Money Saving Apps: Shopmium & Checkout51 (and a review on Ibotta)

A couple of months ago, I did an article on (see How to Save Money Without Coupons: Smart Phones!) with couponing apps. I have continued to use these apps, and a couple more great apps have popped up that I felt warranted a new post. These apps are good at least throughout the United States, and many of these can be used at any store that will give you a printed receipt that includes an item name, price, and date.

Shopmium

Shopmium (download Shopmium here to get a BONUS, use referral code MGGMEFVW) has been around for a couple of years, but has just recently been brought to the US. It is a unique app in that it can be used in all stores, as long as you have a store identified, printed receipt. You get cash back on items that you purchase, as well as percent off amounts (purchase an item for $2 that has a 50% rebate, have $1 added to your account). The neat thing about this app is that as soon as you redeem an offer, the money for the offer is immediately and automatically transferred to your paypal account. I like to let it accumulate throughout the month (along with my Ibotta withdrawals), and then cash it out every month.

 

Checkout51

Checkout51 is a new app that gives cash back for purchases (sometimes not even brand specific, like eggs or oranges), and you can receive this money through a paypal withdrawal when your account reaches $20. These offers refresh every Thursday, and must be redeemed before they refresh again the following Thursday. Checkout51 has bonuses for redeeming multiple offers, and is great for a lot of the brand name items (such as Windex, Aveeno, Neutrogena, etc). I have found that this is a great tool in my belt to save that little extra amount. Another interesting difference with this app is that you can actually take pictures of your receipt and email them to the company, so you could use this app without a smartphone.

 

Ibotta

Ibotta (Sign Up For Ibotta HERE to get a BONUS ) is, by far, my FAVORITE app, probably of all time. My fiance and I have saved several hundred dollars in the past 18 months that we have had this app, and it has paid out millions to people across the country in the past couple of years that it has been around. They are now expanding to fast food purchases, movie tickets (yay!!), and even online purchases. This app works by taking a photo of your receipt, and submitting it along with a barcode pitcure after submitting your receipt, it takes an average of an hour to receive money back, which can be deposited into your paypal account.

The Ibotta offers are store specific, but are very diverse; usually about 50 available offers per store at any given time. Ibotta offers money for completing tiny tasks, like tweeting a message out, watching a 20 second video, etc. One of my favorite things about Ibotta is that you can use it in addition to, or instead of, coupons. This is great for people who do not have the time to cut out coupons (or think they don't!), or if you tend to forget your coupons at home. Just use your receipt when you get home, and they cash goes to your account almost immediately (usually minutes!). There is also an option that will allow Ibotta to note your location via GPS, so when you go to a store, a reminder for Ibotta will come up. This means that Ibotta will remind you that there are offers available at the store, so you can pickup any additional items.

Apps are a GREAT extra way to save money. I love the fact that I can scan receipts after the fact, and that it can be done away from hectic checkout lanes. Stacking multiple coupons with multiple app offers on individual items is a great way to get more items for free, and with the increasing selection of items and bonuses and locations that are popping up every day, there are ways to save like never before. Between the non-store specific Shopmium, to the smartphone not needed Checkout51, to the ever growing selection of Ibotta products, there is no excuse to not start chopping up your household expenses! Get out there and save!!!