If you’re suddenly a little short on cash, you’re not alone. This whole inflation thing is no joke.
And while budgeting apps are all well and good, sometimes it’s nice to be able to save money instead of trying to constantly make it work harder for you.
In that vein, here are five very simple, very easy-to-use apps that can keep a little extra coin in your pocket.
Trim: Negotiate bills, cancel subscriptions
You have a sneaking suspicion that you’re paying too much for cable, but the thought of verbally arguing with a customer service representative after being on hold for 45 minutes sounds downright awful.
Leave trimming negotiate for you. This service negotiates on your behalf to lower several bills for a discount of 15% of what they can save you per year. If it can’t get you a deal, don’t pay.
The app can also negotiate to lower any medical bills, lower the APR on your credit card, or fight bank charges for you — these services are free.
And finally, Trim can analyze your spend to see how much you’re paying for subscription-based purchases and then cancel unwanted purchases for you.
Flipp: cut coupon without the scissors
I date myself here, but flippo is like a digital version of when you flipped through the Sunday circulars (get it?) looking for deals.
It’s much faster, though: just enter your zip code and all the weekly ads for stores near you will show up so you can see what’s on sale.
Even better, it is coupon section lets you send coupon codes directly to the loyalty cards you use or add items directly to a customizable shopping list.
CamelCamelCamel: See if those Amazon “deals” are actually deals
So that Amazon deal of the day saves you 40% off the list price. But is the item’s list price only 40% higher than it should be?
you can use CamelCamelCamel Find out. Copy and paste the URL of an Amazon item into the search box and CamelCamelCamel will show you historical pricing data for that item.
You get a good idea of how often things go on sale, how low the price has gone in the past, and, best of all, you can set a price threshold and get notified when an item you want drops below a certain amount. price.
Positive: get money back for food and gas
Boy, gas really got out of hand, huh? Every little bit helps so if I can use it upside down to get 10 cents a gallon back at the gas station near my house, great.
The app partners with about 50,000 gas stations and restaurants across the country, mostly chains, but there are several local centers in my area that participate. All you need to do is find a cashback deal in the app, claim it, and check in with the company once you arrive.
Once you’ve done that, pay as you normally would and earn cash back that can be transferred to your bank account, PayPal, or various gift cards.
Rakuten: get all other money back
If you shop online, Rakuten is about the easiest way to get money back from thousands of online stores.
You can buy participating stores on Rakuten’s site, but it’s easier to install the browser extension and just shop directly on your favorite sites. When the extension detects that you are on a participating site, it will pop up and allow you to request a refund.
