Posts
 |
| Graphic from: http://happybubblegal.blogspot.com |
Help with couponing is everywhere, from Facebook groups and local coupon clubs to websites, apps and rebates, oh my! How do you weed out the not so helpful stuff from the pure gold? Well there isn't really a trick on that one but here is a list of my favorite sites, apps and why I love them. Some may work for you and other's may not, but figuring out what works for you and being open enough to try what's out there and fail a few time is the best way to get the most savings.
Websites: (You can click the name of the website in blue and it will link you right to the site.)
 |
| www.inboxdollars.com |
Inbox Dollars - If you have read my blog you'll know how much I love this site. It is one of my favorites for making money while shopping or doing menial tasks that take very little time. This site is what I like to call a "rebate site." By that I mean you make money back on your purchases. You don't make money upfront so it's not a "work from home" scam or a job of any kind. The internet searches, surveys, reading emails and many other simple tasks earn you money in varying amounts. They deposit the money into your account within days of accomplishing the task. You can then request a check at any point in time. If you reach certain thresholds they waive mailing fees and processing fees. I use this site when I search for things instead of google or bing etc. I also print all or most of my coupons that I print right from here. They give me $0.10 for each coupon I print and redeem at the store. Since I generally use at least 10 -15 coupons a week I make quite a few dollars on that alone.
 |
| www.livingrichwithcoupons.com |
Living Rich With Coupons - This is probably by far one of the most helpful websites for anyone who coupons, newbies & veterans alike. This website basically does all the hard work for you. The woman that does this scours the internet, sales flyers, coupon inserts, printable coupons and just about everywhere to find all the "deals." Then she posts them. You can browse deals by store or by coupons. She even has a section called "find my deal" where you can click on thing like "Pet Food Roundup" or "Diaper Deals" so find the best deals on items in those categories. She's got a lot of helpful hints and links that makes it incredibly easy to figure out how to get what you want for the best prices. They even release "Weekly Match-ups" for each store they cover and it couldn't be easier to figure out how to get what you need. She writes the items, their sales prices and the coupons to use, with links if they are printable. Then she will also list and rebates you can get from apps. Then she takes it one amazing step further and gives you "Deal Ideas" where she says, buy these items, use these coupons, and then get these rebates or catalinas and tells you the final cost before taxes. A newer addition to the site is the Coupon Database. It is a searchable database of all the coupons that they are aware of and it tells you where to find them. EASY!!
 |
| www.yeswecoupon.com |
Applications: (You can click the name of the app in blue and it will link you right to the site or application to download.)
 |
| BerryCart App |
BerryCart - This is a rebate app which means that you buy the items you want that are listed and then receive a deposit into your "account." When you meet the minimum threshold of money in your "account" you can request a payment. Different apps have different ways to pay you, either by giftcard or e-giftcard, deposit into a bank account, Venmo account or paypal account. This app has a low threshold for payment of $5. With BerryCart you can view the deals they have available. Once you select a deal it will show you options to receive a rebate. They have things like take a quick poll or quiz on the product, read a fact about the product and rate the product. You then do the quick less than 1 minutes tasks and click complete to make yourself eligible for the rebate. You then purchase the product and save your reciepts. You then click redeem on the offers you have purchased. The app will use your camera function to allow you to take pictures of the receipt to upload. Your receipt is then reviewed and then you will be given the deposit into your account.
Positive: This app is mostly for "alternative diets." It will offer rebates for items you hardly ever see coupons for such as Gluten-Free products, Organic Products and Vegan products.
Negative: Products can be hard to find even at health food stores. There isn't a large selection or variety of products so reaching a threshold for payment can take a long time, especially if you do not use or aren't willing to try some of the alternative diets.
 |
| Target's Cartwheel App |
Cartwheel - This is a coupon app for Target. The most important feature of this app is the coupons. You can click on offers and it will give you a menu of the different departments in Target. You choose what you are looking for and select the coupons you want. Then you will click on "My Barcode" and it will create a barcode on your mobile device that will be scanned at checkout. This will apply the discounts to your order. They have also included (in beta testing) some online discounts if you shop online. This coupled with the Target Debit Card or Credit Card which gives you an extra 5% off your order every time you use it will make for some great savings!
Positive: Most of the coupons are percentages off. Which means you can buy more than one of each item and save on all of them.
Negative: Since a majority of the coupons are percentages it makes it more difficult for quick calculations of savings while shopping and deciding whether it is worth the buy.
 |
| Checkout51 App |
Checkout51 - This is a rebate app. You can view all the offers and do your shopping. You then select which offers you want to receive. Once you have completed your shopping and have your receipt you click upload receipt. You take a picture, or several of your receipt. Once you do that you will then select which offers you want to redeem. They will then review your receipt within 24-48 hours an add the amount to your account. Once you hit $20 you can request a check be mailed to you.
Positive: This app has rebates for things like produce and meats which can be hard to come by with coupons. It's also very easy to upload the receipt and then just "check off" the items that you will be requesting a rebate for.
Negative: If you have a long receipt, you will need to take multiple pictures to capture the entire receipt. There also are a very limited number of items available for rebates and each item has limited quantities available. If you are slow to submit your receipt you just might miss out.
 |
| Ibotta App |
Ibotta - This is one of my favorite apps to use. It is a rebate app. Here's how it works. You set up an account. They you can click on Grocery (or any other category.) Then you choose the store you are going to shop at. It will then show you pictures of the items that are available for rebates and how much you will receive. When you click on the items it will give you different things to do to receive the money. You might take a short survey (1-2 questions,) Watch a video, read a statement, take a 1-2 question quiz things that will take you less than a minute to complete. Then the item will go to your "list." Then you purchase the item. Come home with your item and receipt. When you click "redeem" at the bottom of the app it will have you verify your purchase by scanning the barcode of the item to make sure it qualifies. (You can also check this in the store as well to make sure you are buying the correct item.) Then it asks you to submit your receipt by using your phone's camera in the app to take pictures of your receipt. Once you've submitted it they will let you know within 48 hours if it was accepted and they will add the money to your account. This app has a $10 threshold for payment.
Positive: There usually is a broad range of items to choose from and you can use the rebates more than once in most cases as long as the items are on separate receipts. You can also build teams of your Facebook friends or others you invite to help you earn extra rewards.
Negative: If you have very long receipts it can take quite some time to take multiple pictures in sections to submit the entire receipt. You also have to make sure the pictures are clear and lined up so you are not missing any of the receipt.
 |
| SavingStar App |
Savingstar - This is a rebate app also. When you sign up for the app you will register your loyalty card from your store. (For example, with Shoprite you will register your Price Plus Card.) You can scroll through the offers and select the coupons you want. Then they will go on you list. Then you click the to activate them and buy the products. When you buy the products SavingStar will automatically give you a credit in your account within a few days. You can request a deposit into your bank account, A deposit into a Paypal account, an amazon giftcard or make a donation to American Forests. They also have a customer service department in case you have trouble. The threshold for payment is $5.
Positive: No scanning of receipts to get your rebate. There is also a large selection of items to choose from and usually their rebates coincide with coupons so you can "double up" and use both.
Negative: Sometimes the rebates can take a long time to process. Some can take up to 22 days. It can be tricky if you have more than one loyalty card.
 |
| Shopkick App |
ShopKick - This is a pretty different and unique app. You don't have to purchase anything to make money. You download this app to your phone and take it with you when you go on about your shopping. There are three major ways to earn points within the app and once you hit minimum thresholds of points you can redeem them for gift cards or other rewards they have. The first way to earn points is to view the "collections" they have created. They choose items and group them together for you to view from different companies. You simply scroll through and click the envelope icon that says, "tap for a surprise." It will then usually give you 1 point. It isn't much when the points usually start around 1250 for the gift cards. However, there are several collections to browse everyday. The next way to earn points is to view which stores are offering "walk-in kicks." Then it's as simple as going into that store with the app open. The app detects where you are by using wifi, bluetooth and cell signal to tell that you are in a store and allots you the points after you enter. Every day and every store is different so you can check it out daily to see whether it is worth going or not. The third way, and usually highest value is to scan products when you are at a store. Most of the scanning will be done is stores that have grocery sections. After you select a store and enter then you can scan products. They will show you a product and then you can essentially go on a scavenger hunt in the store to find it. When you do, you use the app to scan the barcode of the item and they give you points. Once you hit the threshold for points of the gift card or item you want you can then redeem it. Most gift cards are e-giftcards or a barcode is made available to you through the app so they can be used right away! It also has the option of signing up and adding a credit or debit card to give you additional points. (Although I have yet to try this feature I assume it works by tracking your purchases at stores for further rewards.)
Positive: This app doesn't require you to buy anything and it costs nothing to have. It's simple to use and can be used daily to get points. Every day the "shopkicks" and "walk-in kicks" change. Some days have very high rewards and many of the stores are typical mall stores so it would be easy to get points from several stores very quickly.
Negative: If you don't use the app frequently it can be hard to accumulate enough points to get the big rewards. It also takes several trips to several stores to be able to earn even the smaller gift cards. If you forget to open the app or use it during your shopping trips there is no way to recoup the points by say scanning a receipt after the fact.
 |
| ShopRite App |
ShopRite - This is a coupon app. I do most of my shopping at ShopRite so for me this app is wonderful. It's more than just coupons. You can create and edit ShopRite From Home orders, view the weekly Ad, create and edit a shopping list, look up recipes, and yes, add coupons to your price plus card. How does the coupon portion work? Very easily! You just open the app, click on the menu and select coupons. It will then show you all the coupons that are available. There are many!! Most of the coupons you will find are also available elsewhere, so there may be a paper coupon to clip from an insert or print online. You can use those in addition to the coupons in the ShopRite app. If your extra lucky you may even find that you have a paper coupon, a ShopRite e-coupon and also a rebate from one of the other apps mention and your "triple dip." So you select the coupons your want and when you checkout all you do is hand your cashier your price plus card. The discounts come off automatically. Example, you have a paper coupon for $1 off Scott Paper Towels. You also select a $1 off Scott Paper Towels coupon from the ShopRite App. When you check out the "e-coupon" automatically comes off your order when they scan your price plus card. They also take the paper coupon off. So instead of getting just $1 off you get $2 off.
Positive: It's fast and easy. You can also "stack" the electronic coupons with paper coupons and in store. You can also then still submit for rebates through other apps like SavingStar, Ibotta and Checkout51, if they are available. New coupons are added weekly.
Negative: Sometimes the coupons don't disappear right away after you use them so it can be tricky to keep track of if you shop frequently. You also are limited with how many ecoupons you can clip (at this time it is 125) and you can not "unselect" a coupon once you have selected it. You either have to use it or wait till it expires which can cause issues if you clip many of them and don't use them.
 |
| Snap App |
Snap - This app works like most of the other rebate apps above. You choose the items you'd like a rebate for and then upload your receipt after you've purchased them. There are some non-brand specific items like $0.50 off a gallon of milk or $0.25 off any pre-sliced loaf of bread. Which is different from some of the others. It is also a way to get discounts on fresh produce and meat that there are rarely coupons for.
Positive: Although there aren't a huge list of items each week there is a broad selection and non brand specific items that are hard to find coupons for. Their items offer a large range from food, to cleaning, toiletries and fresh produce and meats.
Negative: Deals are limited and can disappear quickly especially on the high value rebates. As with the other rebate apps mentioned above, long receipts can be time consuming to upload. Also some rebates are store specific, so they can only be purchased at select places like amazon.com, so read thoroughly before counting on that discount.
In addition to websites and apps Facebook and Twitter are good resources. There are tons of people that do what I do. There are tons of Facebook groups that have been created for people to share their successes and ask questions. All you have to do is search for them. Just search Facebook for your favorite store you'll see things like, "ShopRite NY Coupons and Deals." There are many other's for every store you shop. Another great way to find groups are to search by your local area, by your town name, county or region and then write the word Coupon or Couponers after. Some groups are more active than others but it's a good place to find others who like to use coupons.
No comments:
Post a Comment