New Year’s Eve is my favorite holiday. I just absolutely love it. The reason is twofold: 1) I’m a well-known party aficionado and there’s no better night for a good party and 2) the next day is the perfect opportunity for a fresh start.

A fresh start on what, you might ask? Well, on whatever you can think of! As usual, this year I have a few resolutions. You know, all the regulars like hitting the gym more often, taking more time for myself, starting a new hobby, and, of course, saving more money. What’s a little different this year, though, is how I’m planning to turn that resolution into a reality. My plan is to use shopping apps to get free gift cards. Go ahead, say wow. I know, I had to take a moment when I first learned that I could get paid to shop. You just go shopping, do the tasks or activities the apps award points for, and then trade your points in for gift cards!

So, how does this boost my 2018 budget? Well, as I see it, I have to shop for things like groceries anyway. So, basically, I use my shopping apps when I hit the supermarket, then I get rewarded in gift cards for my purchases, and then I use those gift cards to buy myself something nice. (Ok, I use them to buy something I was going to buy anyway, like my Starbucks fave, a flat white.) But instead of doling out cash for my coffee, I get it for free. All because I bought my daily groceries.

I use my shopping apps when I hit the supermarket, then I get rewarded in gift cards for my purchases, and then I use those gift cards to buy myself something nice.

Still, my New Year’s resolution is a little more complex than just “use shopping apps.” I want to use shopping apps to get free gift cards more often than last year. (And spend less on things I was going to buy anyway.) So, I came up with a plan to help me make that goal, like sharing my successes and keeping myself accountable because, obviously, the more we use these apps, the more gift cards we can earn! So, buckle up, I’m going to share all three parts of my newest New Year’s resolution with you.

Resolution No. 1: Get Social When Using Apps to Get Free Gift Cards

In my experience, the key to getting the biggest possible boost to your budget by using apps to get free gift cards is making sure that you actually have fun when you’re using those apps. The more fun they are, the more you use them. If you aren’t excited to use these shopping apps, you might even quit them altogether.

You know what makes things more fun? Doing them with your friends! That’s why I tell all my ladies about my favorite shopping rewards app. Sometimes, this results in us hitting the aisles together; other times we’ll just get together to swap store stories (kind of like war stories, but about shopping). Sometimes, it even means trading shopping tips via Facebook or Instagram with friends who are far away. It actually doesn’t matter exactly how you’re being social while you’re using one of these shopping apps, it just matters that you’re having fun doing it. Best of all, some of the best shopping rewards apps give you extra points when friends sign up!

Resolution No. 2: Use My Apps to Get Free Gift Cards When Shopping Online

When it comes to my favorite tech trends, having a shopping app to get free gift cards is second only to being able to buy anything I want online. I mean, where I live we recently had a major snowstorm, and when I noticed we were low on dishwasher pods it was Amazon to the rescue.

That’s why it’s important to make sure my shopping app works for online purchases. Why? Because if I’m going to buy my dishwasher soap in the store and get points for it, then I also want to be able to get those points if I buy dishwasher pods online. Just because so much of my shopping has moved to the web—hello kitty litter and toilet paper via delivery—doesn’t mean I should sacrifice rewards points. Otherwise, I’d be missing out on a big chunk of free gift cards!

Resolution No. 3: Use Apps to Get Free Gift Cards, Then Share My Success

On top of always wanting to boost my budget and save more money during the New Year, I’m also trying to go to the gym more. This year, I’m even trying some new fitness classes, like spin and hot yoga.

My favorite part is when I get home after a workout and my family asks how I’m doing, if I rode harder, if I held my poses longer, you name it. It’s a great way to keep myself accountable! So I thought, why have that excitement stop at the gym? Why not find a way to share my successes online with my shopping app as well? And you know what I found? My personal favorite shopping app has a thriving social media community where users share their success stories every day. I don’t know about you, but nothing makes me want to get back out there and use my shopping apps more than hearing about the successes others are having. And, of course, the more I use my apps, the more I save!

Making Resolutions Stick: The Best Shopping Apps to Get Free Gift Cards

Now what you probably want to know is what my favorite shopping rewards app is. Well, there are actually a few different shopping apps to get free gift cards to pick from, but to accomplish each of my three New Year’s resolutions, I think one stands out as working the best. I’m talking about Shopkick! It’s already been really easy to get all my ladies using this one, mostly because how it works is just so easy. In the simplest terms, with Shopkick you get points—called kicks—for walking into the store, for scanning certain products, and for snapping a pic of your receipt. You can then trade those points in for gift cards to all your favorite stores. See? Easy!

Also, every time one of my friends signs up and uses Shopkick, I get 250 free kicks! And, Shopkick gives you points for your online shopping, too, which is another reason it’s the perfect app to help me with my budget resolutions. You get kicks for visiting certain stores online, for viewing select products, and for making mobile purchases and watching certain videos. Again, suuuuper easy. Plus, because Shopkick has a really great online community through Facebook and other social media, there’s a great incentive to keep using it and also to make good on my third and final resolution: sharing my successes!

You get kicks for visiting certain stores online, for viewing select products, and for making mobile purchases and watching certain videos.

I hope this has all been helpful for you, and I hope you have a great New Year, filled with totally dominating each and every one of your own resolutions. And finally, I hope to see you soon on Shopkick’s Facebook page telling me and, the rest of the great crew there, about your many, many, many successes!

Learn how you can start taking action toward your own New Year’s resolution to boost your budget and save some money. Download Shopkick’s free app and get ready to be wowed. Welcome to the fun!

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Image courtesy bernardbodo