Friday, November 27, 2015

Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge



Are you guys ready? The Christmas season has officially begun and I need to sign up for at least one seasonal challenge this year.

I started my first Christmas book a couple of days ago. The Trouble with Christmas by Debbie Mason. I'm hoping to get lots of books read in the month of December. I'm signing up for Misteltoe, which is to read two Christmas themed books. I think this is totally doable even with my slow reading pace this year.

Tuesday, November 10, 2015

An Updated Shopping App List



So earlier in the year I did a list of Rebates Apps that I Use. Well since then I have added a few more to the list, so I want to update you guys. This is going to have some of the same apps, but others will be new. All these apps can be stacked with coupons to maximize your savings. 

1. When I reviewed Ibotta in May they had tons of any brand offers although they do still have any brand offers they don't have as many. They are all .20 cents now, so it is slow earning, but if you are going to buy the item anyways then it is worth it. Also it still has produce options, which rarely have a sale. Ibotta was my favorite last time and it still remains my favorite because it has rebates on anything and everything. I took a screenshot as an example of current offers, but there are so much more. 

With ibotta you browse the offers by stores near you, then you completed a couple of quick tasks to unlock the offers (take less than 30 seconds), and then you shop. When you get home you scan the product and then capture your receipt. Ibotta has the money in your account within 24 hours. The great thing about this app is that you only need $10 to cash out. There are so many options to cash out. You can deposit your money to paypal or redeem giftcards through amazon, walmart, itunes, etc. I have redeemed from Ibotta several times and never had a problem getting my money. If you would sign up using my referal code: yijminj I would greatly appreciate it. If you are a new member then there is an amazing bonus going on for you. If you redeem any 10 offers over .25 cents then you receive a $10 bonus. This can lead to really great deals. I honestly wished I joined when this was going on. Hip2save.com and Krazycouponlady.com have great deal senarios for this bonus. 

2. Cartwheel has moved up to being my second favorite on the list. When I first wrote my post back in May I had just downloaded Cartwheel and only used it once. Now I use Cartwheel weekly. You will be surprised how many offers are on the list that you will use. From food, to personal care, to home essentials, to electronics, and toys for the Holiday season. Every day through December 24th they are putting out a New 50% toy cartwheel every day. This is huge savings for Christmas toy shopping. 

With Cartwheel you scroll through the offers and add the ones you want to your barcode. Then you put those products in your cart. At the checkout you have the cashier scan your barcode and the savings are immediate. I always get excited to look at my receipt and see how much Cartwheel saved me. In my mind every penny counts. My first transaction with Cartwheel I only saved .15 cents. I have saved over $10 in a transaction now with Cartwheel and over $90 with this app. The best part about this app is there is no waiting around to get the money back. The amount you saved is taken off your receipt just like a coupon. 

3. The next app is Savingstar. This one is a little bit different because there are cardlinked stores and reciept stores. I'm going to use Hy-Vee and Walmart for example. With Hy-Vee I have my fuelsaver card, so I link my card to my account. Then I select the offers I want to redeem, buy the items, have the cashier scan my fuelsaver, and the money is submitted to my account within a few days. With Walmart I select the offers, buy the items, and then take a picture of my receipt after I leave the store. 

What I like about this app is that it often times matchs up with coupons, so you can double dip on the savings. If you don't have a coupon for the item you still can get great deals with Savingstar. You only need $5 to cash out to your Paypal account. I have had to contact costumer service a few times with this app, but most of the time they get the issue taken care of and I get the money in my account. 


4. The next app is MobiSave. The great part about this one is that there is no cash out limit. Whether you redeem a rebate worth .75 cents or $3 the money will automatically be sumbitted to your paypal. With this one you need to remember to select the offers Before you shop and then you take a picture of your receipt when you are done. The offers all refresh on Monday and the same offers are usually available for several weeks in a row. The money is in your Paypal within 24 hours. What I like best about this one is that it is brands I recognize and actually use such as they often have Patene, and as you can see above they have products such as Advil, and Ocean Spray Juice. 
5. Receipt Hog is cool because you can submit any receipt no matter what you buy besides restaurant and gas receipts. Then they reward you with coins and you cash out when you have enough coins. Right now I have enough coins for a $5 giftcard, but you get the best reward when you wait for $30 cash out. This one is pretty slow, but literally you are going to shop anyways, so why not get rewarded for your receipts. They also have Hog Slots where certain receipts and challenges will earn you spins for extra coins. I have a referal code for this one also that I would love if you use. Referal Code is pror6864. 

6. ShopKick is the next app. This one is brand new for me as in I literally downloaded it last week. I'm hooked. I had heard of Shopkick before, but I was a skeptic and wished I joined sooner. You earn free giftcards for just walking in to stores and scanning items. Let's use Walmart for example. You are going to earn 30 Kicks just for opening the app while you are in the store. Then you can earn another around 115 right now just for scanning items. I have already used some, so the total scans is higher. For example the Gillette Fusion gift pack is 15 Kicks, so you walk in the store, find the product, scan the product, and earn your kicks. I love this one because I'm earning money for literally just going to the store. I don't even have to buy anything, so this one is actually giving your free giftcards. I need 1250 for a $5 target giftcard and with only being on the app for a week I'm on my way there. My referal link for shopkick is http://get.shopkick.com/radius62085. You can let me know if you want me to send you an invite to shopkick in the comments. Otherwise you can use my link. I would greatly appreciate it. 


7. Checkout51 has gone way down on the list. The pros to Checkout51 are they update every Thursday. You get new offers every week and some offers reset so you can use them again. There is a pick your own offer every week. Bananas are on the list every week and that is usually what I use. I'm a runner I eat a lot of bananas. The pick your own offer has a variety of fruits a vegetables, so you can get 25 cents back every week. The con to Checkout51 is that their cashout amount is $20 and then they will send you a check in the mail. Not as instant as Ibotta. I redeemed my first cashout at $25 dollars and it took about 4 weeks to receive the check. I haven't overly used the app since. I have used the app a couple weeks for the pick you own, but otherwise have not been interested in the offers. Otherwise this app is a lot like Ibotta, you come home take a picture of your receipt, select the offers, and within 24 hours the money is in your account. 



There you go. This is my updated list of apps I use. You may notice that I took Shrink and Snap off the list. I still have these apps on my phone, but I so seldom use them that I don't think they are really worth recommending. If you are going to choose just a couple apps off this list I would recommend Ibotta, Receipt Hog, and Shopkick. Right now my all time favorites are Ibotta, Cartwheel, and Shopkick. I think these apps make couponing a lot of fun, and rewarding.