics, it’ll send them back to you for free. Easy.
3. Share Your Opinions and Get a $25 Amazon Gift Card
You might have heard of online survey sites — you can get paid to answer questions about yourself — but sometimes they pay so little or give you random gift cards you’ll never even use.
But Swagbucks is different. It’s a free rewards site that’ll pay you in $25 Amazon gift cards when you answer some questions and share your opinions.
This might sound too good to be true, but The Penny Hoarder talked to one Swagbucks user in Pennsylvania, 52-year-old Carolinda Hendrickson, who earned $1,200 in gift cards in a year. Not bad for something you can do while the kids are napping or you binge a Netflix documentary.
It takes seconds to sign up, and you can even earn a $5 bonus.
4. Make an Extra $225 Watching Videos Online
If we told you that before your next purchase on Amazon, you could get paid to watch cooking videos on your computer, you’d probably laugh.
But we’re serious. A website called InboxDollars will pay you to watch short video clips online. One minute you might watch a chef teach you the recipe for fudge brownies and the next you might get the latest updates on Kardashian drama.
All you have to do is choose which videos you want to watch and answer a few quick questions about them afterward. Brands pay InboxDollars to get these videos in front of viewers, and it passes a cut to you.
It’s possible to earn up to $225 per month watching these videos — that could make a serious dent on your Amazon tab.
Unlike other sites, InboxDollars pays you in cash — no points or gift cards — and it’s already paid its users more than $56 million.
It takes about one minute to sign up, and you’ll immediately earn a $5 bonus to get you started.
5. Shop Amazon’s Outlet Store
Did you know Amazon has an outlet store? Seriously.
It works similarly to your traditional brick-and-mortar outlet stores; it stocks overstocked items and sells them at a discount. You can find anything from pet supplies to clothing to electronics to grocery items.
6. Get Amazon Gift Cards For Playing Games Like Words With Friends
Get paid to play games on your phone? Yeah, right. We’ve all heard that before.
Here’s what that usually means: Logging dozens of hours on games you’ve never heard of, just for a few cents. Gee, thanks.
But a free Android app called Mistplay actually pays you for playing popular games like Words With Friends 2, Rise of Kingdoms, Yahtzee, Clash Royale, Star Wars and more.
As you play, Mistplay rewards you in points, which you can exchange for gift cards for brands like Visa, Amazon and more. You’ll even get bonus points when you sign up and enter the code penny50.
The more you play, the more you’ll earn. Plus, Mistplay offers some bigger in-game rewards — up to $20.
It takes just a few minutes to sign up and start getting paid to play games.
7. Take 5 Surveys and Get a Free $5 For Amazon
Here’s an easy way to get $5 toward your next Amazon order: Take five online surveys through a website called MyPoints.
MyPoints is a research company that’ll pay you to answer questions about different products and services you use. In return, it’ll give you free gift cards. You can even do this from your phone.
To date, MyPoints has paid people more than $236 million in gift cards.
To get your $5 Amazon gift card, just sign up and complete your first five surveys.
8. Clip Digital Amazon Coupons
When you think of coupons, you probably think of the ones you get from the little flyers at the grocery store. But here’s a fun fact: Amazon has coupons, too.
You can find coupons in all categories — from electronics to groceries to beauty products.
Just “clip” the coupons, and they’ll save to your Amazon account and be automatically applied at checkout.
This story originally ran on The Penny Hoarder.
