Don't throw another receipt – how mum of 4 makes hundreds from the little bits of paper most of us bin

Having paid for your goods at the supermarket checkout, you may usually discard your receipt right away without giving it a moment’s thought.

Others have bulging wallets and purses stuffed full of print outs from the till that they never look at again.

But you might not be quite so quick to throw away that little slip of paper if you realise there’s money to be made from holding on to it.

Here we take a closer look at why you should never bin a receipt.

One person who has got a real knack for making money from receipts is 32-year-old Lynsey Poole.

She lives with her partner, Michael, who is also 32, and their four children: Oliver, five, Emily, three, Caleb, one – and Caitlin, who was born at the end of June.

“Having four children aged five and under definitely puts the pressure on the family finances,” said Lynsey.

“I’m always looking for ways to make some extra money to help with the household budgeting.”

Lynsey used to work as an archaeologist, but could no longer go on doing this once the children came along.

The mum-of-four is now a money-making supremo, running her own crafts business (LAPapercuts), while boosting her income by doing online surveys and using couponing sites.

More recently, she has found she can make money from her receipts as well.

“As I go shopping all the time to buy food, clothes and other items for our four young children, I end up with loads of receipts,” said Lynsey.

“It’s great being able to give myself a cash boost just by using receipts that would otherwise be thrown away.”

Lynsey reckons she has earned a few thousands over the past year from uploading receipts to certain apps.

This is how she does it.

Use apps to make money from receipts

One of Lynsey’s favourite sites is Receipt Hog.

“With this site, you take pictures of receipts and upload them,” she said. “You then get tokens which you can exchange for Paypal credits or Amazon vouchers.

"The tokens can also be used in a slot machine type game to win more points or cash prizes with a top prize of Sh7, 753.70. It’s really easy to do.

"The main thing is to remember to save your receipts, for anything and everything that you buy.”

Lynsey also makes money from receipts through apps such as Shopprize UK and Shopmium .

“With Shopprize UK, for example, you can upload as many as 10 receipts a day – and get 120 points per receipt.

"You can also earn between five and 60 points per day just for logging in. You can then cash in points for Paypal – 10,000 points gets you sh587.40.

"With Shopmium, you simply choose the offers that you like, read the Ts and Cs to make sure you get the correct product, and scan your receipt at home to be reimbursed.

"You then get a direct transfer into Paypal for every receipt that’s accepted. You can also earn referral rewards of Sh468 for each person who uses your link to buy and upload their first product and receipt.”

In addition, Lynsey makes money from her receipts with apps such as Checkoutsmart , Greenjinn, Shoppix and Snapmyeats .

“I reckon I earn around Sh5,874.02a month from these apps – though I think that if you were really diligent, you could make upwards of Sh11,748.03a month,” she said.

“I like earning money in this way, as I can do it in my own time without having to bother anyone else.”

Lynsey added: “Making some extra money from receipts has made a real difference to our family finances. It means we can live a bit more comfortably, and can treat the children from time to time.”

Here are our top 5 tips to making money from receipts:

Check the back of your receipts - Don’t be too quick to discard those little pieces of paper, as they often contain information on special offers, and discount deals.

There may also be details of sale dates, meaning you can use that little chit to help bag yourself a bargain. 

Also remember to check if there’s a chance to win vouchers for giving customer satisfaction feedback.

Make money from cashback - If you download an app such as Topcashback , you can earn cashback on your grocery items. 

Scan the app before heading to the supermarket to see the different deals on offer. You can, for example, get cashback on milk, bread, eggs, condiments and other essentials.

Once you have bought your items, simply take a picture of your receipt and upload the image to the app – via “snap and save” – to earn your cashback reward.

Get cash rewards for your receipts - It is worth keeping all of your receipts – including those from grocery items you’ve bought, clothes you’ve purchased, petrol you’ve paid for and those from restaurants you’ve eaten at. You should even keep receipts from a visit to the dentist. 

By uploading them to a site such as Receipt Hog, Shoppix or Shopprize UK, you can earn a cash reward. The amount you earn will depend on the retailer and the amount you’ve spent. 

That said, in just a year, you can potentially save hundreds of pounds.