Five Money Saving Apps You Need

I am forever looking for ways to save money, but also can’t be bothered by complicated and time consuming hoops that I need to jump through in order to save a quarter or two. Over the years, money saving apps have been installed, and deleted from my phone, but there are a few that I keep coming back to week in and week out.

Before I get to my app recommendations, remember that none of these apps will make you lots of money right off the bat. These are more “long haul” savings apps. That said, I still love these apps, and use most of them every week. Here are my top five favorite apps for saving money that you need to start using today.

Cartwheel

I’ve mentioned it before…. If I were Superman, Target would be my kryptonite. I love Target. It’s my weakness, and it takes massive amounts of willpower for me to go in there with a list and a budget, and be able to stick to it!! Lately I’ve been doing excellent, but that wasn’t always the case.

One way I’m able to stick to my budget in Target is through their cartwheel program. I’ve been using the program since it was on beta testing way back in 2013, and it’s saved us over $500 through the years. And I’m not entirely diligent on using it {simply because 3 out of 5 times I forget to charge my phone before going in}.

If you haven’t tried Cartwheel yet, you should. You use your phone and scan the barcode of the items you’re buying. The app will tell you if there is a coupon or a percentage discount on the items. The savings it gives on items varies from 5% to 30%, with most of the Up&Up brands have 5% discounts.

The best part is that cartwheel discounts can be used with sales prices, manufacturer coupons, gift card offers, as well as the red card discount. {We have had a Red Debit Card for nearly 12 years, and the amount of savings in that amount of time is remarkable as well. As long as you stick to your budget, the savings does add up over time.}

Shopkick

Shopkick* is a neat app that gives you points {kicks} towards gift cards, and the most minimal part you have to do is walk into the store. Seriously! When I go out for groceries each week, I make sure I open up Shopkick because I get kicks simply for walking in certain stores, like Target, Walmart, Best Buy, and so on.

If I’m at Target and I’m waiting on a prescription, I’ll see what kicks I can earn simply by scanning the barcodes of specific products. I’m already there, I’m already waiting… might as well make the time I’m waiting worth something!

ShopKick also gives kicks on items you may have purchased simply by scanning your receipt, and scanning the barcode of the item. You can also get kicks for shopping online at specific retailers.

If you sign up through my referral code*, you instantly get 250 kicks on your first walk-in, within 7 days of signing up. {I will also get 250 kicks for referring you… win-win!}

Reciept Hog

Receipt hog has got to be my favorite savings app, hands down. It’s a wonderful way to earn up coins to exchange for Amazon gift cards*, Visa Prepaid Cards, or even Paypal Payment, and there is no need to purchase specific items. All you have to do is snap a photo of your receipts of purchases in the app. How many coins you receive depends on the store on the receipt, and how much total amount on the receipt is for.

There are a few downsides though. One is that the receipt can’t be more than two weeks old, and you can have no more than three receipts from the same store on the same day. So when I am at Target doing our weekly shopping, and I divide up my purchase into five transactions, Grocery, Household, Pet, Prescriptions and Clothing, to match my cash envelopes, I can only get credit for three of those transactions. In this instance, I use the receipts that had the higher amounts simply because I can earn more coins.

Another is that you cannot submit multiple receipts from the same store on the same day. So back to my earlier example, I cannot scan all the Target receipts on the same day. It will get finicky and tell me that they are duplicates of the same receipt, when in fact they are not.

Ibotta

Ibotta* is very similar to Receipt Hog; you scan your receipt into the app, but Ibotta is looking for specific purchases on your receipts, or when you are shopping on certain websites. I don’t like it when apps want me to purchase specific items, but Ibotta also has “any item” categories. So when I buy any fruit, or any milk, Ibotta will give me some cash back on those purchases. It’s my favorite way to get cash rewards and I use Ibotta every time I shop. If you sign up through my referral link*, you’ll instantly get a $10 sign on bonus. {I do get a $5 bonus for referring you.}

Saving Star

Saving Star app is more of a digital coupon app rather than an app that helps you save in the long run by adding up points using virtual coupons and your store savings cards.

First you’ll want to download the app, and link your store cards. Then look through the various coupons available on the app and “clip” ones you’ll use. These coupons are now linked to your store cards.

When you are at the store and purchasing items that you’ve clipped coupons on, there is no need to remember to pull out your phone and scan the app like with Cartwheel. All you do is scan your store card. Once SavingStar has confirmed you purchase those items, you’ll get the coupon amount credited to your account.

I’m going to be real here. This used to be a one of my favorite apps. I let the total accumulate until I had enough to cash out on an Amazon gift card*. But they don’t issue Amazon gift cards anymore. The options they have available now, I won’t use, and I’ve since discontinued my use of this app.

Does that mean that you won’t get use out of it? Absolutely not! I have plenty of friends that swear by this app, and continue to use it to this day!