1 year of Money Saving Apps

February 8, 2015 was the day I decided to try out money-saving apps. It has officially been a year of using these apps. I want to give you my honest opinion on my thoughts about money-saving apps and how they have changed my couponing experience. I did a post in May and November of which money saving apps that I use. I need to do an update list for 2016 because I have found more that I love.

I was wary of these apps to begin with. There is no way that a company would want to give you free money, but just like coupons the app is getting the money back from the manufacturer and they are getting you to buy their product. I have never had problems getting my money back on every app that I use. There is still a few that I have never cashed out on, so I don't know how good they are about sending the money. The first original apps I downloaded were Ibotta, Checkout51, Snap, Receipt Hog, and Shrink. I think I have a new favorite every month, but Ibotta remains my favorite of all time because they have so many offers. They approve your purchases quickly and the money goes into your account. Some months I don't earn much with this app, but I have earned up to $30 in a month with this app also. It just varies if the rebates are of interest to me. I have not completed the teamwork bonus in several months as they stopped allowing any brand rebates to count and I haven't been interested in the branded rebates. A change that I wasn't happy with in 2016 is the paypal limit went up to $20 before you could get the money out of your account. $10 I could get pretty quickly, but $20 takes a bit more time.

Checkout51 was one I used a lot in the spring and throughout the summer, but ever since school started the offers have been less then impressive. The fruit offers haven't even been ones I have been buying, so I haven't really used this app. You need $20 to cashout. I got my first cashout in September and I have 8.25 towards my next cashout. I'm on the fence if I want to keep the app after I receive my next check.

Snap is an app that after a year of using I only have $7.00 in my account. You need $20 to cashout. The offers never change. They have been the same since August (I'm not sure, but it seems like it). The offers rarely change. I got some great deals with this app this summer, but ever since then I have not redeemed anything since September when they had a milk and break .25 cents each rebate. Once I reach the cashout I'm deleting this app because it is not worth my time.

The last app I have been on for an entire year is Shrink. This app is most frustrating of them all. First of all if you eat organic this app is for you. If you shop at whole foods this app is for you. This app is not for me. All I use is the any brand rebates. When I first downloaded the app I got 50 pts for each galloon of milk or carton of eggs I bought. They since I have done away with that and you get 50 pts for each receipt. You get .25 cents for 2 any brand rebates each week. It is olive oil and chicken this week. Your points work towards a dollar amount to be deposited into your account. The more you save your points the more money you get. I'm currently 4 receipts away from a 2.25 in a year. The cash rebates I have earned through the any brands doesn't amount to much either. I only have 3.25 in my account. You need $10 to cashout and then this app will also be deleted. I have earned about .50 cents a month and that is not really worth it. But like I said before if you eat organic brands then you have the chance to save a lot on your purchases.

Receipt Hog is the last app I have been on for almost a year. I didn't join this one until February 21st. This one I have $10. For any of the other apps that would be grounds for deletion, but I will tell you why this one is different. Receipt Hog takes every single receipt of any where I shop, so I do not have to buy certain products to use this app. I do not have to try too hard to make money on this app. This is my bonus app. No it does not save me a lot of money, but for me it is free money that I'm not trying that hard for. The more coins you save up the better your payout is, so I'm waiting until I can cashout for $30 before I cashout with this app.

I have 13 money saving apps downloaded on my phone. I would say that I actively use 7 of them. Shrink and Snap definitely will be deleted once I get my money back and Checkout51 has the possibility. The thing I have learned with money saving apps is that I have a new favorite almost every month. They have different offers, so some months I save a lot using certain apps. My favorites right now are ShopKick, Cartwheel, SavingStar, and Mobisave. My year anniversary on most of these apps hasn't happened, but they have proven to be apps worth having on my phone to help me get free or close to free products. I think stacking rebate offers with coupons has made all the difference. It keeps couponing new and exciting.