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Fun apps where you can make money for shopping

Posted on April 16, 2018 by shopkick

I like to use a spreadsheet on my computer to keep my budget. From talking with my family and friends, I know I’m not alone. In fact, I think most everyone I know is now tracking their finances this way, and why not? It’s super handy, easy to use, and you can access it via your mobile devices from pretty much anywhere!

I’ve also learned, though, that there are ways that my particular budgeting habits stand out. I seem to be the only one who has something on her books called “The Fun Budget.” Basically, The Fun Budget is exactly what it sounds like: the money I allocate each month to having fun. These days for me that tends to be brunches with my besties, happy hour with my crew, or weekend dinners at nice restaurants with—you guessed it—my friends. What can I say? I’m a social gal!

Today, I want to talk about how social butterflies like me who can’t ever seem to get enough time with their friends can make extra money just by using fun apps where you can make money for shopping! Of course, I do have a shopping budget, which is money I set aside for clothes, groceries, household products, and more. It’s money I absolutely have to account for and, to be quite honest, it isn’t always fun to spend. But, with the apps I’m going to talk about today, shopping actually becomes a treat, while also helping me save money—money I can funnel right back into my Fun Budget!

3 Fun Apps Where You Can Make Money For Shopping

There are actually many different kinds of apps where you can make money shopping, including gig apps, rewards apps, and coupon apps that help stretch your budget. They’re generally free—and if they aren’t, I say avoid them! They’re all pretty intuitive, too, and a whole lot of fun to use! Most importantly, these are apps you can use to get money back on your purchases or even to make extra money while you’re doing your weekly shopping!

Gigwalk

Gigwalk can be a blast if you walk a lot, especially around an urban or suburban area. It’s kind of like a scavenger hunt for odd jobs. The way Gigwalk works is that the app gives you a map based on your location filled with red pins. When you select these pins, odd jobs pop up. They could be things like verifying product prices at certain stores or taking pictures of retail product displays. All of the gigs can be done quickly while you’re out doing your shopping.

The fun part comes in trying to find the jobs that pay the most. The prices for jobs can range anywhere from $3 up to as much as $100 and the money you make goes directly into your PayPal account. I’ve personally only seen a $100 job on my app once or twice, and, to be totally honest, I didn’t make it in time! But that’s all part of a scavenger hunt, I suppose. Anyway, I’ve had a blast using Gigwalk while I’m out shopping. It’s even given me a chance to practice my amateur photography because most of the tasks that Gigwalk asks you to do have to be verified through photos. So, that’s fun too!

SnipSnap

SnipSnap is one of the apps that falls under the designation of coupon app. This one works a lot like paper coupons worked back in the day: you use SnipSnap to take photos of coupons that come in the newspaper or your junk mail and then the app transforms the coupons into digital, mobile-ready versions. The payment here comes in the form of the discounts you get on items you buy, letting you transfer saved money from your Shopping Budget to your Fun Budget!

I have a lot of fun using this app because it reminds me of when I was a little kid and my mom and I used to scour the paper and the mail for coupons together. (Usually while having cookies and tea!) Truth be told, most of the time when I’m using SnipSnap now, I still treat myself to cookies and tea. Anyway, you can also use SnipSnap to browse online directories of coupons your friends have snipped and, you know me, I love that kind of social element!

Shopkick

Last, but by no means least, we have my favorite of the apps where you can make money for shopping—Shopkick! The beauty and fun of Shopkick is that it basically turns the routine shopping you have to do anyway into a game. How it works is that it gives you points—called kicks—for everyday shopping routines, which you can later redeem for gift cards to your favorite stores.

For example, if you walk into featured stores, you get points; if you scan the barcodes of certain items in those stores, you get points; and when you scan your receipts after making purchases of certain items, you get even more points! It turns shopping into a fun quest for points, which add up to more savings.

You really can’t go wrong with any of the fun apps where you can make money for shopping, but, if I had to choose a favorite it would definitely be Shopkick. There are just so many different ways to earn points! And, quite honestly, the scavenger hunt setup is the most fun for me.

You really can’t go wrong with any of the fun apps where you can make money for shopping, but, if I had to choose a favorite it would definitely be Shopkick.

I’ve also had a blast engaging with other users on Shopkick’s Facebook page. There’s a really cool community of like-minded folks on there who love to share things like Shopkick tips and the latest cool meme their friends have sent. Hopefully, you’ll get hooked like I have and soon we’ll be there together, hunting for new deals and sharing ideas on how to earn even more kicks!

Looking for a fun app that lets you make money for 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 Jirapong Manustrong

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

8 crazy apps that you won’t believe exist

Posted on February 26, 2018 by shopkick

I love apps. I love them when they are silly and playful, and I love them when they actually help me get through my day, like when I have to navigate traffic or take notes during a meeting. I mean, to be honest, I love apps so much that sometimes they take up so much space on my phone that I have to sit down (with a glass of wine of course) and force myself to delete some.

There are a handful of apps, however, that I just can’t bear to get rid of. Some are just wacky ways to entertain myself, but others I just have to keep because they save me money—like those crazy retail coupon apps I use. There are so many apps that you won’t believe exist that I decided to put together a list of some of my all-time faves.

Purely Entertaining Apps That You Won’t Believe Exist

Sharknado: The Video Game

If you can’t believe they made a movie about a tornado full of sharks, then you probably really won’t believe they made a mobile game about it, too. The strangely popular franchise now lets you, from your smartphone, battle sharks, while riding a shark. With a chainsaw. Or beat them with bats, golf clubs, anything you grab as you surf through the flooded, besieged city.

The Brostache

No matter whether you’ve gone crazy with the trimmers, haven’t reached puberty yet, or just lack the chromosomes required to grow a good flavor saver, “The Brostache” offers hope. Hold your phone over your mouth and talk and the Brostache mimics your words, showing you how your mouth would look if it was sporting a glorious ’stache.

iSteam

You can’t take your phone in the shower, but this app is like having foggy shower glass on the inside of your phone that you can write on. Take any photo, steam up the screen, and write your message on it. Or, write an invisible message for someone on a steam-less screen, then ask someone to breathe on the phone. The message will magically appear.

Is It Dark Outside?

If you’re a gamer, or just a vampire, looking out the window can be hard, risky work. Now you can better avoid sunlight and the possibility of making eye-contact with other human beings using the “Is it dark outside?” app. Like a Siri for the living dead, all you have to do is ask the app if it’s dark outside and, using sunrise and sunset data from your area, the app will let you know if it’s safe to venture into the gloam.

Game for Cats

Is your favorite feline resentful about her lack of screentime? Of course. This game solves that, allowing your cat to chase a butterfly, laser, or mouse across the touch screen with its paw. It’s a great app for people who are too lazy to actually play with their cat, or for someone who doesn’t have a cat but loves chasing lasers.

Entertaining, Money Making Apps That You Won’t Believe Exist

Mobee

Ever wanted to be a mystery shopper? Who hasn’t? Well, Mobee makes that dream a reality! Sign into the app and it gives you secret missions at stores and restaurants in your area. Each mission usually last between 10 and 15 minutes, and they almost all require you to do something like take a picture of a display in a store or rate your shopping experience. Then, you get points for the missions you complete, which you can swap for Amazon cards.

Shopkick

This is one those apps that you won’t believe exist because, amazingly, it turns the drudgery of shopping into a game, like a scavenger hunt. And, it saves you money at the same time! The way that Shopkick works is that it gives you points—which you later redeem for gift cards to your favorite stores—just for the things you do during a normal shopping trip. Walk into certain store, and you get points. Scan barcodes of certain items, get more points. Take pictures of your receipt after you buy the week’s groceries (or toiletries, or even those super cute boots you’ve been longing for) and get even more points!

Viggle

What’s so crazy about this app is that it pays you to watch TV! Basically, you download the app and then turn it on, or check-in, while you’re watching TV or streaming your favorite shows. The longer you watch, the more points you rack up, which (like my favorite shopping app, Shopkick) you can then trade in for gift cards, meaning you can now get paid for binge watching The Bachelor.

So, whether you’re looking for pure entertainment or a way to boost your budget, those are a few of my favorite unbelievable apps. Now it’s time to pull up my brostache and go out secret shopping . . . I’m sure no one will recognize me.

Looking for the coolest shopping apps for iPhone and Android? Download Shopkick for free and join a community of Shopkickers who’ve 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 scharfsinn86

Game-like shopping apps for Android you can share with friends

Posted on February 7, 2018 by shopkick

I was at the grocery store recently and happened to run into an old girlfriend I hadn’t seen since, gosh, it must have been high school! We got to talking about what’s going on with us, and pretty soon that turned into talking about old times. It was kind of late at night, and both of us were just barely getting some shopping in, which reminded us of how we used to stay up late cramming for finals. In fact, the only way we got through some of our tougher exams was by studying together, making flash cards, and turning our sessions into a little game.

“Wouldn’t it be fun,” my friend said, “if we could do our shopping that way, too? If we could just turn it into a little game?” I told her that yes it would and that in fact, with some of the new game-like shopping apps for Android, we could make our trips to the store into games!

My friend hadn’t heard of shopping apps for Android which, to be totally honest, took me a bit by surprise. She asked me to explain, which was easy because these apps are just so much more fun with friends. That’s why today I’d like to share the concept with all of you! Before we know it, we can all be out there having fun and saving money together.

How Game-Like Shopping Apps for Android Work

The first thing you need to know about shopping apps for Android is how they work. All my favorites have a pretty simple step-by-step process:

Walk into certain stores, and get points.
Scan the barcodes of select products to get information, and get more points.
Purchase certain items with a linked card, or purchase certain items and use the app to take a picture of your receipt, and get even more points!
Trade those points in for gift cards to your favorite stores.
Savor the savings!

Also—and this is crucial nowadays—many of these shopping apps for Android also let you earn rewards while shopping online. The differences between how these apps work for online shopping versus in-person shopping is minute. Here’s how using a shopping app online works:

Visit certain online stores, and get points.
View select products, and get more points.
Make mobile purchases, and get even more points!
Watch certain videos and score points yet again.
Trade those points in for gift cards to all your favorite stores.
Really savor the savings!

See? Super easy! And, because you can use shopping apps for Android online as well as in-person, it’s easier than ever to get paid to shop.

Having Fun with Shopping Apps for Android

One of the things I stressed to my friend is that in order to get the most money back with these apps, you have to make sure you use them regularly. In my humble opinion, the best way to do this is to make sure you pick a shopping app for Android that is genuinely fun. That way you won’t have to make yourself to use it because you’ll be excited to bust it out each and every time you hit the store.

The ideal app should be one that turns shopping into a scavenger hunt for points by giving you a ton of different ways to score points. Another thing that’s really important is that the app has a vibrant and fun social media community, like a Facebook feed where you can also have a good time chatting with other folks who enjoy using the app too, swapping tips on how to get more points, or even just trading funny memes and jokes about life.

Here’s a list of game-like shopping apps you can share with friends, including ones that work like the savings apps I described above, plus some ideas to broaden your selection:

Shopkick: This one is great because it turns every trip to the store into a scavenger hunt for points that you can then trade in for gift cards. Share it with your friends so you can get together later to swap tips and advice! This app really is a blast to use as it provides so many cool opportunities to score points.

eBay: As far as I’m concerned, eBay is the original game-like shopping app. With its simple bid system, every purchase can be like a competition! And yeah, it’s no fun to miss out on something you really want, but it’s a ton of fun to win an auction.

The RealReal: This one is sort of like a game because it’s an aggregate site for pre-owned luxury items, meaning you can get really fancy stuff at a discount. But if you’re too slow, you’ll miss out! My friends and I sometimes like to just browse through The RealReal together and check out all the pre-owned luxury items people are looking to sell.
Giftagram: This app is perfect for holiday gift giving games like White Elephant or Secret Santa, especially if you want to play long distance! You can use Giftagram to pick out a present, then you simply enter the recipient’s email and phone number, and the service sends it to them! Plus, you can use it to send gifts from the U.S. to Canada and vice versa, which is very cool.

Of all of these, my personal favorite is Shopkick. That’s because it has more ways to score points than most of the other apps I’ve tried, and it has the most fun social media channels. In fact, I have so much fun looking at Shopkick’s goofy Facebook posts. Oh, and I should note that Shopkick is available for iPhone too, so you can get even more friends in on the fun.

Really though, the main point is that Shopkick is one of the best shopping apps for Android because it turns so much of your shopping time—both online and in person—into a fun game you can share with your friends. As I said above, with an app like Shopkick, you don’t have to remember to use it because you’ll find yourself actually looking forward to breaking it out at the store.

My friend and I actually made tentative plans to get together and do some shopping next week, or at least to get together for a coffee and talk about the deals we’ve been finding with our apps. What a great way to also stay in touch!

Start having more fun with shopping apps for your Android or iPhone by using Shopkick. Download the free shopping rewards app and join a community of loyal Shopkickers who’ve already discovered the fun of shopping with us!

And, if you love social media as much as you love your smartphone, join us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Image courtesy Daniel Ernst.

The coolest money making apps for iPhones

Posted on February 2, 2018 by shopkick

I’ve loved apps since I got my first iPhone in 2007. Back then, there was that slogan I’m sure you remember—there’s an app for that—and there really was. There were apps that could do everything from working like a flashlight to letting you check your bank account no matter where are you are. There was even one I used at parties that made my phone look like a beer I was drinking.

Lately, apps have evolved beyond the fun and cool factor to necessity and now there’s a whole group of money making apps for iPhone. You don’t have to write code or design your own apps, you just make money using your phone to do simple things, like watch ads, take surveys—or shop. Seriously, you just going shopping like you normally would, and these apps actually pay you cash money!

Of course, to make as much money as possible with these apps, you have to get into a pattern of using them regularly. Luckily, this is way, way easy with the coolest apps. That’s why today I want to help you pick some of the coolest money making apps for iPhones!

Money Making Apps for iPhone: Get Paid to Take Surveys

Just as I still remember how much I loved apps when I got my first iPhone, I also remember the first money making apps for iPhone I ever downloaded. All of them were survey apps.

There are a lot of these to choose among, but they all generally work the same way. Basically, you download the app, enter some information about yourself, and the app begins sending you surveys to take, which you get paid for! In my experience, the very longest surveys take just 15 to 20 minutes, but those pay the most. In general, you can also expect most survey apps for iPhone to pay roughly $1 each, with the longer ones paying more.

Money Making Apps for iPhone: Get Paid to Watch Ads

One of my all-time favorite apps is Fandango. I’ve always been a big movie guy, and it’s amazing to me that we can now instantly buy movie tickets with our phones. Oh, and we can also use it to watch the latest trailers. Very cool.

What’s even cooler is that there are some apps that pay you to watch trailers and short ads. Basically, with these, you watch a quick 30-second clip and generally earn about $.50. In my experience this adds up quickly—and sometimes the trailers and ads are pretty interesting. It’s always a little bonus when you get paid to watch one that you wouldn’t have minded watching anyway!

Money Making Apps for iPhone: Get Paid to Shop

I’ve talked about this before, but I’m the type of shopper who gets in and out of a store as fast as possible. It’s not that I hate shopping, it’s just that I have about a million other things on my mind, like work and stuff that needs to get done around the house—and fantasy football, of course. Shopping feels like an obstacle between me my priorities (ahem, fantasy football). I can tell you, though, I like shopping a whole lot more now that I’ve discovered I can make money shopping using free iPhone apps.

There are a lot of these to pick from, but I have one I think is the coolest: My favorite is called Shopkick, and it’s great, in my opinion, because of how it works. Basically, you get paid for just walking into a store and buying things.

Not only is Shopkick super easy to use, it also gives you way more points than most of the other money making apps for iPhone that I’ve tried.

Not only is Shopkick super easy to use, it also gives you way more points than most of the other money making apps for iPhone that I’ve tried. With Shopkick, the points you get can easily and quickly pay out in gift cards to your favorite stores, so you can get new electronics at Best Buy, for example, or that coffee fix from Starbucks on the way to work. Plus, Shopkick gives you points for stuff like scanning barcodes on certain items, watching product videos, and even shopping online. It has everything I’m looking for in a money making app: It’s easy to use, generous with points, and actually fun because it turns trips to the store into scavenger hunts!

Another thing that makes a lot of these apps so cool is that they can also be used for Android, too. I’ve always been an iPhone guy myself, but it’s nice that my Android friends can also get in on some of this action.

So those are all my favorite money making apps for iPhones. My last piece of advice is to get out there and start using these right away. And, if you have any cool money making apps of your own, be sure to let me know about them! I think that’s one of the things that made apps so popular in the early days: savvy users like us sharing and comparing notes. So, let’s do it!

Ready to get in on some of the coolest shopping apps for iPhone and Android? Download Shopkick for free 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 Rawf8

Enjoy life to the fullest and earn kicks

Posted on January 23, 2018 by shopkick

The New Year is here, and so is the new you. You’ve committed to get fit, save more money, and clear out the clutter. With all that hard work, it’s time for a thoroughly enjoyable resolution: enjoy life to the fullest!

Shopkicker Katie F. from Ogden, Utah uses Shopkick to help her spend more time with family and friends. Shopkicking friends, family members, and even couples plan Shopkicking dates to get kicks together.

Whether you want to see the world, spend more time with family and friends, or try your hand at a new hobby, we’ve got you covered.

Get off the beaten path

Check out our tips and top finds to help you achieve your travel, quality time, and hobby goals. Plus, get kicks while you’re at it!

1. Work on your travel bucket list

Traveling to new places isn’t just exciting (or relaxing, depending on your destination). Studies show that visiting a new locale not only gives you wonderful memories to last a lifetime, but can lengthen your perception of time, making your trip feel even longer. That same trip can help you think more creatively once you return home.

Make 2018 unforgettable and earn kicks when you cross each destination off your bucket list. Check out our guide to the top 10 travel destinations this year.

2. Find quality time on a dime

Set aside time to have fun this year with the people who matter the most. Get tickets to your favorite band, see a show, or go to the game together to maximize quality time with loved ones.

Need some inspiration? Take a look at these suggestions from Seatgeek. As a bonus, you’ll earn kicks for every dollar you spend.

3. Train your brain

Have you always wanted to improve your culinary skills, hone your creativity, or pick up an instrument? Dive into new experiences by trying a new hobby or activity. Staying sharp in the New Year is even more rewarding with these 10 finds from Walmart.com that will earn you major kicks.

Stay the course

According to a Shopkick poll, 64% of respondents abandon their goals by spring. But never fear! You’re more likely to keep your resolutions if you have accountability partners. Share your resolutions with friends and fellow Shopkickers for additional encouragement. We’re all in this together!

Get started

Open the app to start earning gift cards and see how Shopkick can help you achieve your New Year’s resolutions to enjoy life to the fullest. Don’t have the app? Download it here to join the fun!

Retail shopping apps for iPhone and Android to kick off your savings

Posted on January 3, 2018 by shopkick

I’m a huge fan of playing fantasy football on my iPhone. I’m in a league with my old college buddies and we offer our yearly champion a little reward: we all pitch in to buy the winner a gift card to his or her favorite store. It’s a nice little incentive, but let me tell you, if you break it down by the many, many, many hours you have to spend making roster moves and setting your lineup, the reward is relatively small compared to the time investment.

Hey, that’s okay! Win or lose, fantasy football is just plain fun. Plus, these days I’ve discovered other apps for my phone that can help me earn bigger and better rewards with much less time and energy (not to mention nail-biting anxiety) than it takes to capture first place in my super competitive fantasy football league. I’m talking about an awesome concept we can all root for: retail shopping apps for iPhone and Android that help you get paid to shop.

Now I’m hauling in rewards for all kinds of stuff I’ve been doing forever, like buying all the latest electronics, getting new clothes, and even shopping for paper towels. These retail shopping apps for my iPhone even pay me for buying groceries. Crazy. Crazy but true. And now I want to share my favorite shopping rewards apps with you, because, unlike a super competitive fantasy football league, we’re all on the same team here!

How Retail Shopping Apps for iPhone and Android Work

I think the biggest learning curve when it comes to fantasy football is how the apps work. I mean, I already knew a ton about football and which players are the best, but learning the ins and outs of how the fantasy football app itself worked took some time. The first season I played, I was shocked when my lineup locked at game time and I couldn’t acquire any new players until the following Wednesday.

So, let’s start by going over how retail shopping apps work. A lot of stores have branded apps as well, but we’re going to focus today on shopping rewards apps you can use at lots of different stores because those are the ones I use the most—and the good news is that they’re all incredibly easy to use!

The exact mechanics of how they work can sometimes vary depending on which one you decide to use, but all my favorites basically function like this: you get points for the shopping that you already do and then you trade those points in for rewards, usually in the form of gift cards. The app I use gives me points for buying featured products and taking a picture of my receipt, for scanning barcodes, and even for just walking into some of my favorite stores. It’s even more awesome than my Seahawks winning the Superbowl a few years ago (maybe).

The Top Benefits of Retail Shopping Apps for iPhones and Androids

I still remember the day when my buddy in college recruited me into his fantasy football league. I was skeptical—super skeptical. It just seemed like it would be a lot of hassle and take up way too much of my time. I was there to meet people and study, after all (mostly study, I swear!). My buddy laid it on pretty thick, though, by emphasizing how much fun it would make watching football every week, something I knew I was going to do either way. That was a really convincing argument. I mean, how can you say no to something that improves and enhances something you’re already doing?

Well, that all pretty much sums up my case for why you should embrace using retail shopping apps for your iPhone or Android: it enhances something you know you’re going to be doing already. I’m talking about shopping. You can’t avoid it, so you might as well get rewarded for doing it.

I touched on some of my favorite benefits of using a shopping rewards app above, but like the details of any epic fantasy football win, I don’t mind talking about them again:

#1: You’ll get paid to shop. Using a shopping rewards app scores me points for my budget while I’m at Target, Best Buy, or the grocery store—even online. It’s as simple as this: I have to shop for essentials (and tech accessories, of course) anyway, so why not haul in some big rewards for doing it?
#2: You’ll earn gift cards to your favorite stores: I love having gift cards to my favorite stores because, believe it or not, I actually keep a pretty careful budget. Having a gift card feels like I’m getting things for free. That’s why my second favorite benefit for retail shopping apps is that all the best ones let you trade your points in for free gift cards to stores like Amazon, Starbucks, and Walmart.
#3: You’ll feel like shopping is a game: I don’t mind shopping, but I also don’t love it—not until recently, at least. Now that I use retail shopping apps, there’s a challenge involved, though: how many points can I accumulate in one trip? It turns everyday shopping trips into a scavenger hunt. I’m a fan.

The Best Retail Shopping Apps for iPhone and Android

I think my long-time fantasy football league has now used three different platforms over the years to keep track of our rosters: Yahoo, ESPN, and CBS Sports. They all have different features, so it was kind of confusing each time we switched; in retrospect, I kind of wish we’d just picked one and stuck with it. That’s actually what my advice is to you with retail shopping apps: find one you love and stick with it (although you can also use multiple rewards apps to maximize your rewards, but that’s a different ballgame).

My personal favorite is an app called Shopkick. I’ve tried a few others, but I love this one because it’s super simple, it pays out in gift cards to all my favorite stores, and it gives me chances to score points, called kicks, at almost every turn, starting when I walk into the store. Shopkick has really maximized my shopping game with a single mobile app, kind of like how the Patriots would be nothing without a certain QB. One major difference between Shopkick and fantasy football, though, is that there are rarely heartbreaking defeats or subsequent trash talk.

Shopkick is super simple, pays out in gift cards to all my favorite stores, and gives me chances to score points

So yeah, I highly recommend taking out your iPhone or Android and downloading Shopkick. And fantasy football season is the perfect time to do it. There have been a ton of weekends when I’ve scored serious shopping points by stocking up on snacks before having my old buddies over to watch a game. Shopkick will definitely help you kick off your next shopping trip—and that’s no fantasy.

Ready to put down the fantasy football and pickup retail shopping apps for iPhone and Android? Download Shopkick for free 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

How to take pictures of your receipts and get money using a smartphone app

Posted on December 22, 2017 by shopkick

Of all the hobbies I have, I think photography is my favorite. I’m not an expert with a camera—not by any means—but as more features and higher resolutions have been added to smartphone cameras, I’ve dabbled more and more. Image stabilizers and filters have really made it easy for even novices like me to take high-quality photos. I recently discovered portrait mode on my iPhone, and I’ve never taken such elegant and beautiful photos of my kids. Now, if I could only get them to sit still…kidding!

I think one of the reasons I’ve gotten so good with my iPhone camera is that it goes with me everywhere. My phone is always in my hand or in my purse, and my purse is always at my side. I whip my phone out at a moment’s notice to take pictures of all kinds of things, from fireworks shows to amazing scenic vistas during our last vacation in Italy—even the absolutely nuts way that the baristas sometimes jot my name on my cup at Starbucks.

I really think I could have been a photographer in another life, but, alas, I don’t get paid for my pictures…at least not in the traditional sense. But, I recently found a way to use my phone’s camera to earn rewards that translate into real money. It’s not about taking high-quality photos or participating in a 7-day black-and-white challenge, but instead, I use my phone to take a picture of my receipt and then get money back for certain purchases.

Since I have my camera with me always, this has been a very cool discovery, one that I’d like to share with you today! Not to sound like one of those lame infomercials, but just follow these two easy steps for how to take pictures of your receipts and get money…

How to Take a Picture of Receipts and Get Money Step 1: Know Your Apps

One thing that kicked my photo habit into overdrive was my life-changing discovery of Instagram. Instagram was seriously a revelation because it combines so many of the things I love: taking photos, editing photos to make them look even better, sharing photos with friends, and getting to see the very cool photos all my friends are taking! It’s so many of my favorite smartphone features rolled up into one stylish app.

Sometimes I imagine what life would be like if I’d never discovered it, which brings me to first piece of advice: know your apps. When it comes to getting money by taking a picture of a receipt, first and foremost you need to know your shopping rewards apps.

Shopping rewards apps help you make money for things you buy anyway, and I use them so much now that they have become just another part of my shopping routine. How it works is super simple:

I go shopping for groceries, electronics, clothes…you name it.
I make my purchases.
I go out to my SUV and snap a quick photo of my receipt with the shopping rewards app.
I get points for certain purchases.
When I save up enough of those points, I get money in the form of gift cards to my favorite stores.

See? Super simple!

How to Get Money by Taking Pictures of Receipts Step 2: Know the BEST Apps

Just like there are many different models of camera phones, which all have varying levels of quality, there are also different shopping rewards apps that let you take a picture of a receipt and get money for it. The one thing they all have in common is that they are capable of working the way I described above. Some, however, have other fantastic features, too.

My favorite is actually one called Shopkick, mostly because it’s far and away the most fun, but it also gives you multiple ways to earn points—points you can cash in later for gift cards to Best Buy, Target, Starbucks, Walmart, or plenty of your other favorite stores. With Shopkick, you get points, called kicks, for taking photos of your receipt, sure. But, you also get points for other things you do every time you go shopping, like simply walking into the store or finding certain products and then scanning the barcodes. You can also use it at A TON of different stores, including most of my favorites. And, if photos aren’t your thing, you can also use Shopkick to get paid for shopping online.

With Shopkick, you get points, called kicks, for taking photos of your receipt, sure. But, you also get points for other things you do every time you go shopping, like simply walking into the store or finding certain products and then scanning the barcodes.

Plus, Shopkick is fun! All my ladies are on it and we’re always trading tips about how to score the most points. When they’re not around, I like to head to Shopkick’s social media pages where I can share tips and jokes and even my favorite photos with the other Shopkickers. It helps me earn money and has introduced me to a fun community. You can’t beat that combo, amiright fellow moms?

So yes, taking artsy photos with your smartphone is great, but taking pictures of receipts and getting money is great, too—maybe even better. And shopping rewards apps make it all so easy. All you have to do is download them to your phone which, if you’re anything like me, means they’re with you everywhere—including whenever you’re out shopping. Think of it like Instagram, except that after you take a picture, you get money instead of likes!

Ready to use your smartphone to take pictures of your receipts and get money? Download Shopkick for free 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

Addictive beauty product rewards programs on mobile apps

Posted on December 6, 2017 by shopkick

The foundation for any successful shopping trip is planning. Whenever I need to run out, whether it’s for groceries, toiletries, clothes, or school supplies, I make a list. I know exactly what I need and how many. I also try to plan out if I need to make any stops along the way and combine as many errands as I can into one trip.

There is, however, one exception to the rule where I throw my structured schedule and planning out the window and just savor it. I’m talking about my trips to the store for beauty products and supplies.

I am absolutely addicted to browsing through beauty product aisles. It really doesn’t matter how much time I have, how big the store is, or whether or not I have some place to be because once I’m surrounded by lotions and lipsticks, there’s no telling how long I’ll be there, reading labels, trying samples, and sniffing bottles.

Taking the time to choose the right beauty product fit for your skin and hair has its own rewards—namely, great looking skin and hair! But what most of my friends don’t seem to know is that there are beauty rewards programs out there that can make it even more fun to shop for all the best skincare, haircare, makeup, and more.

Just in case this is also news to you, I’ve put together my list of the best beauty product rewards programs—most of which you can join for free and conveniently use on a mobile app. You’re definitely going to need to leave your schedule open next time you head out to browse the beauty aisles once you realize how much you can earn on your next shopping trip!

The Best Store Specific Beauty Rewards Programs

Maybelline has what may be the perfect slogan: Maybe she’s born with it. Maybe it’s Maybelline. It perfectly speaks to what I love about beauty products. There’s glamor, there’s the idea that she has a secret, and, of course, there’s a mention of one of the many beauty products I love, Maybelline. What shouldn’t be a secret, though, is how great it is to join a beauty rewards program.

If you love makeup as much as I do, you must make sure you’re shopping at a store that has a great beauty rewards program. Luckily, it’s not hard to do. You know how stores like Target have programs to earn gift cards? Well, so do most of your favorite beauty supply shops!

Here are some of the store specific beauty rewards programs that I love more than my nail polish collection:

Sally Beauty Supply: Sally Beauty Supply was my gateway, so to speak, into the world of beautification back when I was a teenager. I used to beg, beg, beg my mom to take me there every Saturday. I still stop in every so often to take advantage of the Sally Beauty Club, which thankfully links up with the old Sally Beauty Card I’ve had for years, letting me ditch the days when I needed multiple rewards programs cards. This one is simple to use. You pay an annual fee of $5, but you save 15% on every item you buy in-store or online so most shoppers can very quickly make that money back—and more!
The Body Shop: The Body Shop holds a special place in my heart because of its dedication to cruelty-free products that are also eco-conscious. That stuff is important to me, but what’s equally important is that the products are high quality. The Body Shop checks off both of those boxes. Oh, and they also have a great beauty rewards program. It’s kind of like the Sally Beauty Club in that you pay $10 to join and then you get 10% off on all qualifying purchases. You also get advanced notice of sales and events. You definitely don’t have to worry about getting your money’s worth here, though, because another club perk is that you get a $10 voucher every year on your birthday!
MAC Cosmetics: What keeps me coming back to MAC Cosmetics is one word: lipstick. I just love MAC’s lipstick, which is why its beauty rewards program is made for me. Basically, you get a free MAC lipstick every time you bring back six empty packages of any combination of MAC products. Finally, a company paying lip service to its loyal customers—in a good way!

Beauty Rewards Programs That Work at Retailers

Who loves shopping beauty products all day at specialty stores? This girl! Who has kids and sometimes can only dream about an afternoon at MAC? Also this girl. Enter beauty rewards programs on mobile apps that work at the same stores where I grab all my household must-haves for my family, like Target and Walmart.

Ebates: Ebates is a great place to start if you’re looking for a beauty rewards program that actually works at multiple stores because with it you can save as much as 25% cash back (though, fair warning, it’s usually less) at more than 1,200 online retailers. As soon as you earn $5 in beauty rewards, you simply cash it in.
Checkout 51: To be honest, Checkout 51 is actually a lot like Ebates, but it does have one cool feature I love that Ebates doesn’t: all of its eligible cash back offers go live every week on Thursday at midnight, giving you a special date and time to focus on what you’re going to be saving in the week ahead.
Shopkick: My favorite mobile shopping rewards app, though, is by far Shopkick. It’s so much fun to use, making beauty shopping even better, which is something I would have thought was impossible. How Shopkick works is that it gives you points (which it calls kicks) for so many different parts of the shopping process, from walking into many popular stores to scanning the barcodes on featured products to snapping a quick pic of your receipt when you’re finished. Oh, and here’s some great news: Ulta is now on Shopkick! And I don’t have to tell you beauty aficionados out there that there is no better name in beauty!

Take it from me, who’s loved shopping for beauty products for most of my life, that using these savings programs together takes the rewards experience to a whole new level. The savings are great (obviously), but the beauty of these rewards programs (get it?) comes when you combine as many as you can together!

Shopping for lipstick, hair products, or anything else for that matter, becomes a game where everyone’s a winner. Oh, and with all the savings you’ll start to find on beauty products, it’s also a game that you’ll look good playing!

Ready to combine beauty rewards programs into an addictive savings system? Download Shopkick for free and join a community of loyal Shopkickers who’ve already discovered the rewards of shopping with us.

And, if you love social media as much as you love your local Target, join us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for daily shopping inspiration.

Image courtesy Ariwasabi

Join the #HolidayShopkicking Twitter Party for a chance to win major prizes

Posted on November 9, 2017 by shopkick

We’re counting down to Black Friday and Cyber Monday with an epic #HolidayShopkicking Twitter Party! Join us on Monday, November 20 at 10am PST (1pm EST) for the chance to win gift cards and major prizes to start your holiday shopping off with a bang.

What’s a Twitter Party?

A Twitter Party is a chat on Twitter where people come together to share stories and advice, and can win prizes all hour long!

STEP 1:

Follow @Shopkick and the conversation through the party hashtag #HolidayShopkicking.

STEP 2:

Look out for numbered questions from @Shopkick to answer. Questions will come in the form of Q1: [Question].

Ex: Q1: Are you joining the party?

STEP 3:

Reply to each question with the hashtags #HolidayShopkicking and #Sweepstakes in the format A1: [Your answer].

Ex: A1: Of course I’m joining the party! #HolidayShopkicking #Sweepstakes

Our favorite answers will win prizes throughout the hour

We have some great prizes lined up for Twitter party winners! The grand prize is a 4K TV which will be perfect for watching the game or binge-watching your favorite show in super high definition. Other prizes include a Hallmark keepsake ornament gift set, Watch Station gift box set, a $100 gift card to Boxed, and four $50 gift cards to Carter’s and Oshkosh. We’ll also be giving away gift cards to Walmart, Amazon, Starbucks, and Best Buy, plus thousands of kicks!

You can read the official rules here.

Can’t see the form properly?
Open it in a new tab.

Don’t forget: you need Shopkick to get kicks! Don’t have the app? Download it today!

Pack your bags! Booking.com comes to Shopkick

Posted on October 30, 2017 by shopkick

Some very informative articles popping up in my Facebook feed say that the anticipation of a vacation sometimes brings even more happiness than the vacation itself. Well, now that Booking.com has come to Shopkick, we can not only enjoy the anticipation of a great trip, but also have a nice, big, free gift card waiting for us on the other side of it!

Shopkick is combining two of my favorite things: shopping and traveling. When I book my next flight, hotel, or excursion on Booking.com, I will also get to look forward to the kicks I’ll receive when the trip is over. No more post-holiday blues for me as I’ll have a bunch of new kicks to look forward to – and have fun thinking about how I’ll use them!

How Booking.com Works

I love the researching and planning stage of a trip. Booking.com makes it both easy and fun to explore different hotels and provides handy tools for figuring out where to stay. I’ll admit I like a good deal on a hotel – I want it to be central, safe, quiet, and clean while not breaking the bank. Booking.com will give me even deeper discounts on great, highly rated hotels.

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With lots of people using Booking.com and leaving in-depth reviews, I’m never surprised by what I’m gonna get. If I choose to ignore some warnings in a few of the reviews….well, I only really have myself to blame when I get that noisy room!

How to Get the Best Deal with Booking.com and Shopkick

Now I can open the Shopkick app, check out what’s new, grab a few kicks right then and there by watching a video or searching for an instant surprise. Then I can click on Booking.com from Online Stores to plan my next adventure and score additional kicks. I can’t wait to use a Target gift card from the kicks I earned from my last vacation (and my many grocery store runs!) to buy something cute for my next trip booked on Booking.com… and then enjoy even more kicks afterward! The travel options on Shopkick are like gifts that keep on giving — all my shopping and travel planning are fun and help fund each other. Why would I ever shop or travel without Shopkick by my side?

Booking.com is easy to use with Shopkick! From the Shopkick app, look under “online stores” and click on Booking.com to book your trip and get your kicks from your Booking.com reservations.

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[/left][right][/right] I’m loving earning kicks with online shopping on Shopkick. Have you tried it yet? Watch this video to see how it’s done. Don’t have the Shopkick app yet? Download it today and get started earning reward points toward free gift cards!