Free Smart Phone Apps That Saved Our Christmas Budget

Free Smart Phone Apps That Saved Our Christmas Budget

By Maria (Ehma) Porpio

I felt terrible falling for the concept of materialistic advertisements turning WANTS into NEEDS. We went slightly over our budget last Christmas so my husband, Jon and I decided, at the beginning of this year to set aside savings for the Holidays. Automatically every week, the bank draws money from our checking account to add the amount towards that particular “Christmas Savings Account.” So the Goal how much to Spend was set.

Since I wanted to reach that goal of spending below our Christmas Savings Budget, I made a plan of shopping way earlier to avoid the rush and temptations. I tell you having a budget is not only liberating but it’s also rewarding after it dawned on you that you have exceeded your expectations because you have a goal. That simply sort of happened to us. Our family’s Christmas list is done, gifts are wrapped but our Savings Account has never been touched. Intact! Wow! A big chunk of money to add payment to the ultimate goal and that is paying off the house. Praise God!

I will never get tired of saying BUDGET, budget, BUDGET because if you don’t budge, you don’t get. When I get groceries, I budget. My goal was to spend below the budget so I always get more cash at the end of the month and that extra cash was what I used to buy Christmas presents. Budgeting my time is just the same as budgeting my money, both boils down to priorities. The last time I was laboriously searching for coupons, I ended up with hungry children, a house full of mess and missed appointments. Then I realized clipping coupons is time consuming. It robs the time for my family and priorities. Therefore I conclude, it’s not for me, until I discovered these Free Smart Apps… 

1.       Ibotta- They said it’s better than coupon and I very much agree. Here’s why: a.) Clippings coupons steal most of my time with the kids, Ibotta does not, b.) Coupons only saves you money and sometimes gives you cash back, Ibotta instantly earns you cash while you shop (Yes, I’m serious and I know because I’ve already accumulated $75 dollars just by shopping for bread and butter), c.) Coupons only allows you to shop for particular brands, Ibotta sometimes lets you explore your options (So one time I had a coupon of my favorite brand. I was able to use it on top of the cash back that Ibotta offered. Sweet!) So if you’re interested, download the App for free. Here’s how it works: 1^st, Browse through their rebates and find the ones you need. (I found wines and glade melts for a very good price so I bought them for gifts.), 2^nd, Unlock the rebates. Each rebate is unique. Some will ask you to answer a trivia; others will let you watch a short video. 3^rd, Scan the product bar code and it should tell you if the product is valid or not. 4^th, After paying for your purchase, scan your receipt. Then lastly the most awaited step of all, the 5^th step, Get Cash through Pay Pal or Venmo! Short and simple, isn’t it? On top of that, Ibotta has bonuses. One of that perks is allowing you to earn money for referrals after they purchase something. One of my referrals bought milk and I got $5 cash back.

2.       Check Out 51- I love this app because of its simplicity. Every Thursday, they change their set of Cash Back offers. So you get a whole week to decide whether you need an apple, or a banana. And yes, like Ibotta, it saves you time, it gives you cash back instantly, and it sometimes lets you explore your options. The downside is, it takes a long time for you to accumulate money through this app and they won’t send your check until you reach $20 on your account. But hey, it’s still cash and let me tell you how rewarding it is to get a $20 check for shopping on products you need anyway. So if you think, this free app will help, download it for free. Here’s how it works: 1^st, Browse through their cash back offer. 2^nd, Scan your receipt after payment. Then lastly, 3^rd, Accumulate Cash on your account to cash out later. That’s it!

3.       Shopkick- Oh, the many possibilities of just visiting your favorite Walmart, Target, Best Buy or Sports Authority Stores. This free app is AMAZING because you don’t need to purchase anything at all. All you got to do is open the app and blue tooth when you enter the store. With open ears listen to the magical sound of “ting”, that’s when you know you get points for Starbucks or Target gift cards, etc. And while you’re at the store, you can scan items on their list and it will earn you 25 to 100 points towards the same rewards. Because of this app, I enjoyed treating friends at Starbucks without the guilt of splurging, my family gets to see free movies from Red box and my kids wears nice boots from a Target gift card. Now tell me other words for Shopkick other than amazing!

4.       Swagbucks- When you are an online shopper, you might as well, use Swagbucks. This app pays you for purchases online. You get gift cards from Amazon, Target, Starbucks, etc. Not only that, this also pays you for searching online (so instead of Google, I use this as my search engine), answering daily polls and watching videos. Who pays you for doing these? Only Swagbucks. And if you are bored, you can also answer some surveys but I don’t recommend this because it clouds my email with junk. Imagine finding yourself in a long layover, would you rather earn money watching videos and searching online than whine about the circumstances? Think about it!

5.       Shopmium- This is just the same as Checkout 51. Although, you get your money faster, it doesn’t have plenty of offers. So I just used this for the Glade Melt set I bought which I purchased because Ibotta and Checkout51 had the same offer at one time. All in all, I only paid $3 for that Glade Melt set at Sam’s: $5 cash from Ibotta + $5 cash from Checkout51 + $5 cash from Shopmium= $15 savings. Dear readers, I wish I could see your smiles.

6.       Walmart Savings Catcher- Please, don’t tell me, “you haven’t heard of this.”  If so, please listen to me: This app will get you money for shopping your typical groceries at Walmart. How? Simple! It will compare prices with the local competitors and if they find one at a lower price, it’ll get you back the difference. Now go and download this app for free.

I only have 6 apps for getting cash back but I know there are so many to choose from. There are apps for getting money while you do a task, while you exercise and some more. These are only my suggestions because it helps us tremendously.   Find some that fit your needs and work on it so you will be able to maximize the benefits they bring. Don’t forget to plan your shopping trip, write your budget goals and enjoy the process of saving money. Always keep God first in mind to guide you to your purpose in whatever you do. Please spread the word when you reap the benefits of this post. Let us inspire others so they too will find TREASURES in the MUNDANE.