Angry Birds? Candy Crush? What Are Those?

I've mentioned money-saving and money-earning apps a few times in my couponing posts, but I just wanted to write about them again since I've actually had great success with them since then! The apps take up memory on my phone, but I'd much rather have those than the games that everyone gets addicted to. Why would I want Angry Birds and Candy Crush when I have Cartwheel and Shopkick? And let's not forget Instagram since it's the easiest way for me to keep updated on deals and clearance items!

SWAGBUCKS
Saved/Earned: I've claimed and redeemed $140 in iTunes gift cards. They were used to buy 5 seasons of Top Chef and the Veronica Mars movie. I also got a $10 Target e-gift card that I added to the Target app to use in the store. I'm waiting for another $15 iTunes gift card to be delivered as well as a $25 card to Target so that's $190! I also have enough Swagbucks as I'm writing this to claim another $65.
Click here for my referral link

This is by far the GREATEST way to earn some extra cash. Most of it is done online on my computer, but I do have the SwagbucksTV app on my phone, so I figured I could count it as an app. I wrote a long post about it about two months ago, so I won't really go into it much here, but I had to mention it again because I've been claiming gift cards as you can see above.

IBOTTA
Saved/Earned: I recently cashed out for a $10 iTunes gift card and already redeemed it in my account. My current balance is now $0.75.
Click here for my referral link

There are some couponers who have purchased items because of Ibotta offers, but I pretty much only use it if it happens to match up with something I'm already buying from the supermarkets with coupons anyway. Even if you don't submit receipts all the time, I think it's worth having it for the times that they release offers for gallons of milk, eggs, any loaf of bread, or any cereal. Since Howard and I drink lactose-free milk, I can never get in on the milk offers since we don't buy the gallons, but that would also be a great way since they give you extra when you claim the milk plus two others. My more recent submissions were for Yoplait yogurt, Halos Mandarin oranges, Seventh Generation dish detergent, and Special K cereal.

SHOPKICK
Saved/Earned: I've claimed and used $20 in Target gift cards so far. Each $5 gift card required 1250 kicks, and after getting and using one today, I now have 352 kicks left.
Let me know if you'd like me to send you an invite!

I love that I can just accumulate kicks when I walk into stores. When I hit the mall, I park at JCPenney and get 50 kicks and then make sure to walk by Macy's (50 kicks), American Eagle (35 kicks), and aerie (35 kicks). Too bad Old Navy is no longer in the mall itself because that'd be more! Target is really where I get the most because I get kicks from walking in the store and then scanning items throughout the store. Even though I don't take the time to look for all the items anymore, I'll get a few especially when it's like 3 different types of ZzzQuil, which are right next to each other. It's gotten to the point where I actually had to wait days before I can get kicks from certain stores because I was running errands so often because there's a monthly cap or something. I also make sure I open the app every day and get my one daily kick and then scroll through the Editor's Books to get the kicks from those each day too. I'm looking forward to another Blue Friday or some other special occasion where each store was worth 200 kicks! There are specials on the weekends though so that makes errands on the weekend worth it if you're willing to put up with potential crowds.

CARTWHEEL
Saved/Earned: I've saved $13.96 so far!
I don't think there's a referral link for this.

Though the majority of the percent savings on Cartwheel seem small at just 5% of 10%, the savings really add up especially since there are grocery offers as well. I did a rough estimation when I first started getting milk at Target and figured that in just one year, I'd save over $4 using the Cartwheel milk offer. That's $4 in our pockets instead of giving it to the store. It pays to check the app every day if you can because there are new ones added all the time that can be super high! I bought the Special K with a 50% off Cartwheel and manufacturer coupon and then submitted the receipts to Ibotta for boxes of cereal for just a few coins. My favorite recent addition is that there's an option to just scan the barcode of any item, and it'll let you know if there are any offers that match up with it. That makes it so much easier instead of searching for the brand name or the product. If possible, I scan all the items before making it to the front to pay just in case there's something I've missed even though my shopping trips are typically planned very well ahead of time. If you've been following my blog for a while, you've seen how I spend pocket change in my CVS hauls, so I might as well save the pocket change in my Target trips.

RECEIPT HOG
Saved/Earned: I haven't gotten any rewards yet, but I currently have 942 coins. Once I get 58 more coins, I can get a $5 Amazon gift card.
Let me know if you'd like me to send you an invite!

This is probably one of the easiest phone apps to use because all you do is take pictures of your receipts without having to search for offers to match up as is required with Ibotta and Checkout 51. The payout isn't as fast, but I really don't mind because I'm in for the long haul! I've gotten to the point where I actually take a picture of my receipts within a day or two. I've forgotten some in the past! Basically, you get coins for the receipts and then you get potential to spin for more coins. Now they've added the option to scan the barcodes of products once the receipts have been added.

CHECKOUT 51
Saved/Earned: I have earned $2.50 so far, but I can't request a check to be mailed to me unless I have $20. I recently downloaded this one.
I don't think there's a referral link for this.

This is similar to Ibotta, but the biggest difference is that there are new offers added each week so there's less time to claim an offer. However, the options seem to be a bit more fitting to what I would purchase including fresh fruit and vegetable offers. For example, this week there's a $0.25 cash back on apples. I also like that they have non-brand specific options like orange juice, milk, and bacon. I haven't claimed any of them, but it'll just be another app I keep on my phone and check each week to see if anything happens to match up.

SAVINGSTAR
Saved/Earned: I've earned $1.56 so far.
I don't think there's a referral link for this.

This is actually something I use online on my computer so don't mind that it's on this list! It's basically a way to load coupons to your store loyalty cards so you don't need to clip coupons. I don't necessarily think that that's the greatest thing because the coupons do not double, so I'd rather print out my own unless it's a coupon that I can't actually access to print. The thing I do like about it is that they have a healthy offer each week where you can get a percent back. The $1.56 that I have in my account right now is because I added the 20% of fresh asparagus deal to all my cards (I just typed in my card numbers into the website for CVS, Pathmark, and Stop & Shop). I think that alone is reason enough to sign up because that means I can get some money back when buying fresh fruit and vegetables. You can also shop online through SavingStar to get percent back. I know a lot of people use ebates or some other site like that, so it's worth looking into to get some cash back through any of these options.

I hope you've found some tips on good apps to download and gotten some motivation to save some money or earn some fun money!