Save money using your cell phone
Currently, mobile apps are part of our daily life. Now you can use them to make money.
By: Diana Bello Aristizábal
Are you one of those people who spend hours on a smartphone? Do you feel that you waste your time while doing it? Do you make ends meet with too much effort and have a hard time-saving?
If the answer to the previous questions was yes, you will be happy to know that now you can take advantage of your habit of constantly checking your cell phone by using mobile apps aimed at helping you save money.
But even if you do not usually check your cell phone on a regular basis, if you manage to spend a few minutes a day in this task, mobile apps of this kind can become very useful.
Among their benefits is that most of them are free, easy to use (after the initial learning and adaptation cycle) and give users the possibility to earn cashback while shopping at their favorite stores or restaurants such as Walmart, Target, Publix, Amazon, Costco, Sam’s Club, Dollar Tree, Walgreens or Aldi, among others.
Some of them are linked to gas stations, others allow people to invest little amounts of money and earn profits, while others reward users for their knowledge or help pay off debts.
Whatever your interest or financial need is, the truth is that using one or more of these apps, when given proper use, can help you earn an additional and unexpected income to balance your finances after last year’s many expenses.
This has been the case for a lot of people that by using apps have managed to save money for Christmas gifts, pay family trips, pay off some debts or even cover incidental expenses.
Desiree Zuñiga is one of them. After her divorce, the mother of 4 children began a new hobby: using apps to earn a little extra money. “I needed money at that time, so very skeptical I started downloading a few apps. With Dosh (the first app of this type that she downloaded), I made more than 2,000 dollars in two and a half weeks after sharing it with many people,” she says.
With the money earned, Desiree paid for the renewal of her registration and driver’s license, fixed her car’s tires and bought Christmas gifts for her children.
But it should be noted that this method doesn’t work like magic meaning people have to actually take the time to study the uses, terms, and conditions of each app, as well as learning how it works and sharing it with other people in order to get results.
In addition, you need to be patient because most times you will need to wait a few months before earning good cash as a result of several interactions with the apps in which little by little and dollar to dollar, savings begin to grow.
“Whenever I download an app, I take my time to understand how it works and ask questions to the people who recommend it. If I like it and see results, I share it with friends or social media followers. Almost all of them pay for referrals,” she explains.
But in addition to the above, it is best to download and use several applications at the same time. “The trick is to use them all, although it takes some time to do so,” says one user.
To know what are the most popular apps that could help you save money, see the next list below with the most rewarding ones.
Apps that reward you for buying your favorite brands
Today, the most popular apps are those in which users get cashback for their consumption habits. One of them is Rakuten, an app that will give you cashback mainly when shopping online, although there are also deals for buying in-store.
One of its benefits is that when you make purchases through its platform you receive a percentage of cashback from the store you buy at plus a percentage provided by the app. One user claimed she received $ 70 dollars in only two months, while another one, $ 129 after a few months of use.
Another well-known app among online shoppers is Top Cash Back. To use it, you just have to open an account in their app and start making purchases. It offers weekly coupons and specials in which users can save up to 20% on their purchases plus $ 10 they receive each time they refer a new user.
“My trick is to always buy here and pick up in-store that way I don’t have to pay shipping, and get money back,” says a Top Cash Back user.
In the same line, is Fetch Rewards. This app is one of the easiest ones to use. You just have to scan the receipt of your purchase (made at any store) to start earning points that then can be redeemed by gift cards from brands such as Amazon, Dunkin ‘Donuts, Panera, Target, Adidas, AMC Theaters, among others.
Users can also open the app before going shopping to learn what are the deals of the day of specific brands. The app will reward you with redeemable points for choosing those brands.
Something similar happens with Ibotta. This app works mainly with deals distributed in different categories. Users browse through each one of them to find deals on the products they want, then go to the stores to buy those brands, scan their receipt and get cashback.
Other apps that offer similar benefits are Raise in which you get cashback for paying with gift cards; Shopkick, Paribus, Checkout 51, Dosh, Coupons.com, Barry Cart and Receipt Hog, among others.
But if you want to save on gas, we recommend GetUpside. “I have earned $ 300 dollars in a few months,” says one user. And how it works? Before pumping gas, open the app and find deals that are closer to your location. Then, claim the one of your interest, go to the chosen gas station, scan your receipt and get back the cash displayed on the deal.
Other apps
– Acorn: To invest small amounts of money and earn long-term savings.
– Very Dice: It works like a game of chance that allows you to win tickets (which are redeemed with prizes) every time you score.
– World Winner: Perfect for people skilled in board games. Compete with others and earn money in card games, trivia and wheel of fortune.
– Song Pop Live: A musical game that works like a trivia.
– Debt Payoff Assistant, Nimb and Mint: Apps that help you pay off debt with tips, charts, strategies, and action plans.