12 Secret Ways to Save at Walmart That Only Experts Know About

A woman shops at Walmart.
Nancy Frost of Cumberland, Maryland, uses Ibotta while shopping at Walmart. Matt Roth for The Penny Hoarder
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We all know Walmart is the place to go if you’re looking to get the best deal.

But did you know you could probably be saving even more money on your Walmart purchases? Use these simple savings secrets on your next Walmart run:

1. Get a $10 Check With This 60-Second Move

If you shop online at all, you’ll want to take 60 seconds right now to download the Rakuten browser extension and create a free account.

Rakuten is a website that’s partnered up with more than 3,500 online stores, including Walmart, to get you cash back on your online purchases.

All you have to do is head to Rakuten, then search Walmart’s deals. The savings are automatic, and you can cash your earnings out through PayPal, or opt to get a check in the mail.

Since Denver resident Colleen Rice started using Rakuten, she’s pocketed more than $526.44 in refunds. Not bad, right?

And here’s the kicker: When you download the free browser extension and make your first purchase within 90 days, Rakuten will give you a free $10 check.

2. Play Bingo on Your Phone for Real Money — up to $83 Per Win

Do you play games on your phone just for fun? You should see if you can make money doing it, too.

A free iPhone app called Bingo Cash lets you play for real cash. Every win could pay you up to $83.*

Bingo Cash is based on the classic Bingo format, where you’ll battle it out against other players at your same skill level. Everyone gets the same board and sees the same Bingo balls. The top three players in a game can win real money — anywhere from $1 to $83.

And no, there’s no catch. There are no ads, either. You can play for free or pay to play in higher-stakes tournaments.

Download the free app and start playing your first game immediately. You could win money today!

3. Swap Your Grocery Receipts For Walmart Gift Cards

What do you usually do with your grocery receipts? You check out, the cashier hands you a mile-long piece of paper, and you frantically stuff it to the bottom of a grocery bag. Pretty worthless.

But a free app called Fetch Rewards will turn them into gift cards. It partners with tons of brands to give you points for every grocery receipt you share. Then you can exchange them for Walmart gift cards.

It’s perfect for those of us who don’t want to put a ton of work into this. All you have to do is send Fetch a photo of your receipt, and it does everything for you. No scanning barcodes or searching for offers — and you can use it with any grocery receipt.

Plus, when you download the app, use the code PENNY to automatically earn 2,000 points when you scan your first receipt. Then start snapping photos of your recent receipts to see how many points you can earn without a single trip to the store!

Not so bad for a useless receipt, right?

4. Get an Extra $225 a Month to Use at Checkout (While Watching Movie Previews)

A man pays for his items at Walmart.
Mike Brassfield unloads school supplies at Walmart Supercenter in St. Petersburg, Florida.

If we told you that you could get paid while watching videos on your computer, you’d probably laugh.

It’s too good to be true, right?

But we’re serious. By signing up for a free account with InboxDollars, you could add up to $225 a month to your pocket. They’ll send you short surveys every day, which you can fill out while you watch someone bake brownies or catch up on the latest Kardashian drama.

No, InboxDollars won’t replace your full-time job, but it’s something easy you can do while you’re already on the couch tonight, wasting time on your phone.

Unlike other sites, InboxDollars pays you in cash — no points or gift cards. It’s already paid its users more than $56 million.

Signing up takes about one minute, and you’ll immediately receive a $5 bonus to get you started.

5. Check the Date on the Item’s Price Tag

When you’re perusing the shelves of Walmart, take a close look at an item’s price tag. In the bottom right corner, you should see a date. That’s the day the item’s price last changed.

Although there’s no true science to this, looking at this date can offer you some context on when the item was last marked down.

For example, if an item was marked down two days prior, it probably won’t be marked down in the coming days. However, if it hasn’t been marked down in a few weeks, a markdown could be more imminent.

6. Get an Extra $140/Month to Spend at Walmart — Just for Sharing Your Honest Opinion

It sounds strange, but brands want to hear your opinion. It helps them make business decisions, so they’re willing to pay you for it — up to $140 a month.

A free site called Branded Surveys will pay you up to $5 per survey for sharing your thoughts with their brand partners. Taking three quick surveys a day could earn up to $140 each month.

It takes just a minute to create a free account and start getting paid to speak your mind. Most surveys take five to 15 minutes, and you can check how long they’ll take ahead of time.

And you don’t need to build up tons of money to cash out, either — once you earn $5, you can cash out via PayPal, your bank account, a gift card or Amazon. You’ll get paid within 48 hours of your payout being processed, just for sharing your opinions.

They’ve already paid users more than $20 million since 2012, and the most active users can earn a few hundred dollars a month. Plus, they’ve got an “excellent” rating on Trustpilot.

It takes just a minute to set up your account and start getting paid to take surveys. Plus, right now, you’ll get a free 100-point welcome bonus just for becoming part of the community.

7. Answer Some Questions About Yourself and Get Walmart Gift Cards

You’ve probably heard of online survey sites, but sometimes they pay so little or give you random gift cards you’ll never even use.

But we like Swagbucks, a free rewards site that’ll pay you in Walmart gift cards when you answer some questions about yourself.

This might sound too good to be true, but we 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 from your couch.

It takes seconds to sign up, and you can even earn a $5 bonus.

8. Add $500 to Your Wallet for Trying Out Apps

Our smartphones are the world’s greatest time-killers. You can browse Facebook; play a game; download a new app.

You’re doing all this anyway — why not get paid for it? With a website called KashKick, you could get paid for things like answering survey questions or downloading and playing a game — up to $500 in your first month.

You can earn money by playing games or trying new products and services, but surveys are the main way to make money.

Once you earn $10 in your account, you can immediately get paid via Paypal. This is an easy way to make a little extra money while you’re killing time on your couch. All you need is your phone or computer.

It takes just a minute to sign up, and you’ll immediately earn $1 just for completing your profile on the site. You’ll be that much closer to cashing out.

9. Get Online Prices in the Store

Before you checking out in the store, it’s worth whipping out your phone to see if Walmart is offering an even better price online at Walmart.com.

Because here’s something you might not know: Walmart will match its online prices for in-store purchases.

Sometimes you’ll discover an item on your list has been marked down online but not in the store where you’re shopping.

To get the better price, just pull it up on your phone and show it to the cashier. They should give you the online price with no hassle.

10. Take 5 Surveys and Get a Free $5 Walmart Gift Card

Here’s an easy way to get $5 toward your next 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.

11. Order Your Groceries For Pick-up

This simple trick will save you time and money: Order your groceries through Walmart’s website or grocery app, and pick them up.

It might sound strange — how will this help you save money? — but think about the last time you were in Walmart and bought something that wasn’t on your shopping list. Exactly. That vast, vast store holds a lot of spending temptations, so ordering what you need online will help you avoid those.

Plus, you won’t even have to get out of your car.

12. Swap Your Dusty Old Electronics For Gift Cards

Did you know Walmart has an electronics trade-in program? Just search “Walmart Trade-In.”

You can trade your old cell phone, tablet, game console and even voice speakers for Walmart gift cards. All you have to do is answer a few questions about your gadget, and Walmart will hook you up with a free shipping label. You’ll ship it over, and once your electronics are reviewed, you’ll get a eGift card.

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