Don’t hyperventilate, but this was me a little over a year ago. I was blissfully ignorant and amazingly unconnected. My love for my “dumb phone” is another story for another day, but what my smart phone gives me now I would never give up, including these three must-have apps that save me money.
No joke. They exist, and I never leave home without them!
1. Mint.com
I’m relatively new to the Mint.com world, but I LOVE it. This app tracks all your daily spending activity, and buckets your expenses into nice budgets for you. Budgets are created off your past spending habits and are completely up to you to change. It at least gives you a starting point and you can use real numbers to build your budget instead of best guesses.
How has Mint saved me money? I’ve always thought that I was a pretty good shopper. Then I looked at my budget for shopping, and it is in the red… for the last 3 months. Maybe I’m not as good as I thought! Mint has forced me to make a REAL budget. You know, not the one where I spend whatever hits my bank account. Best of all it doesn’t involve envelopes with a lot of cash, only a handy dandy app and a website if you’d like. It’s easy and free with accountability.
2. Groupon
I’ve fallen in and out of love with Groupon over the years, but when it comes to traveling or date nights with Mark I’ve come running back! Want to go out to eat? Check out Groupon to see if there is a deal at a restaurant nearby. I’ve found that restaurants, gyms, leisure activities, etc. have great deals on Groupon.
My only warning… Don’t buy more than you need. It’s easy to see a great deal and go bananas. Trust me, I didn’t need 2 massages and a gym membership when it was on sale; hence, the falling out of love mentioned above. Now I check it before date nights or free weekends. That way I use it immediately. No money lost, only money saved.
3. Cartwheel
Target. If you live in or near a town with one, this is a must have app! Everyone says you should clip coupons, but I always forget them on my counter or I end up buying things I don’t need just because there was a discount.
Enter Cartwheel. This app helps you find coupons on the items already in your cart. Just scan the items as you grab them, and log the coupons that will work for your purchase. Once you’re at the register, the cashier can scan your phone instead of every single coupon.
You can also search for coupons using this app, but my warning above applies. This won’t save you money if you start buying things you don’t need only because it’s on sale. My trick is to make a list and only scan items that made the list. Everything else you put back on the shelf. Cartwheel and self-control make a great team.
The great thing about apps in general is if they don’t work, you can delete them. Super simple. And who couldn’t use a few more dollars in their bank account?
Written by Molly Madsen
This blog post is from the Author's perspective and doesn't speak for brightpeak financial. Contact brightpeak if you want to know more about brightpeak products, and keep in mind that they are not available in all states and there are some limitations (some exclusions and restrictions may apply).
