Must-Have Apps to Save Money this Holiday Season

It’s the Holidays!!!  Family fun and good cheer to all!!!  The holidays are magical in a kid’s life.  Memories are forged forever.  The holidays should be filled with time for our family, friends and community.  However, the stress of the holiday season can creep up on us mommas.  We will have many lists and be checking them twice.  Yikes!  This stress can only be exacerbated with the strain of mounting financial obligations and efforts to save money.  Even with my holiday bonus, my budget is hair thin till after January.

SAVE MONEY WITH MOBILE APPS

During this season I encourage you to be extra mindful of where you put your dollars and cents. (Such as local holiday markets #shoplocal)  Check out these smartphone apps to help you stretch a few more pennies out of our next couple of paychecks.

GROCERIES

Holidays often means spending on lots and lots on food for lots and lots of get together.  From school socials for the kids, to hosting a large dinner at YOUR house this year, to night before Christmas cookies for a special someone, you are sure to rack up a bill at your local grocery store.

My biggest budgeting advice is making a list.  Making a grocery list helps you stay disciplined while shopping.  It also buys you time to research deals and look for coupons.  Your local grocery store app is a must have.  I shop at HEB.  They have an amazing app.  It includes Weekly ads, Coupons and a page to create your own shopping list.  You can even scan in your last receipt to add items to your list.

GIFTS

When shopping for gifts this season, most retail stores have great apps to keep you informed, but some stores have apps specifically designed to save you money.  Target has an app, Cartwheel, with great deals.  Cartwheel is a social media savings app that informs you of special offers at your local store.  The app incentivizes savings by making it a social activity.  See what your friends are saving on and it ranks you and your friends so that you can see who has saved the most using the app.  You can also earn badges.  If you don’t want to scroll through the many offers listed but want to know if you could earn saving on a specific item scan it and it will let you know if there are any saving attached to it.

On black Friday, being up with all the deals is vital.  Flipp is your one stop app for all the local flyers and the savings inside.  At my home, after the Thanksgiving dinner was cleared away it would be then covered with store savings flyers in preparation for the next day’s shopping.  Now you can have all those savings on your phone.  Don’t forget that many stores like Target and Walmart match competitor’s prices.  Having an app like Flipp will help you take advantage of these savings.

Did you know that some stores will give you money back after you’ve purchased the items if the price goes down?   Windfall works with retailers such as Target, Walmart, Home Depot, Lowes, Staples, Babies ‘R’ Us, Toys ‘R’ Us, and Office Depot to give you back money if the price of items goes down or a competitor has a lower price.  Simply scan your receipt and Windfall will notify you if you are due any money back.  Then just head to customer service desk with the original receipt and the app.

TAKING A BREAK

Whether you are taking the family out for a holiday drink or stopping to refill for some much needed mommy energy fuel. Starbucks is the app you’ve got to have to save a little extra money.  Along with rewarding you for your purchases with free drinks and treats they have a weekly pick where you’ll receive free apps or songs.  Starbucks is a mommy saving must have app.

DRIVING AROUND

Between holiday events, visiting family and the overwhelming amount of errands you’ll be running the family vehicle is going to rack up some miles.  Check out Gas Buddy to find out which gas station is offering the best rates on gas.  Make sure to plan ahead. Fill up your tank when the gas gage is closer to the middle instead of the empty to give yourself time to look for the best deal on gas.

My biggest advice is take some time to plan.  I know our holiday mommy duties can have us spinning, and might drive us to survival mode when any decision is a good decision as long as it gets done.  Planning will help you stay cool headed when making money choices which will allow us to save a little extra.  This might be the difference between struggling through January and living comfortably.  I hope ya’ll have a Happy Holiday!!!