Related: 3 No-Gimmick Apps That Make You Money
1. Splitwise (Free)
I connected with my roommate on Splitwise, and we’ve been enjoying financially responsible bliss by knowing who owes who for what. When entering a bill, we type in a description (for example paper towels), add the cost, and then record how we split the bill (equally, half, all, or none). And since we connect via our emails, at the end of the month, I get a reminder that yes, I still owe her the $10 she spotted me during our last trip to the thrift store.
2. Mercari (Free)
Mercari is a resale app similar to Poshmark or Depop. I use Mercari the most because of how easily I can save a search and set up alerts for new items matching what I’m looking for. Plus, the app regularly sends me coupons for money off my total purchase. Items are sold individually, so there’s no add-to-cart option, but most sellers are a friendly chat away from bundling purchases so I can save on shipping and use a coupon.
3. Snupps (Free)
I suffer a massive brain fart whenever I see a clearance aisle, which makes Snupps the top money-saving app for me. Snupps is an organizer app—it allows me to create a shelf by taking pictures of items in a collection, and then I make notes and fill in product details, such as purchase price or expiration date. I have shelves for skincare, books, spices, and art supplies. Being able to see what I already have and how much I paid for it helps me to refrain from purchasing more than I need or buying the same book twice. Something fun for me is seeing the total amount I paid for an entire shelf compared to its estimated value, especially if it’s a collection of things I regularly use coupons to purchase, such as body lotion. Snupps also connects users all over the world so I can look at someone’s shoe collection in another country while I avoid buying a fifth lip balm.
4. Dollarbird (Free)
I prefer to manually enter my expenditures instead of connecting my bank account to budget apps. Dollarbird lets me do that with quite a bit of customization options. I can label my purchase, make a descriptive note, and create my own color-coded categories. The color-coding helps the most when I look at my overall purchases for the month. A lot of red on the simple color strip (no bar graphs or pie charts here) means I went out to eat maybe more than I should have while purple hints that it’s the holiday season and I’ve been buying gifts. Each category has a drop-down arrow that reveals the label and amount spent, so I can quickly see who I had coffee with this month and consider getting a less expensive drink next time.
5. Ibotta (Free)
Ibotta is a rebate app that I browse before heading out to get groceries. I choose what store I’ll be shopping at and see if any of the rebate offers match my grocery list. If one does, I click on the offer to activate it (usually I have to answer a survey question or watch a very short video ad) before purchase and either upload a picture of my receipt or scan the receipt’s barcode when I get home. I use it for Dollar Tree, Walmart, and Hy-Vee, but it also has rebate offers for multiple online retailers. Receipts are reviewed by Ibotta, and I get the rebate money in my Ibotta account within 48 hours. Ibotta pays out to my PayPal account in denominations of $20, so over the course of a year, I get a decent percentage of my money back from weekly grocery trips. What I really enjoy are the ‘any brand’ rebate offers. For example, I can get 25 cents back for buying any brand of orange juice at the store that has the rebate offer listed.
6. Givling (Free)
Givling is unique in that it crowdfunds to help people pay off debt by various interactive means. I may never get my student loans paid off through this app, but it does offer the opportunity to win daily prize money by playing two rounds of a trivia game. I also watch up to three video ads each day to contribute to the current loan payoff fund of a stranger. Givling chooses which users’student loans (up to $50,000) or mortgages (up to $25,000) to fund to pay off based on the order in which users signed up for the app, who the highest-contributing funder is, and random draw. Givling makes the daily two minutes of using their app very fun and exciting—I learn weird facts via the trivia game and watch as someone’s loan shrinks on the percentage thermometer on the opening screen. Givling has a very active Facebook page to answer questions and talk about the pressing need to help people (hopefully one day me) out of debt.
Pro Tip: Check Out Apps by Local Retailers & Restaurants
My most frequented grocery store, Hy-Vee, has its own app that lets me browse sales ads and add coupons digitally to my store card that I then use at the register. Some restaurants I live near have apps that offer digital punch cards as well, which allow me to scan receipts to earn free food or drinks. Almost every large business has an app that has saved me money (and scored me some free stuff, especially around my birthday), so I recommend downloading apps from stores you purchase from most often.
