Personal Finance Apps And Tools

I like saving money, so not only do I search for great deals on the things I buy, I also look for ways to earn cash back or earn rewards on my purchases. Because of that, I've been able to find several great websites and apps that have helped me to save some decent money over the years.

a relaxed gal's recos for money saving apps and finance tools.

And now I want to share those sites with you. Below is a list of sites that I've either used or currently used and found helpful to me. Many of the links to these sites are affiliate links. What that means is if you click an affiliate link and then sign up or make a purchase I may make a small commission at no extra charge to you.

Let's get to saving!

If you'd like to see more money-saving tips and articles, check out my new blog From Leah's View.

Money-saving apps

Rakuten

When I discovered Rakuten (formally Ebates) I was like where have you been all my life. When you sign up for Rakuten you can earn free, yes free, cashback when you do your normal shopping.

Once you've signed up all you have to do is go to the site and click on the store you're going to be shopping at like Kohls, Sephora, or Ulta, and do your normal shopping. Once you make a purchase they give you some of the commission they earned on referring you to the store. If you sign up using my affiliate link you can get some immediate cashback!

Honey

The mission of Honey is to provide the tools it takes to find the best savings, perks, and all-around value when shopping online. When you sign up for Honey and make your purchase you earn what's called gold. When you've accumulated enough gold you can cash that in for gift cards to some of your favorite stores like Amazon and Walmart.

Additionally, Honey will look for coupon codes during the checkout process and add to your store cart any they find that apply to your purchase. So not only are you getting rewarded for shopping you don't have to spend a lot of time and effort finding coupon codes to save even more.

Ibotta

There are a lot of cash back apps out there and Ibotta is another one. I first started to use Ibotta to get cash back on my grocery purchases.

While that still seems to be what Ibotta is mainly known for they've evolved over the years to not only provide cashback on groceries but other products such as clothing and beauty products. Plus, you can earn cash back for online and in-store purchases.

Dosh

With this app, you get automatic cash back by linking your card. when you shop for groceries or beauty products, eat out or order in, book hotels, or fill up your gas tank you can get cash back by using any coupons or scanning receipts.

Upside

With this app, you can earn cash back on gas, grocery stores, and restaurants near you. This app emphasizes that you earn "real" cash back vs points or rewards that you have to cash in like other apps. You get your cash back automatically by linking your card to the app.

Rewards apps

Drop

With this app, you can earn rewards for your regular shopping by linking your credit card or debit card. The app tracks your purchases that way and gives you reward points that you can redeem for gift cards. You can also earn rewards by doing surveys and playing games.

Shopkick

This is an app that allows you to get free gift cards at home, in-store, and on the go. To get the gift cards you need to earn kicks (points). You can earn kicks by interacting with the app in different ways. The most common way is to walk into a partner store, scan the barcode on select products, or make purchases.

Fetch Rewards

This is an app that you can use to earn rewards on your grocery shopping. With Fetch, all you have to do is scan the receipt and you earn some points. The points can then be redeemed for gift cards for online shopping or restaurants. Fetch is really easy to use plus you can link your email and get points on your digital receipts as well. Not many other apps do this.

Receipt Hog

With this app, you can get paid when you upload receipts, take surveys, and more! It does take a while to earn enough for a payout which can be cash sent to your Paypal account, an Amazon gift card, or a Visa gift card. To get started with Receipt Hog you can download the app and enter code stunk419 to earn a special bonus when you upload your first receipt.

Budgeting and financial sites and apps

Personal Capital

A key part of saving money is to track your money. This is where Personal Capital comes in. They have an awesome free online dashboard where you can link your bank and investment accounts to track not only your spending and saving but also your net worth so you can see your overall financial picture and how you're tracking towards all your financial goals.