Best Shopping Apps for Saving Money

I grew up in a household with a mother who was constantly bargain hunting. She'd only get certain things if they were on sale and she had a coupon. She would take advantage of double coupons, price matching, and using a manufacturer and store coupon at the same time. Some people may think this is a waste of time, but it's basically free money, at least to me! I caught on to the thrill of the hunt, and my boyfriend thinks it's silly that I look at the online ad, gather up my list and my coupons, and then go to the store. But I think it's smart. We can spend our money on other things if we save it where we can. Some of my friends have also noticed all the great deals I get, so I thought I'd write a post about a few tips and also a couple apps that I use to stretch my dollars further.

shopkick is a free app that turns shopping into a game. When you enter certain stores (Target, Best Buy, and Macy's to name a few), you open up the app and a bubble comes up that you pop to get your "kicks." When you've reached a certain number of kicks, you can exchange them for a reward, like a gift card. There are also coupons within the app, lookbooks to browse, and you can earn even more kicks by looking for specific items in the store and scanning them. Yes, it takes a little extra time, but don't most of us go to Target knowing that we won't quite stick to our list anyway? I haven't redeemed my kicks yet, but after using the app for a few months mainly just when I go to Target, I have enough for the $5 gift card rewards.

Endorse is a really cool app, that I'm able to take advantage of maybe once a month or so. Endorse gives you about 15 or so offers each week - like 10% off fast food or 20% off Nature Valley Granola Bars. If you buy those items, you upload a photo of your receipt to Endorse. Then they give you some money back. It's that simple. They also have a component where you get points that equal money for charity. Just now as I was reading the site, I realized that you get charity points for every receipt you upload, even if no offers are involved. I wish I would have realized that sooner! Some examples of offers I've gotten - 50% off champagne or beer (around New Year's) and 10% off any brand of pet food. You should definitely download the app. Once you hit $25 you can get a check, otherwise you can have your earnings put in your PayPal account. Very cool and super easy way to save money!
Disclaimer - the link above is a referral link - please use it : )

I was going to talk about Meijer's app, but I know that's sort of a midwest thing. If you do shop at Meijer though, make sure you sign up for their mPerks program.


So what apps do you use or tricks do you have to save money? I'd also love to know which stores are worth getting a credit card at or signing up for their email list. I may do another post about that and also one about getting the most free stuff around your birthday! Happy Saturday! I cannot believe there is snow on the ground here...