Sometimes it seems like there are 230,498,324,983,290,483,284,923,084,029 apps and websites out there that claim to help save families money. It can be really hard to decide which of these are worth your time, and which are just too much effort to be worth it. This post will walk you through some of the best money saving apps and websites that I actually use to make and save my family money.
I have broken these down into categories so that you can easily see the options that fit what your family is looking for. Checkout the list below to see my top picks for cash back, shopping and discounts, and points and freebies. Let me know if you have if I am missing any of the sites or apps that you love. I would be happy to check out some new ones.
*Please note this post contains affiliate links. See sidebar for more information.
Cash Back
Ibotta
Ibotta is an app that lets you earn cash back on grocery and household items that you buy in your local stores. There are more products on Ibotta than most other cashback apps and they are broken down by store. This makes it really convenient for planning shopping trips. The only downside is that Aldi and generic brand products aren’t on the list. 🙁 You can cashout your earnings or get giftcards after $20. You get $10 bonus cash just for signing up with this link: Ibotta Sign-up with $10 bonus, so you will start halfway to your first $20 payout!
Checkout 51
Checkout 51 works much like Ibotta. Here you can also cashout your earnings or get giftcards after $20. Checkout 51 doesn’t have an many products available at a time, but you sometimes both apps have the same products and you can earn cashback twice! It is also not store specific which means that you can earn cashback anywhere that you find the promoted products.
Mobisave
Mobisave is very different than Checkout51 and Ibotta. You earn cash that goes directly into your paypal account when you earn it. The products are generally a much lower value, but there are a lot of items that are not brand specific – for example you may find cash back for one dozen eggs any brand. That is nice for those of us that like to shop the cheapest options on some items.
Walmart savings catcher
The Walmart Savings Catcher will obviously only help you if you shop at Walmart. You just scan your receipt into the app and it automatically looks for price matches from local competitors. The difference then goes into your app and you can redeem the balence for a Walmart gift card at anytime. It is the least amount of work of any cashback app, and it is a definite must for any Walmart shopper!
Ebates
Ebates is primarily an online shopping service, although they are branching out into stores as well now. All that you have to do is go to ebates.com before you do your shopping and you will receive cash back and some great discounts. This is a great one for anyone who does frequent shopping online. Payout is easy, they just mail you a check once per quarter. If you click here to join, you will start off with $10 in your account. Even if you only use Ebates one time, you get that $10 plus whatever you earn!
Shopping and Discounts
Amazon Subscribe and Save
I have a whole page dedicated to my monthly Amazon Subscribe & Save orders. That is how much I love this service. I can save on my household staples while getting them conveniently delivered. To all of the baby parents out there – 20% off diapers…need I say more? Learn how it works and find some killer deals here.
Swap.com
Swap.com is a great site for shopping used clothes, books, and toys. This is where I bought 90% of my maternity clothes and I have bought clothing for Peanut from the site as well. Things like maternity and baby clothing are used for such a short amount of time that they are still in good shape. You can also easily sell your items. Using my link will get you 20% off and free shipping on your first order.
Target’s Cartwheel
Cartwheel is Target’s in store coupon app. All that you have to do is save coupons to your cart and then scan your phone at checkout. To make it even easier, you can scan the items that you purchase to see if they match any current discounts. No searching or pre-planning required!
Target Subscriptions
Target now has the option online to subscribe to many baby, home, and personal care products. You just set your items to automatically re-order and save 5% plus get free shipping.
I recommend this service to buy formula.
Target REDcard
If you shop at Target, you really should have a Redcard. You save 5% on every single purchase – online and instore. That discount even combines on top of Cartwheel deals and subscription discounts. There is a debit card option, so it won’t affect your credit like a credit card would. You can sign up online here – Save 5% and get Free Shipping at Target – Apply for a REDcard
Coupons.com
Coupons.com is the easiest way to find manufacturer coupons for groceries, household items, personal care, pet, and beauty products. You can browse by category or search for coupons, then you just print them from your home computer.
Groupon
I feel like people have kind of forgotten about Groupon. Not only does Groupon have great deals on experiences and restaurants, they also have vacations and goods. It is definitely worth checking when shopping for gifts or just occasionally stopping by to browse.
Raise
Raise sells gift cards at a discounted rate. If you are looking for gifts or just want a discount on stores that you normally shop at, head over to Raise to score some great deals. You can even set alerts if the gift cards that you want are not available. Be watching though, some gift cards move very quickly! Currently, they’re offering $5 off with purchase of $25 or more for first time users. Use promo code RAISE25AF at checkout to take advantage of these savings.
Points and Freebies
Influenster
Influenster is a fun social media-esque influencer network. You can review products and search reviews for products that you are interested in trying. They frequently send out VoxBoxes to members full of freebies. You get products that fit your interests in exchange for just writing reviews and sharing on social media per instructions from Influenster. The more active you are, the more likely you are to get a VoxBox.
mPlus Places
mPlus Places is an app (available on Apple and Android) where you earn mPoints for checking into places on a map. I like it because it’s a good mindless activity to do while waiting at a doctor’s office, coffee shop, grocery store line, etc. You just click on the places that you go and the points add up to redeem gift cards. They add up pretty slowly, but if you just want a little time filler, this app is great.
Pampers Rewards
We are a Pampers family, so this is a little biased. I honestly do like Pampers rewards program better than any other baby company. There is an easy to use app and all that you have to do is scan the code on each pack of diapers or wipes. I like this because you don’t have to worry about receipts if you get diapers as a gift. With all of the diapers that we go through, the points are adding up. You can redeem them for diaper coupons, magazine subscriptions, toys, and other coupons and promo codes. If you don’t like any of the options, you can use your points to donate diapers.
Daily Goodie Box
This one I only like in theory so far because my first box is still on the way! I will make sure to write a review once I receive it. 🙂 Daily Goodie Box is similar to Influenster in you get free products in exchange for reviews. You sign-up on their website, follow on social media, and wait to receive a box. They give away boxes daily on Twitter and Facebook, so the more that you interact, the better your chances are of getting a Goodie Box.
I am always looking for more ways to save! Does anyone have great app or website suggestions that I missed??
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The Honey App for Google Chrome! You run it at checkout for any online purchase, and it automatically searches and applies coupon codes for you. There is a system for gathering ‘gold’ points but I haven’t tried it 🙂
That sounds like a great one! Thanks for sharing!
This is a good list. I haven’t heard of many of these before. I also like to use Topcashback.com and Upromise for cash back.
I haven’t tried that one. I will have to check it out!
Thanks for these, not sure if they work in the UK too? #fabfridaypost
Influenster just started in the UK recently!
Otherwise, just from some quick googling…
Groupon is available in the UK.
Amazon offers Subscribe & Save in the UK.
Pampers Rewards is available in the Uk.
Raise.com offers egift cards, so it would depend on the store that you buy I suppose.
Hope that helps. 🙂
Great list! I love Ibotta, but wish it had more of my regular purchases in it… I often find that I’m having to buy specific thing JUST because they’re in it. I’ll have to look into some of the other apps on this list!
I have the same problem at one of my local grocery stores. Ibotta seems to have the most options at Walmart and Target.
I have been an old school coupon clipper. Sometimes I have the coupon on my phone. But I have never used an ap! I will definitely need to check these out! Thanks
Thanks for checking out the list! Try a couple and see what works for you. 🙂
I have used the Walmart savings catcher fairly regularly and love it. I think I got over $120 back last year! I’ll have to check out some more of these apps – thanks for sharing!
Isn’t it great? Definitely a must for any Walmart shopper.
Thanks for stopping by!
Ebates is my jam!!! Love it!
It’s so easy to use! So many people are missing out on $$$.
Wow! This is so useful. But we live in the UK and the only thing we have here is Groupon. I think I will need to do a UK version of this. 🙂 Thank you so much for linking up with us on #FabFridayPost
Yes! I had a few people from the UK reach out, so I’m sure they would love for you to do your own post.
Influenster just started in the UK recently!
Otherwise, just from some quick googling…
Groupon is available in the UK.
Amazon offers Subscribe & Save in the UK.
Pampers Rewards is available in the Uk.
Raise.com offers egift cards, so it would depend on the store that you buy I suppose.
Hope that helps. 🙂
Sounds like a good list. We are in the U.K. I know we have groupon here but not sure of others. Thanks for linking up with us at #FabFridayPost
Thanks for stopping by. I just looked into this for another commenter. 🙂
Influenster just started in the UK recently!
Otherwise, just from some quick googling…
Groupon is available in the UK.
Amazon offers Subscribe & Save in the UK.
Pampers Rewards is available in the Uk.
Raise.com offers egift cards, so it would depend on the store that you buy I suppose.
Hope that helps. 🙂
I hadn’t heard of any of these, so thanks for sharing, I too am feeling frugal this month (: #MarvMondays
I am feeling frugal every month! Ha. Thanks for stopping by. 🙂