Monday, May 26, 2014

20 Money Saving & Money Making Tips Plus Their Apps!

   How often we go into the stores and purchase things only to later find out there was a coupon, or a sale the next day, a "card" you could have signed up for that was free that gives discounts, and the list goes on!
   Here is a list of personal tips and websites that I have come across or been introduced to that really helps me organize myself, be informed about deals/sales/discounts, and be able to plan ahead for the best prices!

   
   1) Retail Me Not 


Huge fan of this site! It shares coupon codes, deals, sales that are upcoming, and sales that are currently in progress. There is also an app available for your phone that will notify you, based on your location, of all of the surroundings deals and specials near you. So if you drive 45 minutes down the road to a shopping center for example it updates itself and will notify if there are specials in the surrounding location! Very handy and totally free! 



   2) Coupons.com


Visit their website for free lists of coupons. There are sections divided up that allow you to search for grocery deals, in-store offer, coupon codes (for in-store and online purchases), and card linked offers.


This site also has a totally free app as well that you can browse and download tons of coupons from. Save them on your device and use them when applicable.  :) Excellent money saver. 

   3) Red Laser


Another excellent option. If you have this app (free as well) on your phone you can simply scan the barcode of the item you are looking at and it will tell you if sold by any one else and if their price beats the business you are shopping in at the time! 
   For example, my husband was shopping for a nice pair of work boots. We were in a store looking at a specific brand he had chosen for their durability and quality.... Pricing question..... We just picked up the box and scanned the barcode. Instantly we found another local retailer that sold them at a more reasonable price! Yay! 


   This app also offers a place to store all the very many loyalty cards that everyone has these days! You can search for specific items, save items to favorites for later use, or just scroll through the deals that are popular shown on the app without any barcode and find things by retailer or brand... Wonderful and very handy!!! Money saved at a cost of $0.00 expense. Just a little time to research required. 

4) Hobby Lobby, Joannns, etc


Many of these stores offer free apps for your phones that will send you updates about sales and specials they are running so if you know the stores you want a deal from specifically and you want to just access that information specifically look for options online or in your devices app store by retailer. The app for Hobby Lobby and Joanns both will have a place you can click that will give you current coupons with a barcode for the sales representative to easily scan at your time of check out. Very useful. 

5) Bill Tracker
   

   Bill Tracker is a paid app (there is a free more limited version you can download and try out first) that was less than a few dollars, but not certain of pricing. This app allows you to manage all of your bills. You can enter all of your payments and it will notify you of upcoming automatic payments and payments you need to manually address. You can view your outstanding bills in a calendar view or list view with a total at base for outstanding and a total for the months bills as a whole. Many useful features on this app, but also simple and straight forward. I really love this app. 

6) Living Social
   Living Social is anther great website with a free app to manage things from your phone. 
   You can view local deals and specials, special vacation packages for all over the world, and reduced pricing on tons of your favorite products and websites! Easy to manage, free to join, and wonderful deals!!

7) Groupon


   Another coupon site with a free app as well. Never hurts to have options! This site offers coupons that vary from others at times and I like to scan multiple sites when collecting my coupons for best results. I would definitely suggest adding this to your list. :) 

8) Key Ring


   Just a free useful app to manage all of your store loyalty and discount cards!! It works beautifully!!! You can remove all of those little plastic cards on your key chain, in your wallet, etc! Just launch this app and select the store card you need and the cashier can scan your phone screen. :D 

9) Craigslist 


   Many may be aware of this site, but it's always worth adding to your list of ways to save money!!! Craigslist is a wonderful site to pick up furniture, decorative items, all kinds of home items, baby items, and even vehicles! If you are shopping for a deal you can find amazing deals on here. Sometimes the item you find is basically new (but not at the price new would cost) and/or sometimes it's an item that looks like it's seen far better days BUT it is for sale for almost nothing and with a little DIY project it's an amazing addition to your home. I definitely suggest this site all of the time for a huge range of things!! 
   There are a lot of Craigslist apps out there for free and at a charge. Just take a look and see what suits you best, but the site itself is amazing and free! :) 

10) Kids Meal Deals


   Great free app that gives you local deals and specials for kids meals! Wonderful family app. :) 

11) Wi-Fi Finder


   Wi-Fi Finder is again a totally free app with a great purpose. Find places near you offering free Wi-Fi to go hook up your PC and get some work done while on the go or save some data use on your phone or tablet!! Useful to know these spots. 

12) Gas Buddy


   Just another one of those things that really costs these days! A free app to scout out good gas prices near you! :) 

13) Cozi


   Cozi is an app that offers both a free and paid version, but honestly I use the free version and I love it! You are limited on a few features, but it's not a big deal to me. This is a wonderful app to use for your family or business. Everyone just needs to download this app on their phone and then you are all able to view, edit, and add events or appointments keeping everyone on the same page and aware with ease!!!! Actually this app was recommended by the Duggar family from the TLC show 19 Kids & Counting. They use it to keep all of their family appintments in sync and everyone is able to keep on the same page through this app. Impressive app. I love it! 

14) GoodRx


   If you need an app to help you manage your prescriptions and find the best prices especially if you are paying out of pocket 100% this is the app for you and yes it is free as well!!

15) ShopKick

   By shopping at your favorite stores and using this app you can get "Kick Backs". Just open the app in the store etc and you will receive points that will add up to free items!!! :) 

16) Shop Savvy


   This is a price comparison app that is free with a very user friendly interface! 

17) Snip Snap


   This app is wonderful! Just as the Key Ring loyalty cards app stores all of those many, many plastic loyalty cards this app stores all of your coupons!!! You take snap shots and the app converts all those paper coupons into coupons able to be scanned from your device! You can follow friends, get updates and reminders on upcoming expirations, sync multiple devices for easy access to all coupons from anywhere!! Again a free app that is absolutely wonderful!!! 

18) iBotta
   Purchase items, take a photo and upload proof of purchase for lists of items from over 40 retailers and actual cash rewards are placed in your iBotta account. There are also options to answer questions, watch videos, and answer surveys to earn as well. :)

19) The Square / Register


   Squareup.com is a great site that offers a free attachment which plugs right into your headset plug on your mobile device, tablet, etc that allows you to scan a credit or debit card and process a sale right there on the go! It is free to sign up, free to order the credit card scanner, and only charges a small percentage off the top of the amount processed. Excellent for someone just personally selling things on Craigslist or various others sites or great for a business owner!! Excellent product!!! Excellent service!!! Highly suggest this!!! There is no charge associated with it if you don't need to use it either so I ordered one right away and I have it just incase I randomly need it and it's no expense for me in the process!  :D 

20) Etsy


   Etsy is just a great site! This site is wonderful gem if you are just shopping for great, unique, personalized items, but also wonderful if you want to sell some special items you have made!!! Incredibly easy to create a store front on this site, very inexpensive to list items, and wonderful apps for free to manage your shop on the go!!! I include this on the list because it's an incredibly cost efficient and popular way to list and sell items in a more business store front themed application. Love it and use it personally!! 

   I just love every single app on this list! All of them save money, all but one is free, and many of them offer for free or with minimal charges to sell and make additional income!!!!!! Hope this list is as useful for your everyday needs as it is for mine and my families!!


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