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“The habit of saving is itself an education; it fosters every virtue, teaches self-denial, cultivates the sense of order, trains to forethought, and so broadens the mind.“ –T.T. Munger
Who doesn’t love easy budget hacks? Saving an extra few dollars every day can add up to large savings over the course of time! I’ve rounded up 6 genius apps that you must download!
1. Fetch Rewards – I love how easy this app is to use. All you need to do is snap your receipt (from literally anywhere) and you’ll earn points! At a minimum, you’ll earn 25 points per receipt upload, sometimes more if advertised items are included on your receipt. You then can stack those points up and redeem them for gift cards from retailers like Amazon.
Because I love this app so much, I have a code for you! If you sign up now through this link (or use referral code 1MK6PD), you’ll receive 2,000 extra points. Refer any friends from there and you’ll get 4,000 points! *Subject to change throughout the year.
2. Ibotta (Grocery) – This is the best grocery savings app out there! While you’re on your next grocery shopping spree, Ibotta will make it easy to check discounts on any products as you shop! Budget hacks at your finger tips! All you need to do is snap a picture of your receipt and depending upon the retailer scan the product label once purchased for cashback!
That’s not all! Ibotta has several budget hacks including gift cards for purchase! Turning budget hacks into money-saving habits is crucial. Make it your go to app prior to making purchases. I recently bought a $40 Petsmart gift card and received $8 back! The 20% was immediately placed bacl into my account for withdrawl. I’ll take that 20% discount for free!
Use my referral code “NGJQG” to save even more!
3. Get Upside (Gas and Restaurant) – Gas is expensive and you need a break! The Get Upside app searches your local area and places gas stations, restaurants, etc. that are partners labelled on a map for you to quickly navigate to saving more money! I use this app every time I get gas. I’ve gotten as low as $0.01 per gallon and as much as $0.25 cents off per gallon. You can use it to see what the gas prices are at stations near you before traveling to one. You can get money back on purchases made in-store. Instead of money back, you also have the option to get gift cards. Use my referral code “CRISSY5575” to sign up now and get a free $2.22 bonus now through 2/28/2022.
Here’s a map of the area near my home and what offers are out there.
I joined in May of 2019 and have earned $112 back in that time! Every little bit counts! The great thing about this app is residual earning! Invite friends and get paid 0.01 per gallon they purchase and even more from their referrals (Although a smaller amount)! Free money is free money!
4. RetailMeNot – I have a lifetime savings of $147 since April 2018 with only 9 transactions! Best Buy, Home Depot, and Macy’s are the 3 stores I’ve used this with, but there are so many on the site!
5. DOSH – Another super simple app to use! Click within the app and get deals for retail stores (Costco, Sams Club, Uber Eats, Home Depot, Walgreens), restaurants, hotels, and more! Most of the deals are typically a percentage of your purchase cashback!! It’s my least used app, but I’ve gotten back into the habit of looking at it for deals. My referral code is “CRISSYH5.”
My biggest advice with this app is that you make sure you check out the app every few months. If you have a balance sitting in your account from money earned and have been inactive for 12 months, whether that’s no withdrawal or no new transactions, they do assess a maintenance fee (a whopping $4.95 per month!). This money is not taken from your bank account, but only from the cashback earned using this app. Let me just say lesson learned!
6. Southern Savers – Back when the couponing shows were all the rage, I found this website. It’s so incredibly helpful and takes the hard work out of couponing if you want to start! This app keeps track of all the deals and makes extremely helpful lists, printable grocery lists, a list of free items when you add a coupon, and lets you know that you can get e-coupons as well!
All of this takes getting into the habit of checking or adding receipts, but for very little time, you can save quite a bit of cash for things you are already purchasing!
I hope you found your new best friend when it comes to snagging those money-saving budget hacks via your phone! It’s incredibly easy, and most of the time just requires your phone and receipt!