My Three Must Have Shopping Apps

Shopping online has helped ease the stress of holiday gift buying for me. It’s not only convenient, but it also helps me to find the best prices available and of course also saves me time. Time is something I’m short on this year as I will be celebrating Christmas in Chicago and need to get my gifts shipped on time.

I’m not sure whether this is good or not, but I’ve learned a lot about how to search for the best deals when online shopping. Of course, they say two heads are better than one, and together with my daughter Brittany, we are constantly looking to find the best prices for our blog.

This has become somewhat of a competitive game between the two of us, and the online retailers. I’ve written in another post about online shopping but this time I’m going to focus more on finding the deals.

Read >> Online Shopping- What you Need to Know

Retailers are all in competition to get your attention. There are some pretty great deals out there to make that happen. You just need to be a little strategic at finding them.

My Three Must Have Shopping Apps

#1-ShopStyle

Brittany is the expert here. She introduced me to this app and site. After you create an account (for free). You have the ability to search and shop exactly what you are looking for. Then, you have the ability to “like” different items. Have your eye on a pair of boots? Waiting for a pair of jeans to go on sale? Searching for a red blazer? You can create filters based on store, size, price point, brand, etc.

For example, my son Brad’s wedding is coming up in April. I have few dresses for the wedding that I have my eye on and am monitoring their price or availability. Because, if you like an item, they will e-mail you with a price change alert so that you are notified once it goes on sale. Plus, they are now connected to Rakuten. Which means you can earn cash back on your purchases. It’s so easy!

Sign up for ShopStyle

#2-Rakuten

(formally known as Ebates) is an app or website that offers cash back deals from a wide variety of stores. You just need to shop through their website or app when making a purchase. When you’re ready to shop, go to the Rakuten website (or app) and type in the product or brand that you are looking for. There, they will provide you with a list of cash-back offers. The percentage rate varies all the time. Today, you can earn 11% back at Saks, 10% at Neimans/Last Call, 6% at Macys. During certain promotional periods, the cash back amount can even increase up to 20%.

My son first told me about using Rakuten years ago. He has a successful blog that helps others to learn how to save money and offers a full step by step guide on using Rakuten here. Is it obvious that saving money while shopping is something that runs in the family.?

Here are some of the offers I see when I open the Rakuten app on my iPhone:

Make sure you keep an eye on the “Featured Daily Deals” section, which offers extra, limited-time bonuses for certain stores and products. Also, Rakuten offers “Travel Thursdays,” which gives you the chance to earn up to 10% cash back when booking a hotel.

You need to be watchful though as sometimes there are exclusions. For example, Amazon will show up offering 5% cash back, but when you to their website, it may only be in certain departments so you will need to need to check beforehand.

Payment: Rakuten pays quarterly if you have at least $5.00 in your account. You can opt for a physical check or a PayPal deposit. I have used Rakuten several times this year for various shopping and I have earned $145.00 in cash back on my online purchases for 2019. 

Sign-Up Bonus: $10 bonus for spending more than $25 within 90 days of becoming a member.

Sign Up for Rakuten

#3-Walmart & Target Grocery Apps

The grocery pick up at Walmart and drive up pick up at Target are wonderful timesavers throughout the holidays and beyond. Especially when it’s cold out and you don’t want to leave your car. Both Brittany and I have done this. You just make your list in the morning, it charges on your credit card. You select a time to pick it up and then they deliver it to your car. Walmart has more items available through their grocery app, while Target mostly offers dry goods and home products on their app. However, we both agree it’s easiest way to grocery shop and save time and money. How many times have you left Target with more than what you walked in there for?

Of course, Instacart is an option too, but there is an additional fee for at home delivery.

Last Few Quick Tips

Sign up for emails and they will no doubt send you a promo code for your first purchase. I have on email just for shopping sites so my personal email does not get overloaded.

Not shopping online? Many stores offer price matching. If you find something that you like in a department store such as Nordstrom, check on your smart phone to see if there are any better deals out there. If you find one, show that to your sales clerk and they may just give you that same price. I know Target and Sephora do this as well.

There are so many ways to shop and save. A few dollars here a few dollars there it all adds up. I hope that you found this helpful and I’ve enlightened you to find your thrifty side.