Since losing my job three months ago I've been looking for new and creative ways to save money. I've been doing lots of research on new money-saving techniques as well as getting back into couponing. I would love to share some new FREE mobile phone apps I've discovered that I simply love.
The Ibotta App
How it works: The ibotta app lists a couple dozen "offers" that you can take advantage of. It's like a coupon in that you get a monetary value refunded back to you when you purchase that product. Just buy the item and when you get home you scan the barcode, upload of a picture of the receipt and in about 10 minutes the money is credited back to you via your Paypal account.
The Pros: The offers can be used in conjunction with coupons. So a $2 item with a $1-off coupon and $1 ibotta offer would essentially be free. The money is credited quickly, generally within 10-15 minutes. And you can earn "bonuses" on top of your offers. For example, if you redeem 4 offers in the month of May you receive a $2 bonus. That's like adding an extra $.50 onto each of the 4 offers you redeemed to get the bonus! Also, the ibotta app now has new store offers which are offers that are redeemable only at specific stores like 7-Eleven, Target and Walgreens. The downside is that you're forced to shop at specific stores but the upside is that they have more offers available.
The Cons: You cannot cash out your balance until you've reached a $5 minimum and it's currently only available through Paypal. While there's about 2 dozen offers available at any given time I've found that many tend to be the same offer over and over again. I'm hoping that some new brands will come on board with the ibotta app and start offering coupons.
The Endorse App
How it works: Like the ibotta app the Endorse app offers cash back on purchases made. Unlike the ibotta app the offers are a percentage of cash back, not a set amount. For example, get up to 50% cash back on any brand of diapers or 20% cash back on Diet Sierra Mist. Offers aren't the same for everyone either. Your friend may have a different offer that they can share (via Facebook). Take advantage of their offers and share yours as well to maximize the amount of offers you have. Offers are updated weekly and you can buy multiple items to take advantage of one offer. For example, I had an offer of 50% cash back for 2-liter bottles of Mountain Dew, up to $1.50 back. I purchased 3 2-liter bottles and got cash back for all three. Just make sure they are all purchased on the same receipt. Plus there is no need to scan the barcodes of the items, just upload the receipt through the app.
The Pros: 50% cash back can be an excellent deal, especially since Endorse has many offers that aren't as specific as the offers on the ibotta app. You have the option to cash out via Paypal or receive a check. This app works with just about every kind of smartphone, not just the Apple products.
The Cons: It takes a bit longer to get your money credited to you, sometimes up to 24 hours. The average wait for me has been about 6 hours for them to process a receipt. Also, the minimum balance to cash out is $25 and the Endorse app only has about 8-10 offers each week. While the Endorse app can also be used in conjunction with coupons you only get the cash back off the net amount of the item. So a $5 product with a $1-off coupon will only receive cash back on the remaining $4.
The Shopkick App
How it works: The Shopkick app is by far my favorite. Earn points, or "kicks", every time you enter a store, scan items on the shelf, make purchases or browse through "lookbooks" within the app. Redeem the kicks for gift cards or other items. No purchases are required to earn kicks but your purchases can help earn kicks faster.
The Pros: Easy, you get points just for being in stores you would go into anyway! The app has to be open to get the points for walking in but you can earn up to 700 points for walking into a store and scanning a few items on the shelf. I've had this app about 2 weeks and already have over 1,100 points. 500 points gets you a $2 giftcard, 1,250 gets a $5 giftcard and 2,500 kicks gets a $10 giftcard. This app also offers bonus kicks when you match a trio of like items. For example, scan all three of the Coffeemate items they list and get an extra 75 kicks.
The Cons: Kicks you earn for purchases aren't credited until the refund period has passed. For places like Target that amounts to a 60-day wait to receive your kicks. It takes a little while to figure out the app and how to earn little bonus kicks but once you get the hang of it it's pretty easy to use.
**UPDATE** Today, 5/24/13, the Shopkick app is having a Black Friday sale. Get 200 kicks for EACH walk-in at a participating store. A quick trip to the mall could earn you about 1,000 kicks! Plus the app sometimes offers coupons, mostly for Target, but I did find an offer at Macy's for 15% off your purchase, valid 5/22 through 5/27.
If any of you ladies have other apps or money-savings techniques you'd like to recommend, please share them! I'm working on some other creative ways to make money and will post about them once I've figured all the the ins and outs so stay tuned.
The Ibotta App
How it works: The ibotta app lists a couple dozen "offers" that you can take advantage of. It's like a coupon in that you get a monetary value refunded back to you when you purchase that product. Just buy the item and when you get home you scan the barcode, upload of a picture of the receipt and in about 10 minutes the money is credited back to you via your Paypal account.
The Pros: The offers can be used in conjunction with coupons. So a $2 item with a $1-off coupon and $1 ibotta offer would essentially be free. The money is credited quickly, generally within 10-15 minutes. And you can earn "bonuses" on top of your offers. For example, if you redeem 4 offers in the month of May you receive a $2 bonus. That's like adding an extra $.50 onto each of the 4 offers you redeemed to get the bonus! Also, the ibotta app now has new store offers which are offers that are redeemable only at specific stores like 7-Eleven, Target and Walgreens. The downside is that you're forced to shop at specific stores but the upside is that they have more offers available.
The Cons: You cannot cash out your balance until you've reached a $5 minimum and it's currently only available through Paypal. While there's about 2 dozen offers available at any given time I've found that many tend to be the same offer over and over again. I'm hoping that some new brands will come on board with the ibotta app and start offering coupons.
The Endorse App
How it works: Like the ibotta app the Endorse app offers cash back on purchases made. Unlike the ibotta app the offers are a percentage of cash back, not a set amount. For example, get up to 50% cash back on any brand of diapers or 20% cash back on Diet Sierra Mist. Offers aren't the same for everyone either. Your friend may have a different offer that they can share (via Facebook). Take advantage of their offers and share yours as well to maximize the amount of offers you have. Offers are updated weekly and you can buy multiple items to take advantage of one offer. For example, I had an offer of 50% cash back for 2-liter bottles of Mountain Dew, up to $1.50 back. I purchased 3 2-liter bottles and got cash back for all three. Just make sure they are all purchased on the same receipt. Plus there is no need to scan the barcodes of the items, just upload the receipt through the app.
The Pros: 50% cash back can be an excellent deal, especially since Endorse has many offers that aren't as specific as the offers on the ibotta app. You have the option to cash out via Paypal or receive a check. This app works with just about every kind of smartphone, not just the Apple products.
The Cons: It takes a bit longer to get your money credited to you, sometimes up to 24 hours. The average wait for me has been about 6 hours for them to process a receipt. Also, the minimum balance to cash out is $25 and the Endorse app only has about 8-10 offers each week. While the Endorse app can also be used in conjunction with coupons you only get the cash back off the net amount of the item. So a $5 product with a $1-off coupon will only receive cash back on the remaining $4.
The Shopkick App
How it works: The Shopkick app is by far my favorite. Earn points, or "kicks", every time you enter a store, scan items on the shelf, make purchases or browse through "lookbooks" within the app. Redeem the kicks for gift cards or other items. No purchases are required to earn kicks but your purchases can help earn kicks faster.
The Pros: Easy, you get points just for being in stores you would go into anyway! The app has to be open to get the points for walking in but you can earn up to 700 points for walking into a store and scanning a few items on the shelf. I've had this app about 2 weeks and already have over 1,100 points. 500 points gets you a $2 giftcard, 1,250 gets a $5 giftcard and 2,500 kicks gets a $10 giftcard. This app also offers bonus kicks when you match a trio of like items. For example, scan all three of the Coffeemate items they list and get an extra 75 kicks.
The Cons: Kicks you earn for purchases aren't credited until the refund period has passed. For places like Target that amounts to a 60-day wait to receive your kicks. It takes a little while to figure out the app and how to earn little bonus kicks but once you get the hang of it it's pretty easy to use.
**UPDATE** Today, 5/24/13, the Shopkick app is having a Black Friday sale. Get 200 kicks for EACH walk-in at a participating store. A quick trip to the mall could earn you about 1,000 kicks! Plus the app sometimes offers coupons, mostly for Target, but I did find an offer at Macy's for 15% off your purchase, valid 5/22 through 5/27.
If any of you ladies have other apps or money-savings techniques you'd like to recommend, please share them! I'm working on some other creative ways to make money and will post about them once I've figured all the the ins and outs so stay tuned.
