10 Money-Saving (and Earning) Smartphone Apps
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With the growing number of mobile users now owning smartphones, new apps are popping up constantly that offer ways to save or earn money.
Below is a list of ten of my very favorite smartphone apps that can help you to both save and earn money!
1. Ibotta – This app rewards you with cash back on your grocery store purchases! Read the tutorial.
2. Favado – Find the best deals and rock bottom prices for items in more than 65,000 grocery and drugstores nationwide. The app will also alert you to which store has the best deals and you can see if there are any coupons available to match up with the sales! Read the tutorial.
3. Checkout 51 – Another app that rewards you with cash back on your grocery store purchases. Read the tutorial.
4. Jingit – Watch short ads and scan products in store to earn cash! Read the tutorial.
5. Shopkick – Earn points for shopping at your favorite stores. You can redeem your points for prizes like a Starbucks or Target gift card.
6. Berry Cart –Â This is another grocery cash back app, but it’s exclusively for organic, natural, and gluten-free products! Read the tutorial.
7. Snap by Groupon – Another app that rewards you with cash back on your grocery store purchases. Read the tutorial.
8. Target Cartwheel –Â Target-exclusive coupons that can save you anywhere between 5% and 40% on everything from fresh produce to clothing to school supplies. Cartwheel coupons can be combined with both manufacturer coupons and other Target coupons for bigger savings! Read the tutorial.
9. Walmart Savings Catcher – Scan your recent Walmart receipts and the Savings Catcher app will match the price of any local competitor’s printed ad for an identical product. If Savings Catcher finds a lower advertised price, you get the difference on a Walmart eGift Card! Read the tutorial.
10. Shopmium – Another app that rewards you with cash back on your grocery store purchases. Read the tutorial.
Honorable Mentions:
11. Groupon – I’m sure you know about Groupon by now, but did you know they have an app? Most Groupon vouchers can be redeemed by showing the cashier the voucher on the mobile app! No more wasting ink and paper by printing the vouchers – or forgetting the vouchers at home (been there, done that)!
12. Amazon – This may seem like a strange app for saving money, but I actually use it quite often! If I’m shopping somewhere and considering a purchase, I will usually check Amazon first to see how it compares in price!
13. Grocery Store Apps – Check to see if your local grocery store has an app! I love the Tom Thumb app because I can load eCoupons onto my card while I’m shopping in the store!
14. Couponing 101 – This isn’t exactly an app, but I do love having direct access to the website when I’m out and about.
To get the little icon on your phone, just use your phone’s browser to navigate to Couponing101.com. At the bottom of the browser, click on the little square with an arrow in it. Several choices will pop up, and you’ll want to click ” add to home screen.” After you do this, you’ll find the icon on your phone, just like an app!
What are some of your favorite money-saving apps?
12 Comments
Tracy
Plink is out of business, I am assuming wrapp is also. It won’t work for me and no longer in app store. But lots of new apps in the last few months: Snap, receipt hog, Walmart savings catcher
Stephanie
Thanks – just updated the post! It was long overdue! 🙂
Megan
Antoher SavingStar scenario. Sorry, I’m becoming obsessed.
I load a $1/2 Ziploc bags coupon onto my Marsh card, and load a similar SavingStar offer onto my Marsh card. Will both take effect? I’m not trying to game the system. I want to NOT game the system. But I’m not organized enough, and I don’t shop enough, to remember what I’ve loaded all the time.
Megan
I mean – in the scenario above, the first coupon was loaded onto my Marsh card on Marsh’s website, and the second one on SavingStar’s website.
Meagan
SavingStar eCoupons are considered manufacturer’s coupons, so if you use one of those, you can not use another manufacturer’s coupon on the same item.
Megan
I signed up for Saving Star based on Clair’s comment, and I’m confused. Do the “coupons” you select and load onto your grocery store’s card act like manufacturer’s coupons? Or do they give me cash back in my account for the amount on the coupon? If it’s the cash-back scenario, can I still use a manufacturer’s coupon on an item for which I have a Saving Star offer?
If Saving Star offers are just digital coupons that you load onto your card, and they send you money instead of deducting the coupon amount at check-out, I don’t see the benefit. Might as well just use a coupon.
Thanks!
Megan
(Sorry for misspelling your name, Clarie!)
Well, I’ve answered some of my own questions. In case anyone else wonders (or has additional clarification):
Basically SavingStar offers are manufacturer’s coupons, but the savings doesn’t come off at the check-out counter. It goes to your SavingStar account and you can cash ou when you reach $5. So it’s just delayed savings. If you have a coupon, might as well get the discount right away. The benefit, I suppose, is if there’s a SavingStar offer for which you don’t have a coupon. But so far, most of what I saw duplicates most coupons I have. There were a couple good $1/1 bottled Starbucks. I’m new to couponing, so if Starbucks drink coupons are common, I haven’t figured it out yet.
As far as stacking, SavingStar CAN be stacked with other manufacturer’s coupons because they haven’t figured out how to stop it, but their FAQ says they aren’t intended to be stacked with other manufacturer’s coupons. I guess you’re supposed to act on the honor system, although I don’t know how you can stop an offer loaded onto your grocery loyalty card from activating if you also use a manufacturer’s coupon. For instance, let’e say I have 2 coupons for Swiffers, one paper manufacturer’s coupon and one SavingStar (manufacturer’s) coupon. The paper one is better, or expires sooner or something. I load the SavingStar offer on my Marsh card and a couple weeks later go to Marsh with my paper coupon, intending to use it. I scan the paper coupon, then my Marsh card, and the SavingStar Swiffer offer activates. Maybe I forgot it was there, but even if I didn’t, how can I avoid this? I don’t see a way.
I’m not seeing a huge benefit from SavingStar given these problems, but I also don’t shop as much as people with large households (I don’t have kids) and I just started couponing. Is there something I’m missing about SavingStar?
Thanks!
Meagan
SavingStar is just another place to find coupons, so sometimes they might have coupons that you don’t find anywhere else. 🙂 That’s the benefit.
Meagan
Looks like you figured it out. 🙂
Claire Conrad
I also love SavingStar! You can use it at some big retailers and they have valuable, relevant coupons!
-Claire
tracy
I use all these and also checkout 51 (but can do this on computer too), weather channel and other apps/widgets come with m points – earn points by checking into stores and more, gas buddy- check prices and earn entries in gas card sweepstakes when you enter prices
Treba Adams
This will b awesome to have 101 @ my finger tips!!