Phone Apps That Will Save You Money

Let’s face it – grocery shopping totals can make us want to cry.  If you want to save money without clipping coupons OR if you want to save money is addition to clipping coupons then you need to be using your smart phone.  Phone apps that save you money are a great way to reduce the amount of money you spend in your grocery budget.  I look forward to seeing money added to my grocery budget instead of always being debited.  These little perks make my grocery budget stretch, and that is always a good thing!

These money saving phone apps are all on my phone, and I hope you enjoy them on your phone too!

The Best Money Saving Phone Apps

Checkout 51: Checkout 51 is a money saving app that has new deals refresh once per week (every Thursday)  I love that Checkout 51 often has offers on fruit and vegetables.  Any way to save on fruits and veggies is great since coupons for those things are rare. Once you reach the $20 payout you can request your money which is paid via a check mailed to your home  address.  They are beta testing the PayPal payout option, so hopefully that rolls out to everyone soon.  Since I created my Checkout51 account I have earned $145.42 (as of January 2018).

Ibotta: Ibotta is an app for smartphones that contains many different money saving offers for name brand products and often small amounts on *any* items (i.e. any brand chips, any brand laundry soap, etc). Watch videos, learn facts, take small surveys and you will watch the total you can save soar.  Once you have purchased the product(s) you scan the barcode and snap a photo of the receipt.  The $20 payout level is fairly easy to reach.  You can earn money for referring your friends as well.  There are bonuses that can be achieved that add a little extra to your earnings each month too.  Learn more about how to use Ibotta in my post here.

 

SavingStar: With SavingStar you are able to load grocery eCoupons to some store loyalty cards and scan your receipt for the stores that do not have linked loyalty cards. Over 60,000 stores participate in SavingStar, representing over 100 retail chains. The $5 payout limit for withdrawal is easy to reach.  You can cash out to a bank account, PayPal account, Upromise account, Starbucks gift code, iTunes gift code, or AMC Theatres gift code. 

Shopkick: Shopkick is a free location-based rewards application available for the iPhone and Android platforms. Users can earn “kicks” (rewards) when they check-in at participating businesses, when they scan the barcodes on specific products, and when they purchase certain products.  Those kicks can be turned into gift cards at your favorite stores including Starbucks, Target, and more.  I use Shopkick when I walk in to Target, Kroger, Walmart and several stores in the mall.  I simply open the app before I walk through the doors and “pop the bubble” once it dings.  My girls love Shopkicking…and they love scanning items too.  It’s a perfect time filler when you are waiting for a prescription.  You can link  your credit card to Shopkick and earn even more money by doing so.  I have earned 41,896 kicks in my time using this app (as of January 2018).  To put those points into perspective a $2 gift card is 500 kicks, a $5 gift card is 1,250 kicks, a $10 gift card is 2,500 kicks, and a $25 gift card is 6,250 kicks.

Fetch Rewards: With Fetch Rewards you will save on over 180 brands EVERY time they’re on your receipt, with over $10 in bonus points available, and rotating exclusive special offers. And all you do is scan your grocery receipt! Use my referral code, GH3AK, during signup and you’ll get 1,500 Fetch Points ($1.50 in points!) when you complete one receipt.  I started using this app in December 2017 and as of January 2018, I have redeemed one $3 reward for making my normal purchases.

Berry Cart: With Berry Cart you will save on healthy foods that are organic, gluten-free, non-GMO, etc.  Once you download the app you will be able to start browsing exclusive BerryCart offers on foods you can feel good about. They have hand-picked only the best all natural, organic, gluten-free, and non-GMO kinds of foods for you.  You won’t see high-fructose corn syrup and artificial flavors with this app.  The $5 payment threshold is pretty easy to reach.

Makeena – Makeena is a cash back app that offers rebates on healthy and organic products at any store.  The payout threshold is $20 and you can request your money via Paypal or Venmo.

 

Receipt Hog – I just started using Receipt Hog in January 2018.  My takeaways so far are that this app takes persistence to reach payout.  Just keep snapping photos of your receipts and you will eventually reach the payout threshold.  Payout is available via Amazon, PayPal, or magazine subscriptions.  1000 coins = $5, 2900 coins = $15, 4300 coins = $25 and 6500 coins = $40.  So far I haven’t reached the payout threshold (am am at 600 coins), but my continued dedication means I will get there soon.  Five dollars is five dollars.  🙂

 

Drop: Drop may not be for you if you are leary of linking your credit card to an app.  I totally understand that! One of my friends has raved about the Drop app, so I decided to give it a try. With Drop you link your credit and/or debit cards and spend normally.  They automatically award you points based on the places you shop.  Choose your stores carefully – Mine include Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks, but I rarely use a credit card at either of those places since I always get gift card deals.  I haven’t yet accumulated enough points to cash out at Drop, but thought I would let you know about it anyway since I am actively giving it a try.  If you sign up through my link we will both earn 1,000 Drop points (equivalent to $1.00).

Coupons.com: The Coupons.com app on your phone allows you to get an extra print of coupons you love to use.  There is a nice search feature that makes using the app very simple.  Most of the time you can get 1 extra print per coupon on the phone app.  You must have a wireless printer for this app to work.

 

Kroger: The Kroger app allows you to save coupons directly to your shopper’s card.  The Friday Freebie coupon (when available) can be loaded directly to your card in a snap.  I love the digital Simple Truth coupons that pop up every now and then.  This app is a great way to keep track of the coupons you have saved to your card without printing a single page.

Target: Be sure you have the Target app downloaded.  Check for Cartwheel offers directly from the Target app.

Do you have any money saving phone apps to add to the list? 

If you love saving money, and who doesn’t, check out these deals and freebies that will save you even more!  Be sure to subscribe to Coupons Are Great so you don’t miss out on great deals, fun freebies, crafts, and more.