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How to get a Walmart eGift card to score the latest tech trends for free

Posted on June 20, 2018 by shopkick

I was thinking about Walmart recently, and how I’ve been shopping there for a pretty significant part of my life. See, I first started shopping there regularly when I was in college because they had the lowest prices on both toiletries and groceries (and also usually beer… but that’s another story). I stopped shopping there for a while as a young professional, but recently I’ve been drawn back to Walmart.

One of the main reasons for this is that I’ve figured out how to get a Walmart eGift card to help myself score the latest tech, which as I’ve talked about a few times in the past is an absolutely vital part of keeping up with the latest tech trends. Technology is, obviously, my favorite hobby, but it’s also one of the most expensive. To that end, I’m always looking for little ways to give my tech trends budget a boost, and I’ve discovered that figuring out how to get a Walmart eGift card is one of the most effective ways to do that.

That’s what I’d like to share with you today: my own secrets for how to get a Walmart eGift card to keep up with the latest tech trends. I may not be a penny-counting college student anymore, but I still love a good deal. With these strategies and subtle tips, keeping up with the latest tech trends becomes so much easier.

How to Get a Walmart eGift Card Tip 1: Savings Catcher

Basically, there are two main ways that I’ve found that help me get a Walmart eGift card to spend on anything. But, of course, I generally use them to get new gadgets. The first way I’ve found to do this is through an app that Walmart offers itself: the Walmart Savings Catcher app, to be exact.

To really maximize the amount on the Walmart eGift cards that you earn, it’s pretty crucial to make sure you’re using the Walmart Savings Catcher app regularly. Savings Catcher rewards you by cross-referencing anything you buy from Walmart with the advertised prices of the same item at other retailers nearby. Then, if any of those other stores just so happen to have a lower price, Walmart delivers that difference back to you in the form of an eGift card. It’s really a great app because it gives you the peace of mind of knowing that you got the best possible deal.

And you don’t even have to be all that tech-savvy to use it because it’s pretty simple. Here’s how it works:

Scan your store receipt after you go shopping at Walmart: This is every bit as easy as it sounds. Once you get done with all of your shopping, just take out your phone, open the app, and scan the receipt.
Let Walmart compare the prices: You don’t actually have to do anything for this step; Walmart just goes ahead and compares what you paid with the advertised prices at all of its local competitors.
Enjoy your eGift card: If Walmart finds the same product someplace else for a lower advertised price, it will deliver the difference back to you, putting it right onto the balance of your eGift card account.

I often times forget that I even have this eGift card account. Then every so often when it comes time to head to Walmart to pick up the latest tech, I’ll remember, and I’ll go check to see how thoroughly it’s bolstered my budget. Sometimes it’s a lot, sometimes not so much, so to really push your savings, I suggest that you combine it with a third-party shopping app, which is what we’re about to discuss here next.

How to Get a Walmart eGift Card Tip 2: Shopkick Rewards App

This second method to get a Walmart eGift card is actually one that you can pair with the Savings Catcher app, which means you can use them both whenever you go shopping. The way this method works, though, is quite a bit different. Racking up eGift cards by using a third party shopping app, specifically my favorite, which is called Shopkick. How it works is that it gives you points for things to do when you’re out shopping already, things like making purchases, scanning the barcodes of certain items for more info, and even just walking into the store.

Then, you can trade those points in for gift cards. You can also use it at other stores, and then use those points to score gift cards at Walmart. It’s pretty flexible like that. I know for me personally I use it quite a bit at Best Buy, but it has such a big list of stores that I’m sure you’ll be able to find more than a few that you frequent. While I haven’t kept track of the exact amount of eGift card rewards I’ve earned through Shopkick, I know that pairing it with the Savings Catcher app has been an invaluable move for more ongoing efforts to purchase new tech.

With Shopkick, however, earning points has made my trips feel doubly productive, because it’s like I’m also playing a game while I’m there, a game that saves me money, and I’m a HUGE fan of that.

So yeah, those are the two best tips I have for how to get a Walmart eGift card so you can score the latest tech trends for free. They’re both apps, I know, but if you’re a tech connoisseur, that kind of thing is probably a bonus for you. I know it definitely is for me.

Overall, I like shopping with Shopkick quite a bit, and not just at Walmart. I’m not the biggest fan of going out to get groceries, because I usually have a pretty tight schedule. With Shopkick, however, earning points has made my trips feel doubly productive, because it’s like I’m also playing a game while I’m there, a game that saves me money, and I’m a HUGE fan of that.

Ready to start figuring out for yourself how to get a Walmart eGift card so you can score the latest tech trends for free? Download Shopkick for free and join a community of loyal Shopkickers who’ve already discovered how rewarding—and fun—shopping can be!

And, if you love using your smartphone to stay up on social media, join us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for daily shopping inspiration.

Image courtesy bigtunaonline

Get Starbucks gift cards for free to help fuel your next shopping spree

Posted on June 13, 2018 by shopkick

My shopping time is not as readily available as it once was, thanks to the many new pressures that have been brought into my life by adulting. When I was younger, I used to do all-day shopping sprees with my friends, basically any weekend we felt like it or when we came across a particularly excellent sale. These days, those sort of all-day marathons are limited by my busy schedule, and, if I’m being totally honest, by my energy level as well. I just don’t have the unlimited energy to shop all day long like I once did—not without caffeine anyway.

I’m a coffee fiend when I’m out shopping now. In fact, if you run into me at the mall, no matter what time of year or whether it’s indoors or outdoors, I’m probably carrying a coffee—iced for the summer, steaming for the winter. It’s my shopping secret weapon most Saturdays, and just like I enjoy finding the best sales and deals on clothes and other things I’m out shopping for, I also enjoy finding ways to save money on my coffee. One of the most effective methods I’ve found for this is through using apps that help you earn Starbucks gift cards free.

Strange as it sounds, I think free coffee energizes me even more than the normal stuff does. I know, I know, it’s all in my head, right? Well, let me go ahead and share my secrets for how to get Starbucks gift cards for free with you today, and you can tell me if you notice some extra energy too!

How to Get Starbucks Gift Cards for Free With the Starbucks App

One of the most obvious ways to get Starbucks gift cards for free to help power you through your next all day shopping spree is by using the Starbucks app. The way this one works is super simple. Just download it, buy your Starbucks drinks like you usually do (I’m a vanilla almond milk latte drinker, myself), and earn free coffee.

Every time you make a purchase at Starbucks—which if you’re anything like me, it’s somewhat frequently—you earn a star, and once you get a certain amount of stars you can put them towards a free drink. Oh, and another nice little feature is that you also get a totally free Starbucks beverage on your birthday. All the gift cards you earn populate onto your app, too, so you don’t even have to carry around the actual plastic cards in your purse, which can be tough to remember sometimes when you head out shopping. Trust me.

How to Get Starbucks Gift Cards for Free by Taking Surveys

Taking free surveys through an app on your smartphone is another way to earn Starbucks gift cards for free. Groan. I know, but those type of survey apps actually do work, that’s why you hear so much about them. The survey app that I personally use is called MySurvey, which I like because it gives you both reward points as well as sweepstake entries. Basically, with MySurvey there’s always a chance you can win something bigger than a free cup of Joe.

Anyway, with most surveys, you’ll earn around 200 points, and you can also get an extra 150 points for each friend that you encourage to sign up, as long as they too go ahead and complete a certain number of surveys. You can redeem those points that you earn through taking surveys in the form of payouts via PayPal, Amazon, or—ding ding ding!—Starbucks gift cards. Last time I checked, it took 1,100 points to get a $10 Starbucks gift card.

How to Get Starbucks Gift Cards for Free by Shopping

I saved the best for last today. This app that helps you get Starbucks gift cards for free is my absolute favorite. It’s called Shopkick, and how it works is that it rewards you with gift cards for shopping. With Shopkick, you earn points for all the normal behaviors that you do each time you go to the store, behaviors like scanning barcodes on certain items to learn more about them, making purchases, and even just walking through the doors. And for those days when maybe you don’t have time or energy to go to the store, you can still get points from online shopping and video watching towards your next free Starbucks drink! You can then trade those points in for—that’s right—Starbucks gift cards, as well as other gift cards too.

What I like about it the most though is that while earning you Starbucks to keep your energy levels up, it also turns the shopping experience into a game.

What I like about it the most though is that while earning you Starbucks to keep your energy levels up, it also turns the shopping experience into a game. Instead of thinking about how tired I sometimes get when I’m out in the aisles, I find myself consumed with getting as many points through Shopkick as I possibly can. Shopping basically turns from a draining activity into a really fun scavenger hunt for points. And, believe me, I want to find all the points that I possibly can!

So yes, while I don’t think science will ever back up my assertion that free coffee has a stronger kick to it than the stuff you pay for, I’d still like you to give my free recommendations for how to earn Starbucks gift cards for free a try. That way when you’re finished you can report back with your findings.

And hey, even if you don’t find free Starbucks to be any more energizing, the worst case scenario is that you still have a free beverage of your choice, and you could do much worse than that. After all, we are all getting older and keeping the energy up for a full day of shopping isn’t as easy as it used to be!

Start to get Starbucks gift cards for free so that you can have all the energy you need to fuel your next shopping spree. Download Shopkick’s free app today and join a community of loyal Shopkickers who’ve already discovered how much you can earn with the help of a free shopping sidekick.

And, if you’re on social media catching up with friends, be sure to also join Shopkick on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for a little daily fun and inspiration.

Image courtesy photosvit

3 apps that help you save money when shopping with friends

Posted on June 11, 2018 by shopkick

One of my favorite activities to do with my girlfriends has always been shopping. I guess it started way back when I was just a little girl when my mom and aunt would take me and my cousins out shopping to our local mall. Then it continued when I went to high school, and a fun Friday night was all about searching for the best new tops at the mall. So many memories! The tradition of shopping with my friends has even followed me into adulthood.

These days, everyone in my circle seems to be living busy lives, and we can’t always find time to catch up over drinks, or brunch, or coffee like we used to. So what do we do? We find ourselves once again going shopping together! Even if it’s just out for groceries or for a quick run to Walmart or Target. We even shop together online. Oh, and like time, another thing that’s more limited these days than it once was is our budget. So, we obviously spend a lot of time trying to save as much money as we can once we hit those aisles, and, believe it or not, we’ve actually found some new technology to be helpful. That’s why today I want to talk about three apps that help you save money when shopping with friends.

I’ve always loved shopping with my friends. It’s just so much more fun when you have someone to help you decide if you should purchase that cute top, or even to brag a little bit about the deal you got on shampoo last week. I also, of course, love saving money with helpful apps, I mean, who doesn’t? That’s why combining the two is such a no-brainer for me, and I’m 100 percent sure that you’ll love these apps, too!

Apps That Help You Save Money With Friends

#1: Bestie Shopping

I’m not quite from the generation that calls all of their friends “besties,” but I definitely know what the word means, which is why I want to talk about an app called Bestie Shopping. This app is basically a social media app for shoppers, and with it, you can follow stores you love, view products posted in many different categories, and—this is my favorite part—share your favorite items and deals with your friends.

The best part of Bestie Shopping is that it’s so easy to fit it into your schedule since it’s basically all online based. Like I mentioned above, one of the biggest challenges these days is to find time to actually go out shopping with your friends. Well, with Bestie Shopping you can recreate that old experience of going to the mall with your besties whenever and wherever with your phone. Plus, I don’t know how many times one of my friends has pointed me in the direction of a great deal that helps me save money. This app helps you really save money and that’s a win-win!

#2: SnipSnap

The next entry on our list is an app that I like to use for shopping with my friends when we all have a little bit more time. It’s called SnipSnap, and the way that it works is you take photos of coupons from newspapers, junk mail, or circular ads, and the app converts those coupons into mobile, digital versions that you can redeem when you’re actually in the store with your phone or tablet.

What my friends and I like to do sometimes is set aside a whole afternoon (time permitting, of course), and meet up at one of our houses with all the coupons that we can find, usually also with coffee or wine, depending on the time of day. Then we pass around our coupons and start using SnipSnap to log them in our phones. Sometimes we head out shopping together afterward, but sometimes we also go our separate ways and use them later. It gives you that flexibility, which is also quite nice!

#3: Shopkick

The final app on our list today is also my favorite. It’s called Shopkick, and one of the main reasons that I love it so much is that you can basically use it to shop your way to free gift cards! How it works is pretty easy too. Basically, you just do the normal things you do when you go shopping, things like walking into the store, scanning certain items to get more information about them, and scanning your receipt after making purchases. In exchange, Shopkick gives you points that you can redeem later for free gift cards!

Shopkick is also a ton of fun to use with your friends. It basically turns every trip to the store into a scavenger hunt for points. Me and my ladies love to go out to the store together and share tips on where to find the items to scan that give you the most points. We also like to use Shopkick’s social media channels, where we can jump into threads that are filled with more tips about using the app, as well as a bunch of super fun memes and jokes. I just can’t recommend this one enough!

Those are just a few of the apps that help you save money with friends that I’ve found to be worthwhile. There are, of course, a ton more out there, and I’d encourage you to give some of them a shot! I really hope you’re able to gain the same experiences as I have.

Oh yeah, plus you can start earning gift cards that are just as good as cash. And I don’t know a shopper alive who’s not interested in doing that!

I’d also strongly suggest using Shopkick. It really does turn every trip out to the store these days into fun, whether you end up going with your friends or all on your lonesome. Oh yeah, plus you can start earning gift cards that are just as good as cash. And I don’t know a shopper alive who’s not interested in doing that!

Ready to start taking advantage of the best of these apps that help you save money the next time you’re out shopping with your friends? Just download Shopkick and join a community of loyal Shopkickers who’ve already discovered the rewards of shopping with us!

And, if you love using your smartphone to stay up on social media, join us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for daily shopping inspiration.

Image courtesy stokkete

How to earn a gift card using free apps

Posted on June 6, 2018 by shopkick

One piece of advice that I’ve learned over and over again as a shopper is that there’s more than one way to find what you want. This has especially become true with online shopping. Way back when, in order to find a certain type of electronic device or that absolutely perfect blouse you saw last week on display, you had to go to one specific store that sold it, and if that store didn’t have it, well, you were just out of luck.

Thankfully, that’s no longer the case. Because now, I’m able to have my go-to online shopping sites, brick-and-mortar stores, and vintage and consignment shops when I’m looking for the perfect clothes for all seasons and occasions: winter, summer, work, exercise, going out, you name it! This same attitude also applies to savings strategies, like sales, deals, and gift cards. In fact, that last one is what I want to talk about today. There is more than one way to earn a gift card, and today I’d like to share with you how to earn a gift card using free apps.

Gift cards earned through free apps have actually become a cornerstone of my hybrid shopping routine, both online and in my favorite stores. Today, I want to share some of that shopping love with all of you!

How to Earn a Gift Card Using Free Apps for Surveys

One of the most common ways to earn a gift card using free apps is by taking surveys. That’s where Ipsos comes in. The Ipsos app’s mission is to find out what the public thinks, especially when it comes to topics like advertising, politics, and other sources of debate on the national level. The way Ipsos works is that the average user receives about eight survey invitations each month, which they can then accept or deny. For completing each survey, users get points that can later be cashed in for prizes, including gift cards to many different places, which to me are just as good as cash.

There are so many different survey apps out there, with more and more new ones seeming to pop up every week, but Ipsos is certainly one of the most popular. If you are looking for a survey app that will give you gift cards, know that you can use Ipsos via a smartphone app, which gives it a leg up over some other survey platforms that require you to use a desktop computer.

How to Earn a Gift Card Through the Lock Screen on Your Phone

You know the lock screen on your phone, the one you see every time you hit a button on your device without unlocking it first? That screen can give you free gift cards. Well, with the help of an app called Fronto, that is. All you have to do is be willing to swap out whatever photo you have there now, whether it’s stock wallpaper, a photo from your vacation, or a cute snapshot of your kids.

Opt in to receive news and ads selected by Fronto and each time you view one of these of ads, you’ll earn points. Sometimes the app will ask you an interactive question to help you earn extra points. Once you have earned at least $10 worth of points, you can exchange them for free gift cards. A word of advice, though, for those of you who are tethered to your phone all day like I am: Fronto can be a bit rough on your data plan and your battery life, so make sure you have available data—and a full battery—before you download it.

How to Earn a Gift Card for Shopping

Taking surveys and renting out the lock screen space on your phone are both great ways to earn a gift card with a free app, and you should definitely use them—I know I do. However, I think my absolute favorite way to earn a free gift card that helps me save money when I’m shopping is through shopping itself. That’s right, you can literally shop your way to free gift cards with a free app called Shopkick.

How it works is that Shopkick turns every trip to the store into a super fun scavenger hunt for points, which the app calls kicks. It’s also super easy to use, and the tasks that users like us have to complete for kicks are ones we do every time we go shopping anyway. At its core, Shopkick is basically a free app that pays you to shop. For example, if you download the app, then walk into a partner store, you’ll earn kicks. Scan featured item barcodes, get kicks. Buy a featured item, get more kicks! Shop from your sofa using the app, get kicks! Watch videos when you have a little downtime, get kicks! There are also “instant surprises,” kicks you can find when you look around in the app—it’s an in-app treasure hunt, you just have to look around to find them, tap on them, and collect them! Once you’ve earned enough kicks, you can then trade them in for gift cards to a super wide range of stores. One of my favorite things about Shopkick is that you really don’t have to go out of your way at all. It really is that easy!

Now, you should know that these are just my personal favorites and that there are many more out there.

I’m so glad that I got to tell you how to earn a gift card using three of my favorite free apps. Now, you should know that these are just my personal favorites and that there are many more out there. I’m sure now that you’ve learned about the game, you’ll come up with a hybrid shopping routine of your own, involving free gift card-earning apps of course.

If I had to choose just one of these apps, it would definitely be Shopkick! Like my personal shopping routine, it works both online and off, and I just can’t imagine what my budget would look like without all the free gift cards I’ve been earning through Shopkick.

Ready to take your online and brick-and-mortar shopping games to the next level? Start using Shopkick today to earn gift cards for free. Just download Shopkick and join a community of loyal Shopkickers who’ve already discovered the rewards of shopping with us!

And, if you love using your smartphone to stay up on social media, join us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for daily shopping inspiration.

Image courtesy Rido81

3 grocery shopping rewards apps that can be used anywhere

Posted on June 1, 2018 by shopkick

Rewards and shopping have always sort of gone together, at least in my experience, whether those rewards end up taking the form of a really great secret sale, or the feeling you get when you find the absolute perfect top that you can wear to both the office and out with the ladies. Grocery shopping, however, has always been the one part of shopping where I have personally found the rewards opportunities to be just a bit more elusive.

That is until I discovered the concept of the grocery shopping rewards app. Technology these days is truly amazing—and getting more amazing all the time—and it’s now being used to make trips to the grocery store more fun with great savings. There are different ways that these apps can save us shoppers money, with the one thing they have in common being the positive effect they can have on our shopping game, as well as on our budgets.

One of the best parts of all this, I have to say, is how you can take these apps with you, meaning that they aren’t just limited to your local grocer. Let’s say you’re on the other side of town for spin class, and after you make a quick run to a nearby store for a few items. You can do that. I’ve even used all three of the grocery shopping rewards app selections here while I travel! Simply put, saving money knows no bounds, so neither should the apps you use to get rewards for your groceries!

Grocery Shopping Reward App #1: SavingStar

Our first grocery shopping rewards app that can be used anywhere is SavingStar. It’s what’s known as a digital couponing app, and how it works is that it discounts items at most grocery store locations, funneling your savings into an account that you can cash out later.

It’s super easy to use because you can link SavingStar up to your store loyalty card account (or an equivalent), and you don’t even have to scan your receipt after you’ve made purchases. SavingStar offers its users an array of methods that they can use to cash out, including PayPal, direct bank account deposits, checks, a Upromise account, or gift cards to a select group of stores.

Grocery Shopping Reward App #2: Coupons.com

For the second entry on our list of grocery shopping rewards apps that can be used anywhere, we have Coupons.com, which is like SavingStar in that it’s an online digital coupon app. It’s different, however, in that users must go on and download digital coupons, although recently they’ve worked to add a linked store loyalty card functionality that is similar to SavingStar, but in all honesty, I haven’t had a chance to try it out just yet.

Coupons.com also gives its users an option to shop in a truly old school way. That’s right, you can use this app to print out physical coupons that you then take with you to the store in order to redeem your savings. You know, just like most of us did when we were kids and the Sunday paper was the primary way to collect savings at our local stores.

Grocery Shopping Reward App #3: Shopkick

The other two apps on today’s list are great, make no mistake, but my favorite out of any grocery shopping reward app is Shopkick. It’s definitely the one I use the most. Like the other two, how it works is pretty simple. You go to a grocery store in your town, on vacation, while visiting friends—basically anywhere—and you get points for the simple things you do while you’re shopping anyway, things like making purchases, scanning the barcodes on certain products, and even just walking into the store. Then you trade those points in for free gift cards!

It’s really easy to use, clearly, but what I think I like the most about it is the way that it fits so seamlessly into my regular grocery shopping routine. I hardly have to go out of my way at all, I just quickly scan the barcodes of the things I put in my cart, and then when I’m done, I scan my receipts, and the points roll in. As an efficient shopper, I’m a huge fan, and I can’t recommend Shopkick enough. It even makes your trips out to the store more fun, because once you get familiar enough with the point-scoring system, each time down the aisle starts to feel like an exciting scavenger hunt for more rewards, especially if you like to push yourself a bit at things, like me.

Finding and redeeming rewards have never been such a vital part of shopping.

The last point I want to make here today about all of these apps is that because of their wide-range of eligible stores and their inherently digital natures, you can literally take them with you anywhere. You can (and should) of course use them for your normal grocery shopping, but you should also remember to use them at stores that fall outside of your normal routine.

Finding and redeeming rewards have never been such a vital part of shopping. There are more and more ways to incorporate rewards into your regular shopping routines, but I strongly suggest you incorporate some or all of these apps into yours, especially Shopkick, which you can pair with either of the digital coupon apps on this list. And if some savings is a good thing, double the savings is even better, right?

Looking for a grocery shopping rewards app to save money and make your trips to the store much more fun? Download Shopkick for free and join a community of Shopkickers who love the rewards of shopping with us!

Or join us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and check in every day on your phone, no matter where you are, to learn about the hottest, newest deals.

Image courtesy wdnetstudio

The highest paying apps for Android that are free and fun

Posted on May 30, 2018 by shopkick

I remember the days when I used to roll my eyes at old sayings and cliches, things like it feels better to give than to receive, or an apple a day keeps the doctor away. Then I became a mom. All of a sudden, I found myself very sincerely teaching these old sayings I used to think were corny to my boys because I realized there’s quite a bit of truth to them.

And the truest of them all, at least in my humble opinion, is that the best things in life are free. I have three boys at home, three boys who love their fancy video games, but, honestly, I think they have the most fun on the random days when the weather is nice and we all get out to run around at the park. Thinking about all of this was actually a big part of my motivation recently when I set out to earn a little money by using my Android smartphone, and I decided the ideal way to do that was by finding the highest paying apps for Android that are both fun and free.

And you know what? I actually found some really cool apps! It’s my pleasure to share what I’ve found with all of you. To borrow an old cliche, in my experience sharing really is caring. I hope you have as much fun using these free apps as I do!

Highest Paying Apps for Android #1: App Trailers

App Trailers is the first on the list of highest paying apps for Android. It’s both free and fun, and it’s also an app that my boys and I can enjoy together because it pays you to watch free videos. I like it because of the rewards and my boys like it because many of these videos are about something that’s very near and dear to their little hearts: video games.

We’ve watched videos about games from EA, Rovio (which makes Angry Birds), and plenty of other companies that my guys know far more about than I do. The more videos you watch, the more points you earn. Then you can trade those points in and get paid via PayPal, or in Amazon gift cards.

Highest Paying Apps for Android #2: Make Money Earn Free Cash

As you can tell by the name—Make Money Earn Free Cash—this app is basically about two things: making money and earning free cash. And it’s free to download via the Play Store on Android devices.

I think of this app as no-nonsense, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a lot of fun to use, especially if you’re like me and enjoy learning about new apps that you might have otherwise missed out on. It’s pretty simple to use. All that you do with Make Money Earn Free Cash is download free apps, watch videos, and then complete offers from the sponsors, which usually involves signing up for mailing lists or taking surveys. Obviously, this isn’t always fun, but sometimes you learn about really cool new apps, and that can be a blast! When you’re ready, you can then go ahead and get paid for your earnings via PayPal.

Highest Paying Apps for Android #3: Shopkick

The last one on the list of the highest paying apps for Android is actually the one I’ve been using the longest. It’s called Shopkick, and, just like the other two, it’s both free and fun to use. How it works is that Shopkick rewards you for things you do while you’re out shopping. Don’t worry, you won’t even have to go out of your way to use it. See, Shopkick gives you points for things like watching videos, making purchases, scanning barcodes on certain products, and even just for walking into the store! You can then trade those points in and get paid in gift cards to some of your favorite stores, which is just as good as getting cash back.

But I have to say, Shopkick is my favorite just because of how thoroughly it has transformed my trips to the store.

It’s a free app for Android (and also iPhone), but more importantly, Shopkick is seriously a ton of fun to use. Finding time to get out to the store can be kind of hard, especially when you have three boys at home like I do, and, if I’m being totally honest with you here, it used to be a bit of a hassle. With Shopkick, though, a lot of times I’m having so much fun trying to maximize the number of points I get on each trip, that my trips fly by. I’ve even started looking forward to going to the store! Oh, and I’ve really started looking forward to cashing my points in for gift cards.

Those are just some of the choices, though. There are literally dozens more out there. But I have to say, Shopkick is my favorite just because of how thoroughly it has transformed my trips to the store. Even the boys have gotten in on the fun, coming with me and asking me what items they should look for to scan for points. It sounds cliche, but you really can’t put a price on that kind of togetherness.

Get to know one of the highest paying apps for Android that also happens to be as free as it is fun! Download Shopkick today and join a community of loyal Shopkickers who’ve already discovered how much you can earn with the help of a free shopping sidekick.

And, if you’re on social media catching up with friends, be sure to also join Shopkick on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for a little daily fun and inspiration.

Image courtesy Bankrx

How to earn free movie tickets for your entire crew

Posted on May 23, 2018 by shopkick

I don’t know about you, but my kids just can’t get enough of Marvel and Star Wars movies. Some days it seems like my kids are all about Captain America one minute and Kylo Ren the next. I shouldn’t complain too hard, though, because I know exactly whose fault this is—mine. I used to love superheroes and sci-fi growing up, and I couldn’t wait to share it with my kids when they got old enough.

The only hangup though is that nowadays spoilers are always a concern. Nobody wants to find out a major plot twist before actually seeing a movie. So, my kids are always insistent that we see the movies on the day they come out, and hey, if I’m being honest, I’m afraid of spoilers, too. You never know when someone’s going to drop one on Twitter! Problem is that all those first-run movie tickets get pretty expensive for the entire family. That’s why I’ve recently put my tech-savviness to the test and searched for apps and other ways to earn free movie tickets.

And you know what I’ve found? There are actually plenty of ways to do that out there! These ways are actually pretty diverse, but I’ve found a few good ones that work for me, and, as much as I’ve always loved Iron Man, there’s just something special about watching him on the big screen with the kids at a showing you got to attend with free movie tickets.

Earn Free Movie Tickets Through Theater Rewards Clubs

In doing my research online on ways to earn free movie tickets, I found that one way was through joining a theater rewards club offered by the company that runs the multiplex in your town, AMC, Cinemark, or Regal, for example. Luckily for me and my little crew of Marvel fanatics, we have one of those programs where we live that gives you discounted popcorn on Tuesdays, free tickets on your birthday, and points that let you earn free movie tickets the more you go.

So yeah, there’s really no reason not to sign up for this one. You typically just have to provide a valid email address and put up with the occasional advertisement email, which sometimes actually includes a great deal such as two-for-one tickets. You can search for your local theater online to find out if they offer this, or keep an eye out for more info next time you head out to a show.

Earn Free Movie Tickets Through Advanced Screenings

This second option is maybe not as reliable as the first one, but it can sometimes be a lot more fun. It involves being on the hunt for free advanced screenings. Theaters often do these to gauge audience reactions to films or to start generating positive word of mouth. Now, for someone like me who’s trying to take the entire crew of kids to the show, it’s tough to find one that has the number of tickets I need.

What makes it just a little bit easier though is that there are actually several reputable websites that have information about tracking down free advanced shows. Some of the sites I’ve found include Sony Screening, Gofobo, and Wild About Movies. I must say though, that they’re almost always limited to major metropolitan areas, but once in a while, they have an offer in a smaller town. Just make sure you check the sites regularly.

Earn Free Movie Tickets Through an App

The best way I found to earn free movie tickets though is with an app called Shopkick. Shopkick is what’s known as a third-party shopping app, and how it works is that it gives you points for the normal things you do while you’re out shopping. When I’m using Shopkick, I get points for stuff like making purchases, scanning the barcodes on certain items for more info, and even for just walking into the store.

Then, I can trade those points in and get paid in gift cards, including gift cards to my local theater. It’s really cool, and I’ve actually started to like shopping more because of it. Before, I used to look at shopping as a serious hassle, something I just had to do and get over with. Now, it’s a lot more like a fun scavenger hunt for points, points that I can use to earn free movie tickets for me and my crew. Basically, these days I’m turning my old annoying grocery shopping trips into superhero movies!

Put them all together, and you basically have your own Avengers team of superheroic value techniques helping you reduce the amount of money you spend on movies.

One thing I should mention before we wrap up here today is that you can actually use all three of these techniques to maximize your productivity as you earn free movie tickets. You can and should use your movie rewards program every time you go watch a film, just like you can and should use Shopkick each time you go to the store. One of the keys to making this work is consistency, sticking with these apps and using them all the time.

Put them all together, and you basically have your own Avengers team of superheroic value techniques helping you reduce the amount of money you spend on movies. At least that’s the way I look at it. But as I said, I grew up with superheroes and Star Wars and all that, so forgive me for being kind of a nerd!

Ready to start having fun with your shopping while at the same time earning free movie tickets for your entire crew? Download Shopkick for free and join a community of loyal Shopkickers who’ve already discovered how rewarding—and fun—shopping can be!

And, if you love using your smartphone to stay up on social media, join us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for daily shopping inspiration.

Image courtesy Maglara

How to Earn Kicks: 15 Tips for Shopkick Success

Posted on May 7, 2018 by shopkick

I’m a Shopkick master, everyone knows that. I mean, it’s nothing for me to earn a gift card a month, which I promptly spend on splurges at Starbucks or combine with all my Walmart Savings Catcher deals for extra savings. Right now, I’m saving up for a Best Buy gift card for a special someone.

But, it recently came to my attention that while almost everyone knows how Shopkick works (you shop! you get kicks! you redeem for gift cards!) not everyone really knows how to earn kicks on Shopkick the right way. So, I thought, “Let’s fix that!” Here are some things every Shopkicker should be doing, how to follow the Shopkick rules—and some tips for getting the most out of the very best shopping app, Shopkick.

How to Earn Kicks: The Nitty Gritty

Obviously, you’ve already downloaded the Shopkick app and set up your profile. Once you’ve done that, everything else kind of runs itself. Still, there are some things you can master to get the most kicks possible:

Turn on notifications and Bluetooth: Do this so that you never miss an opportunity, like a great sale or a chance for extra points. The app will also let you know if you’re about to walk past a store that’s got a deal for extra kicks.
Open the app at least once a week: New places to get kicks come up all the time. Plus, kick amounts increase often and products change frequently.
Stay up-to-date: Be sure to update the app whenever there’s a new release to make sure you always have the latest, greatest working version of Shopkick.

How to Earn Kicks in-Store

So, you’re up-to-date and your Bluetooth is turned on. It’s time to start earning kicks … for everything you do. Start by opening up your Shopkick app and visiting the “Earn” tab to see what’s available today near you! Then, challenge yourself to do these four things the next time you go shopping, and watch the kicks start rolling in:

Walk into a store: Many stores give kicks just for walking through the door! Just remember to have the app open and Bluetooth turned on.
Scan products: Get kicks!
Buy products and upload a receipt: Get kicks!
Link your credit card and make a purchase: Get kicks!

How to Earn Kicks from the App

Sometimes, I’m too lazy to go out. At those times, I like to earn kicks while shopping in my jammies. From my phone. And, hey, Shopkick is the best mobile shopping app, after all. When I open the Shopkick app, I:

Watch a video: Learn more about products—and get kicks!
Find an instant surprise: Go on a treasure hunt to find instant surprises. These are located under the Discover tab.
Make an online purchase: This is self-explanatory, but here’s an added tip: Sometimes I go to my favorite online shops on my desktop to load up my cart. Then, I open up my Shopkick app and navigate to that store and buy everything in my cart—and get kicks!
Invite friends: You can earn free kicks whenever someone you invite to Shopkick downloads the app and starts using it.

How to Earn Kicks on Shopkick the Right Way

As it turns out, some people like to try to break the rules. Nobody likes a cheater, so here’s how to play fair and not get banned:

Scan in-store only: For scans, make sure you are in the store when you attempt to scan a product and that you scan the actual physical item. Remember, the companies paying for all those amazing free gift cards you get with your kicks—retailers like T.J.Maxx and Marshalls and brands like Lego and Tylenol—love to be on Shopkick because it helps them connect with their customers in a fast, fun, easy way. They reward Shopkick for helping them, and Shopkick passes those rewards on to all you awesome Shopkickers. It’s a win-win-win for everyone, but it only works if you’re physically interacting with products in the store.
Also, don’t fall into any traps or “creative shortcuts” that may have you breaking the rules; Shopkick’s technology detects when rules are being broken. Yikes!
Be unique: Another way people get in trouble is by having more than one Shopkick account on their phone. If someone pretends to be multiple people—by signing up for multiple Shopkick accounts—that raises serious red flags. To protect the members of the Shopkicking community who are playing fair and who want to keep getting gift cards, Shopkick asks rule-breakers to leave (which they hate to do!)
Keep your phone to yourself: Don’t share your number with someone else. No one else should be logging into your account from their phone. It looks suspicious, like one person is trying to pretend to be many people.
Invite—and shop with—friends: Help your BFFs get Shopkicking! An easy and fun way to keep racking up the kicks is to Shopkick with others. I personally love to head out with my friends. I hear all the time how Shopkickers like to Shopkick with their sisters, mothers, daughters, husbands, wives, etc. They use it as a way to get their steps—and kicks—in on evenings or days off. Both you and your friends will get extra kicks after they earn their first kicks in-store within seven days of accepting your invitation. Why not go with them on their first Shopkicking adventure and show them the ropes?

So, that’s it my Shopkicking friends—my best advice on how to earn kicks on Shopkick so you can rack up the points! If you have any other ideas, I’d love to hear them.

If you’re as social media savvy as you are shopping savvy, join us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for daily shopping fun.

Image courtesy Zinkevych

The 4 craziest apps everyone should have

Posted on May 4, 2018 by shopkick

Recently, I made a promise to myself: I’d be open to more new experiences and would stop saying no so much. Crazily enough, one of the first things I started saying yes to was apps my friends were suggesting. Forever, I’d been reflexively no-ing apps that paid me to take surveys. (And also that one that makes it look like I’m drinking a beer through my phone.)

Since I’ve started saying yes more, though, I can’t believe the awesome apps I’ve found! There are just so many amazing apps out there these days, even ones that sound crazy at first. Today, I want to introduce you to my list of the four craziest apps everyone should have. Warning: most—if not all—of these will seem too good to be true. Trust me, they’re for real! Give them a chance and I’m sure that you’ll love them as much as I do.

Crazy Apps Everyone Should Have #1: Memrise

What if I told you that your smartphone could teach you Spanish? Or French? Or even Japanese? You probably won’t believe me, but thanks to Memrise, it’s true.

Memrise is a language learning app that helps you attain basic conversational fluency in a variety of languages. Developers call the process “elaborate encoding,” and it works by using word associations to lock in information. There is a free tier, with a variety of courses to get you started, as well as a pro level. For me, c’est tres bien!

Crazy Apps Everyone Should Have #2: IFTTT

Maybe you’ve heard of a tech trend called If This Then That, or IFTTT. Basically, IFTTT is a bit of code that lets you schedule your devices to perform actions depending on a situation. In other words, If this happens, then do that.

For example, you can use IFTTT to help manage your social media. Like, if you post on Instagram and use the hashtag #T, then your post will also go to Twitter. Or, anytime you post to Twitter, that post gets saved in your Dropbox.

You can also use IFTTT to program other devices too, like Amazon Alexa. If there’s a traffic jam along your morning commute, then Alexa should wake you with music 20 minutes earlier than usual. Heck, you can even use IFTTT to have your phone alert you when the International Space Station passes overhead!

Crazy Apps Everyone Should Have #3: DoorDash

You know those nights when you’re almost too tired to move, let alone cook? Well, what if there was an app that would have someone bring you dinner from your favorite restaurant—even if that restaurant doesn’t deliver?

Tada! That app is called DoorDash and it works like other localized apps such as Postmates or Favor Delivery. The general idea is that you order whatever food you want, and the app sends a driver out to pick up your order and deliver it to you. No moving or shoes required on your part!

Crazy Apps Everyone Should Have #4: Shopkick

This is yet another app that you won’t believe exists; it’s almost too good to be true. Basically, how this shopping app works is that it turns all your trips to the store into a game—and it pays you to go shopping!

If I’m going to leave you with one last bit of advice, though, it’s to definitely download Shopkick.

Of all the apps on our list today, Shopkick is my personal favorite. I mean, it’s basically a digital coupon app that helps stretch my budget. There’s a lot to love about that. Shopkick works by giving you points—which you can redeem later for gift cards just—for doing things you normally do while shopping. For example, say you walk into a certain store: you get points. Or, you scan the barcode of a featured item: you get more points. Maybe you take a picture of your receipt after you buy your weekly groceries (or toiletries, or maybe that super cute necklace): you get even more points! It may sound crazy, but it’s true.

So, there you have it: the four craziest apps everyone should have that I know of. If I’m going to leave you with one last bit of advice, though, it’s to definitely download Shopkick. The savings are immense, it’s totally fun to use, and it’s also super easy. Plus, it’s free. Hey, maybe you can use all the money you save for the pro tier of Memrise. Hold on, don’t thank me now. I want to hear it in whatever language you learn.

Looking for the coolest apps for iPhone and Android, especially one that can help you save money while shopping? Download Shopkick for free and join a community of Shopkickers who love the rewards of shopping with us!

Or join us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and check in every day on your phone, no matter where you are, to learn about the hottest, newest deals.

Image courtesy Oneinchpunch

How to Get Free Kicks on Shopkick

Posted on April 11, 2018 by shopkick

For as long as there have been apps, there have been hacks for apps. In fact, my one friend—let’s call him Shady Jay, he’d like that—is always telling me about them. I’m more into tech and apps than anyone else in our friend group, so I’ll bring up an app and Shady Jay will say, “But, hey dude, did you know there’s also a hack for that?” At this point, it’s kind of like our own little comedy routine.

I’m really into this one shopping rewards app called Shopkick. For those who haven’t heard of it before, how it works is that Shopkick gives out points for the things you do already whenever you go shopping. You then redeem those points for gift cards to your favorite stores. I’m kind of obsessed with Shopkick, and I talk about it all the time. So, there I was telling all my friends about it yet again, when Shady Jay said, “But, hey dude, did you know there’s also a hack for that?” I looked at him, rolled my eyes, and told him that, yes, I know plenty of ways to score tons of points with Shopkick.

That’s what I want to talk about today: how to get free kicks on Shopkick. There’s a lot of variety here in how to grab a ton of kicks—which is what Shopkick calls its points—for minimal amounts of energy. Also, if you start to follow some of the advice I’m about to lay out, you may just start talking about Shopkick all the time, too!

How to Get Free Kicks On Shopkick for the Least Effort

The thing about Shopkick is that it gives you points for making purchases—and a lot more. You can also earn kicks for scanning items in a store to get more info, and sometimes even just for walking into a store! In fact, since I’ve started using Shopkick, I think I’ve racked up more points by scanning items and just walking into stores than I have for making actual purchases (though I get quite a few points for that too).

In my experience, the best way to get free kicks on Shopkick is to make a point of planning ahead to figure out which stores and offers give you the most points for the least amount of effort. Sometimes, what I like to do before heading out shopping, is to check which stores have the most scannable items for kicks, and then prioritize going to that store.

How to Get Free Kicks on Shopkick by Shopping Online

One of the things I’ve always loved about Shopkick is that it gives you ways to earn points for both shopping at a brick-and-mortar store and for shopping online. Let me share what I’ve learned about how to get free kicks on Shopkick for shopping online. I’ve been a huge online shopper since online shopping became a thing, so I’m more comfortable shopping there, anyway.

Just like shopping at your local shop, though, there are plenty of ways to earn points quickly for shopping online, and some of them don’t even involve spending money. Here are my favorites:

Watch videos on your phone: Open the Shopkick app each morning and earn kicks while you have your coffee. Simply visit the Discover tab to see what’s playing today. Also, perusing Shopkick’s lookbooks might just inspire your next gift or makeover… as well as contain an “instant surprise” kick for free!
Make purchases on your phone: One of the great things about using Shopkick on your mobile phone for online shopping is that you often don’t even have to buy specific products. Sites such as Etsy, Overstock, Amazon Fashion, Booking, Hotels.com, and many, many more give you kicks for every dollar you spend. Isn’t that a great thing?
Make purchases on your computer: Go to www.shopkick.com and log in using the same credentials you use to log into the app. Here, you’ll find plenty of additional stores, some of which are easier (and more fun) to purchase from via computer rather than phone—like Macy’s and JC Penney.
Shopping on both the computer and your phone means more convenience, more variety, and of course… more kicks!

The All-Time Best Strategy for How to Get Free Kicks on Shopkick

Honestly, though, the all-time best strategy for how to get free kicks on Shopkick is to make sure that you use it each and every time you go shopping. And that’s easy given how easy and how convenient and fun it is to use! You get points for walking into stores, points for scanning certain items for more info, and points, of course, for making purchases. It really does turn every trip into a fun scavenger hunt for points. Consistency is key though: The more you use it, the more the kicks start to add up. And, of course, more kicks equal more gift cards and savings!

So, there you have it, plenty of great ways how to get free kicks on Shopkick, and I didn’t even have to borrow any of them from good old Shady Jay. These are all hacks from my own personal repertoire.

Get to know the many different ways to get free kicks on Shopkick and start collecting gift cards today. Download Shopkick’s free app today and join a community of loyal Shopkickers who’ve already discovered how much you can earn with the help of a free shopping sidekick.

And, if you’re on social media catching up with friends, be sure to also join Shopkick on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for a little daily fun and inspiration.

Image courtesy Kurhan

Celebrate National Walking Day and get free stuff

Posted on April 2, 2018 by shopkick

Everyone knows the big holidays, days like Memorial Day, Labor Day, the Fourth of July, and Halloween, but did you know that almost every single day on the calendar has a themed celebration to go along with it? I know at my house we certainly do. In fact, we’ve even made it a point to start celebrating some of these more obscure holidays!

March 3, for example, was National Cold Cuts Day, so we went out and made ourselves some deluxe cold cut sandwiches. Another good one: October 7 is National Inner Beauty Day, which we honor at our house by celebrating the personal qualities that make each member of our family special.

One of our favorite days, however, is actually National Walking Day! It happens during the first Wednesday in April each year, and it’s just such a wonderful chance to get out of the house and into the spring weather to enjoy one of my favorite simple activities: walking! From the store, around the neighborhood, on a hike—you name it.

At my house, we like to celebrate National Walking Day while also earning some free stuff, whether that’s a T-shirt for completing a 5K (walk, not run!), cash for a task done for a stranger, or—my favorite—gift cards just for walking into certain stores! There are plenty of ways to celebrate National Walking Day and get free stuff, and today we have a helpful little guide to some of the best.

Celebrate National Walking Day and Get Free Ts

One of the cool aspects of National Walking Day is how charity groups use it as an occasion to host 5K events to raise money for worthy causes. Walks tend to vary by geographic region, but in the past, my friends and I have participated in National Walking Day 5Ks that raised money for everything from the American Heart Association to the American Cancer Society to some more localized, grassroots causes.

I’m pretty tuned in to the events in my area, but you can easily hunt down a great event (and, of course, a free t-shirt that comes with it) by searching online for “National Walking Day 5K” plus the name of your area or by going to an event site like Eventbrite. And hey, if you participate you’ll not only help others and collect a prize, you’ll also get your steps in—and then some.

Step It Up on National Walking Day and Get Paid

We’ve talked quite a bit in the past about the best free smartphone apps that pay you cash, and it just so happens that one of those apps has the word walk right in the title. I’m talking here about Gigwalk, which is a great fit for users who do a lot of walking in a city or even a suburban setting, especially one that has lots of shops, restaurants, and other businesses.

Gigwalk is free to use, and how it works is that you open the app and see gigs—short projects or jobs or tasks people are paying to have done—posted on a map. These gigs will be represented by red pins, and when you click a pin you get details and specific instructions about what you have to do to complete the gig. This usually includes something random like taking a photograph of a display in a certain store. These gigs can take anywhere from just a few minutes to up to a few hours and pay ranges from $3 up to $100. That’s right, $100! In my experience, though, those lucrative gigs are highly sought after and usually rare. The money goes into your PayPal account after you’ve completed a gig.

Celebrate National Walking Day and Get Free Gift Cards

The app I really like to use for getting free stuff on National Walking Day is called Shopkick. It’s a shopping rewards app that lets users earn points—called kicks—for the shopping they do normally. It rewards you for things like making purchases, scanning barcodes of items, and even for just walking into some stores! Once users accumulate enough kicks they trade them in for gift cards.

To get some kicks this National Walking Day all you have to do when you’re out walking is open up your Shopkick app, go to the “earn” tab, and look at the list of kicks that are nearby. Now, these will vary by location, but in my area, there are plenty of stores like as 7-Eleven, Walgreens, and Target that offer kicks. Of course, you don’t have to limit yourself to using Shopkick on National Walking Day—you can earn kicks by walking into stores 365 days a year. You can also earn kicks by scanning certain items within that store for more info and by making purchases as well. Shopkick has been such an incredible boost for my budget!

The real point of the day is to just get out of your house and enjoy a nice walk of course, but that shouldn’t stop you from raking in some savings, too.

So, there you have it, three great ways to celebrate National Walking Day and to get free stuff while you do. The real point of the day is to just get out of your house and enjoy a nice walk of course, but that shouldn’t stop you from raking in some savings, too.

Who knows, maybe you’ll get hooked on using Shopkick like I am? And maybe you’ll also get hooked on celebrating these silly and fun obscure holidays. Why not, right? There’s no day that can’t be brightened with a little bit of fun!

Learn all the ways you can use Shopkick to get free gift cards while celebrating National Walking Day. Download Shopkick’s free app and get ready to be wowed. Welcome to the fun, Shopkicker!

If you’re as social media savvy as you are shopping savvy, join us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for daily shopping fun.

Image courtesy djoronimo

The top 5 money saving apps for college students

Posted on March 28, 2018 by shopkick

I’m a really cheery person, and I have fond memories of pretty much all eras of my life, but if I was pressed, I might have to admit that my absolute favorite era was my college years. From the friends in the dorms to the stimulating classes to the late nights walking home after long hours studying in the library—I love, love, loved it all!

I even loved being a broke college student, as the stereotype goes. While I know there’s nothing fun about being broke, it did force me to find creative ways to make the most out of the part-time job I worked on campus! I think about those days a lot—about all the times I ate ramen for lunch or went shopping for something that I had a coupon for. The thing I think about most, though, is that these days there are so many glorious money saving apps!

Pretty much everyone in college these days has a smartphone, but what they might be missing out on between Snapchats and WhatsApp is the fact that that very smartphone could actually help them save money. All they need to do is download certain apps. So, that’s what I’d like to talk about today: the top 5 money saving apps for college students!

Money Saving Apps for College Students #1: The University Network (TUN)

I may not be a college student myself, but I talk about shopping rewards apps so much that I’ve gained a reputation for wanting to hear about all the latest money saving apps my friends and colleagues are into. I think this is why the interns in my office always like to share info about their favorite apps with me!

Anyway, the first on my list is one the young people turned me on to recently, TUN, which stands for The University Network. What it does is connect the intrepid college students who download it with discounts exclusively for local students, textbook savings, and rewards that are available on purchases around town. Oh, and because everyone knows that college is all about studying, it also points users toward free activities, like concerts and sporting events, in their area, too.

Money Saving Apps for College Students #2: UConnection

Speaking of how college can’t just be all about the studying, the next app on my list today, UConnection, works a bit like TUN in that it connects users to local opportunities for savings. This app, however, has a bit more of a local feel to it.

UConnection ranks as number one in food and drinks apps for college students because it offers exclusive deals at local hot spots and also allows users to network with one another. Nightlife is a big part of college, after all. It’s literally where the phrase “beer money,” comes from. This app gets that, pointing students toward the best ways to save money on the nightlife activities they engage in.

Money Saving Apps for College Students #3: College Foodz

This app is specifically tailored for college students—folks who are looking to take a break from their dorm cafeteria and go out to eat. We talked about it recently when we talked about the best smartphone coupon apps for fast food connoisseurs, and it’s still a great choice for users who want to save money on fast food.

Students can use College Foodz to find new dining spots near their school and to discover exciting local food deals. Plus, if they indicate their favorite dining spots, they can get notifications about deals as they are being offered or earn rewards that come in the form of coupons whenever they rate their dining experiences within the app.

Money Saving Apps for College Students #4: Epicurious

So, yes, while some of the apps on this list are great ways to save money while going out to eat, this one takes a different approach to food-based savings. Epicurious makes it easier for everyone and anyone—from a busy mom to a business exec to a coed—to save money by preparing meals at home.

With Epicurious, users can search more than 28,000 recipes, basing their searches off of customizable fields including what’s already in the kitchen, recipe difficulty, and more. I’ve actually used this one at my house and I can honestly say that it’s a great way to save money and to broaden your cooking repertoire.

Money Saving Apps for College Students #5: Shopkick

I’ve saved my favorite app for last! It’s called Shopkick and it helps you save on all the shopping you do already, whether you’re in college or many, many (ahem, many) years removed. Basically, how it works is that it gives you points for various aspects of shopping, all of which are things you do whenever you go out to store, anyway. These include walking into the store, scanning barcodes on certain products to get more info, and, of course, making purchases.

I should also point out it’s a game-like app you can share with your friends, too! Think of it as a scavenger hunt for savings and points.

You can then trade these points in for gift cards to a ton of stores. I personally like to use this app to get gift cards for groceries and other household items in order to bolster my budget, but I can definitely see college students using it to get gift cards they can save for late night Starbucks runs during finals! That’s another benefit of this app: the number of places you can get gift cards for means that with Shopkick you always have a ton of options! Oh, and since I know college students like to have fun, I should also point out it’s a game-like app you can share with your friends, too! Think of it as a scavenger hunt for savings and points.

I wish I’d had Shopkick in college. Who can say for sure, but my guess is it would have meant fewer dinners of ramen and soda. I mean, I wouldn’t trade the memories of those nights for anything, but I also wouldn’t want to have to do them again!

So, there you have it. All five of these apps are great options for college students looking to save money, and some of them—especially Shopkick—are also wonderful ways to save money as an adult, too. I highly recommend checking out Shopkick, no matter what stage of life you’re in.

Get in on one of the best money saving apps for students—and for tons of other shoppers, too. Download Shopkick’s free app today and join a community of loyal Shopkickers who’ve already discovered how much you can earn with the help of a free shopping sidekick.

And, if you’re on social media catching up with friends, be sure to also join Shopkick on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for a little daily fun and inspiration.

Image courtesy SeventyFour