There’s a cashier at my local grocery store, Maya, whose lane I always, always, always insist on going down. We’re super friendly, she does the best job bagging groceries that I’ve ever seen, and she always gives me tips about what’s on sale.

I haven’t kept track of how many deals Maya has helped me take advantage of over the years (or, for that matter, how many inside jokes the two of us have had), but I know if I added up all those savings, it would be massive! She calls herself my personal coupon clipper. She even mentioned she wishes she could just walk around with her favorite customers, like yours truly, helping them find the best deals and rewards for buying their favorite products. That’s when a lightbulb went off.

Actually, I told her, I do have an amazing shopping helper, I’m using it right now—and you can too! I get paid to shop by using a free app that’s fun and easy. She was intrigued, of course, and I even held up the line explaining it to her, but once the guy behind me heard what I was saying, his annoyance turned to awe. He and the cashier both downloaded my favorite app on the spot.

If you want to get in on our shopping savings as well, read on. Then, next time you’re in line, pass this onto your favorite cashier.

Learn How You Can Get Paid to Shop With a Smartphone App

While Maya, my favorite cashier, may be an expert at when to take advantage of sales at our local grocery store, I was able to fill her in on the concept of free apps that pay you to grocery shop. Now, she and I have had some really long conversations in the past, but this informative talk about how to use my favorite apps was not one of those. It’s not that we rushed it or anything, but how these apps work is just so simple:

• #1: Earn points. Depending on the app you use to get paid to shop, how you earn your points may vary, but all of my favorites give you rewards points for multiple tasks, most or all of which are things you tend to do while you’re out shopping anyway, like scanning barcodes to get prices or product info, and, of course, for actually making a purchase. Some of these apps even give you points just for walking into a store!
• #2: Cash in your points. Once you’ve earned enough points, it then becomes as simple as trading them in for cash back in the form of gift cards at all your favorite stores. Basically, these apps quickly get you cash back on your receipts, kind of like those old mail-in rebate form, only so much quicker.

It’s that simple. Seriously.

Get Paid to Shop With My All-Time Favorite App

Maya, the cashier extraordinaire, was basically sold at this point, and then we found ourselves in this weird reverse position of her thanking me for finding new ways to save. The app I recommended she use to get paid to shop? Shopkick, of course.

The app I recommended she use to get paid to shop? Shopkick, of course.

There are other shopping rewards and cash back apps out there that you can use, but Shopkick just simply does it all! It even has a kicking (sorry for the pun!) social media community of likeminded Shopkickers who are truly awesome about sharing their own tips for savvy shopping, as well as jokes, recipes, and mommy stories. I came to Shopkick for the savings, but I’ve stayed for all the fun I’ve had hunting for points—and for the friends I’ve made commenting on the funny things Shopkick shares on its Facebook page.

It really felt good to help Maya out with her own shopping game for once. She told me she’d been using old-school methods like cutting out coupons and in-store rebate savings programs, but she was excited to upgrade her shopping rewards repertoire to the easy-to-use Shopkick app. It was even the first thing she mentioned to me the next time I came through her line! In fact, she said she’d been telling her other customers all about it, too, which probably means there will be even more of us using it soon. So, see you in the aisle, Shopkickers!

Learn how you can start getting paid to shop before your next trip out to the aisles. Download Shopkick’s free app and get ready to be wowed. Welcome to the fun!

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Image courtesy: Dean Drobot