Is inflation burning a hole in your budget? These 5 apps can help you earn cash back and save money

With inflation comes the increasing costs of many basic items. In recent years, it has greatly impacted the price of groceries. Your necessities like food and toiletries might be the most expensive you've seen, and the price tag hike can leave you feeling like you're stretching your budget as far as it can go.

Cutting back might feel even more difficult during a time when things are becoming more expensive, so Select rounded up a few apps that are here to help you earn cash back and even find discounts to save as much money as possible.

The cash back you earn can be transferred into your savings account or even used to make an extra credit card or bill payment. Or, you can even use the cash back to purchase something else you're going to need. There are quite a few handy ways you can put the money to good use.

Ibotta is both a free app and browser extension that allows you to earn cash back on purchases at grocery stores, travel, online retailers and more. To sign up, you download the app and create an account either on your phone or through a browser extension on your computer.

The average Ibotta user will earn between $10 to $20 each month, and very active users can earn as much as $300 per month, according to a previous Select review. Once you accumulate $20 in cash back, you will be able to redeem it as a deposit into your PayPal or bank account, or you can use it to receive gift cards.

Keep in mind that in order to begin receiving cash back offers through the Ibotta app, you'll need to add your desired offers to your list before you shop. You can do this by just clicking on each offer you'd like to add. After you're done shopping, tap "Redeem" on the home screen where you'll select your retailer and upload a picture of the receipt. 

Honey is a browser extension that scours the Internet to find promo or coupon codes you can use to save money at checkout. It automatically tests coupon codes on over 30,000 websites so you don't have to manually look for them and add them yourself.

Coupons and discount codes, like the ones Honey finds, can make shopping more affordable by lowering the total cost of items you needed to buy anyway. Honey is a free service and is available as an app and as a browser extension that is compatible with Chrome, Safari, Opera, Edge and Firefox. 

On the Honey app, you can look through the top coupons to determine the best deals and earn Honey rewards on purchases with certain stores. If you shop on the website of a retailer on the app, there will be a toolbar at the bottom to show you any available promo codes.

Rakuten is an easy way to earn cash back for both online and in-store purchases. In order for your purchase to be eligible for cash back, the retailer must be a part of Rakuten's network. You can browse the thousands of retailers already part of their network, but installing the browser extension will allow you to be notified when there is a cash back opportunity when you visit a retailer's site.

To create an account, you'll just need to use your email address and password on their website. Then, you'll be able to download their browser extension, which will be helpful for quick activation when you're checking out online.

You will receive your cash back earnings on a quarterly basis via PayPal or through a physical check mailed to your address — you get to decide which method you'd prefer. You can also look at your account to see your cash back earnings history whenever you want, and it will specify the date of your next payment.

Rakuten offers a $10 welcome bonus for new users and there are no fees. If you refer someone to the site and they use your link, you can earn $30 for every referral.

Dosh is an app that allows you to receive cash back and is available for both Apple iOS and Android. With thousands of participating hotels, stores and restaurants, Dosh will let you automatically receive cash back. All you have to do is download the app, sign up and connect your credit cards so the app can scan your transactions for available cash back offers.

One unique perk of Dosh is that when you shop in-store, you'll instantly get your cash back reward with your purchase, meaning you won't have to wait for a pay day.

You'll also get a $1 welcome bonus when you register and connect your card, and you earn $10 for every friend you refer.

Payce is a platform that offers cash back for both online and in-store purchases. To receive in-store cash back, you must connect your credit or debit card — they take Visa, Mastercard or American Express. 

You need to have earned at least $10 to cash out. Unlike Rakuten, you'll have to visit the Payce platform and click the retailer link to shop in order to have your purchase be eligible to earn cash back.

Payce displays any cash back bonus offers that may be available at some of the most popular retailers like Home Depot and CVS, and their standard offer typically earns $5 if you spend about $20 or $25 or more. However, these terms exclude gift card purchases from earning any cash back. 

Using a cash-back credit card is an easy way to save even more on every day purchases. The rewards and cash back from your credit card can be stacked with the savings from the apps mentioned above.

For instance, the no-annual-fee Wells Fargo Active Cash^® Card offers unlimited 2% cash rewards on purchases, plus a $200 cash reward bonus after spending $500 in purchases in the first 3 months of account opening.

If you spend a lot of groceries, the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express is worth considering, since it earns a robust 6% cash back at U.S. supermarkets, on up to $6,000 per year in purchases (then 1%). You'll also earn a $250 statement credit after you spend $3,000 in purchases on your new card within the first 6 months. Terms apply.

Check out our list of best cash-back cards for more options.

While restructuring your budget can be time-consuming, using these services will provide an easy way to save money without necessarily spending less. If you find yourself raising an eyebrow at price hikes, these platforms are worth checking out. 

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For rates and fees of the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express, click here.