7 On Your Side tips to stretch your dollar and combat inflation

Nina Pineda and 7 On Your Side have been providing inflation busting tips for months, including ways to save on gas and ways to earn a little extra money.

But there are also things you can do to stretch your dollar as prices rise for food, travel and just about everything else.

From mobile apps to automatic cash back, consumer expert Andrea Woroch says you should be rewarding your spending in multiple ways.

“If you’re not doing it, you’re just missing on free money,” she said.

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She recommends sites like Fetch, which give users points for products they purchase.

Just scan receipts from any grocery convenience or club store and you’ll earn points for every listed product you purchase.

“And you can redeem them for gift cards to Walmart, Amazon, Target,” Woroch said. “You could even redeem them for stores that have gas stations like Sam’s Club to help you pay for your gas, or maybe redeem them for a restaurant and allow yourself to go out to eat with some of the rewards you’re earning.”

The catch is that the app will share your shopping habits with marketers and entice you to try new brands for extra points.

If you like to try out products or services, you can get paid for reviewing everything from matcha to music and TV shows. Sites like Survey Junkie boast three million members, earning for their opinion every day.

“And as long as you are going to try it anyway or sign up for a service, you may as well do it through these sites to earn something back,” Woroch said.

Credit card use is also on the rise, so make sure you’re earning cash back.

American Express’ Bread cashback credit card gives members an unlimited 2% on everything you buy with no annual fee, while Costco’s Anywhere Visa card by Citi offers up to 4% cash back rewards on gas at Costco for the first $7,000 at the pump per year.

“Use that cash back to pay for these increased prices at the grocery store,” Woroch said.

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You can also plug a cashback app into your browser that automatically gives you cash back on anything that qualifies.

Cently, Honey and Rakuten are all browser extensions that find you deals and discounts on thousands of shopping sites across the web.

Rakuten’s offering 15% cash back plus a $10 sign up bonus.

“Just click it, and now you’re going to earn money back for your purchase,” Woroch said. “And this is across the board for anything you’re buying online.”

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