6 Money-Savings Apps You Should be Using

 Using any of these money-saving apps is as simple as

• Download the app
• Shop
• Get paid

Are they free? Of course, they’re free! Who’d pay money for money-saving apps?

Do they take a lot of time to process? No, I wouldn’t recommend them if they did.

Are they easy to use? Absolutely, download, shop, redeem.

I use all of these apps in my shopping, both in-store and online. I can’t think of too many things that you buy that you can’t get some kind of rebate on or points for.

Maybe tube socks at the flea market down at the old fairgrounds on Saturday afternoon. Otherwise, pretty much everything.

A word of caution for beginners: Don’t buy anything through an app that you weren’t going to buy anyway!

It helps to know what the rock bottom prices are on the products you regularly. Click here to learn how to create a price book and download free templates.

How To Use a Price Book to Save Money on Groceries

Now, for the details on these awesome money-saving apps!

This page contains affiliate links to products I use, love, and recommend.  See my full disclosure policy.

Here are my favorite Money-Saving Apps

 1. Ibotta

Sign up here.

Download the app (either android or ios) and complete your profile.

For online purchases simply choose Online Shopping from the category menu and follow the prompts to the site you want.

For in-store purchases select your favorite stores and find offers for items that you will use.

Take a few minutes each week to go through the offers. New offers are loaded on Wednesday and Thursday.

You might have to complete a simple task, like watching a short video or answering a survey to activate the rebate in your app.

Buy the product. Pay attention to the details, there may be size or flavor specifications to qualify for the rebate. AND, pay attention to the expiration date of the offer.

To redeem your rebate you will have to tap Redeem from the menu bar at the bottom of the screen. Take a photo of your receipt, scan the barcode on the items you are claiming, and upload it to Ibotta.

Response time varies from a few seconds to a few hours.

The handful of times I’ve had issues was resolved by their customer service staff quickly.

I’ll admit that a couple of times the problem was “operator error”. I’ll own it.

I had linked 2 of my grocery store rewards cards to my Ibotta account to see how accurate it tracks my purchases. And just as quickly unlinked them. It’s not working very well and, while customer service was quick to resolve the issues, it takes more time than it’s worth.

I am going to continue to redeem my rebates the old-fashioned way.

Shop with Ibotta in-store and online get up to $20 in Welcome Bonuses!

Once you have reached the $20.00 payout level you can have the cash transferred to your Paypal account, Venmo, or choose from a large number of gift cards ranging from Amazon to Uber. There are dozens of choices. Some of the gift cards do have a $25.00 minimum, but there are many that can be purchased at the $20.00 minimum.

Of all of the money-saving apps I have tried over the last 3 years, Ibotta is the most effective for me given my shopping habits and the products I purchase most often.

2. CoinOut

Sign up for CoinOut, snap a photo of ANY receipt and get points. You will receive a random amount of points for each receipt scanned. There are a number of offers that are available that you can take advantage of to earn more points.

3. Checkout51

Sign up for Check51 here

Browse the available offers. New Checkout51 offers are loaded every Thursday and are valid until the following Wednesday.

Of all of the rebate apps I use, Checkout51 has the most limited availability on offers, so it’s important to claim them quickly.

Some offers allow multiple items to be claimed on the same receipt. That means more savings!

Packing lists can be uploaded as proof of purchase for Checkout51. That means Amazon Pantry purchases will qualify.

Having an itemized receipt with a clear description of the product is required; it doesn’t matter where it was purchased. I have received rebates for products I purchased from Big Lots.

4. Fetch Rewards

Download the Fetch Rewards app here. Use my code J6MEC and we’ll both get bonus points.

Fetch Rewards is the easiest app in the world. Just scan your receipt. Fetch Rewards goes through and checks for qualifying purchases. You get points.

I know, that sounds like some kind of voodoo magic.

You can take a look at anything that might have bonus points, like Planters Peanuts or Pepperidge Farms Goldfish, or Natural Light Beer.

Keep up with monthly POP-UP specials or brand specials that offer extra points for a limited time.

I’m not going to buy something I don’t want or need just to get points, but if beer is on my list I might look at Natural Light if the price is right. And snag some bonus points!

If you use SINGLECARE for prescription discounts you can earn additional bonus points every time you fill a prescription.

5. Coupons.com

Because Coupons.com offers manufacturers coupons it takes the place of clipping coupons. You can stack store coupons and rebate apps with Coupons.com, but any other form of manufacturer coupon can’t be used.

Coupons.com works a little differently than a paper coupon. You actually pay full price for the product, unload the receipt and Coupons.com will send the coupon amount to your Paypal account. Confirmation typically takes no longer than 48 hours.

Select your favorite stores. Stores that offer manufacturers coupons on their website won’t be available on Coupons.com because they offer the same coupons.

It’s easier than clipping or printing paper coupons and sometimes offers discounts that amount to free products from retailers like Walmart and Target.

Last Thanksgiving they had a promotion that offered a free product every day for a week from Walmart or Target. It wasn’t enough motivation for me to go shopping during a holiday season EVERY DAY for a week.

If the coupon was for a free car or a free pony I might have done it.

I love using apps to save money, but they’re not as useful if they require too much time. Right?

6. Shopkick

Download the Shopkick app for either Android or ios.

I gotta tell you. I love Shopkick.

You must remember to open it up before you go shopping to get the Shopkicks for entering the store.

Alas, it doesn’t always happen like that.

You can get bonus points for scanning specific items and for purchasing those items. Take a look at what’s available and if it’s on your list anyway…win-win

Get points for watching short films and playing games. You can link a credit card and earn points when you use the card at participating stores.

Use Shopkick for your online shopping and earn even more.

There are plenty of opportunities to earn lots of points. People on my Christmas gift list are getting gift cards this year. That means more time for baking cookies.

Look at the possibilities…

Amazon
Target
Walmart
Starbucks
Best Buy
Nike
Sephora
Uber
TJ Maxx
Marshalls
Lowe’s
Nike
GameStop
See anything that interests you?

There are tons of money-saving apps out there. At some point, it’s impossible to keep up with all of them. These apps are easy to use and don’t require a lot of your time.

Don’t download everything all at once and try to do your monthly stock-up shopping trip. Your head will explode and you won’t ever go grocery shopping again.

Try one or two, get them set up with your shopping preferences. Check the weekly rebate offers and see what you can match up with a sale and/or coupon. When they have become a part of your routine, add another and then another.

You can save 30% on groceries with minimal use of coupons and rebate apps combined with store sales.

Let me know how much you are able to save by using these apps.