1. Earn free rewards while you shop
The Fetch Rewards app lets you scan receipts to earn rewards.
Shop as you normally would, then scan your receipts. Earn points. Get rewards. It couldn’t be more simple to do.
There are a ton of popular household brands, ranging from Sun Chips to Huggies to Dove. All of these products will earn you points to get rewards.
There are also special product offers that you can purchase to earn more points. If you’re loving this new app, refer a friend or family member and you’ll both get 2,000 bonus points.
All you need to start redeeming is 3,000 points (just $3) and you can redeem the points from everything ranging from electronics to home goods to restaurants.
2. Insurance for: auto, home and life
Insurance can be one of the costs that you don’t necessarily want, but need. Getting the best rates can be tough, especially if you don’t know how much coverage is needed. Not to mention complicated pricing.
EverQuote gives you a starting point to help you be matched with only relevant insurance options.
All you have to do is fill out an online form that takes less than two minutes and then you’ll start receiving quotes from agents within your area.
And the best part is that this service is completely free.
It’s been estimated that EverQuote has saved consumers over $2 billion collectively over the last seven years.
3. Bad credit? You can still get a personal loan through this website
Taking out a loan can be a daunting task and not something you should do without thorough rate comparisons.
While doing research, you’ve probably run across article after article saying that bad credit usually means no loan approval.
That’s where OppLoans comes in. You can apply for a personal loan for up to $4,000 even if your credit score isn’t great.
Bonus: applying won’t affect your FICO® score.
4. Gaming for real cash
Market research company eMarketer found that the average US adult will spend at least 3 hours on their phone per day. While that number seems fairly low, it starts to add up after a week.
If you’re already spending that much time on your phone, why not play a fun game with real people from around the world and earn cash or prizes?
Blitz21 is an iOS app that combines Black Jack and Solitaire. It’s fast paced and all you have to do is combine cards to get to 21.
Bonus: playing in mini-tournaments can win you thousands of dollars.
If you’re an Android user, there’s a chance for you to earn money too.
It’s called Mistplay and you earn points while playing games.
You can discover new games in your ‘mixlist’ and win Visa gift cards, Amazon gift cards, Starbucks gift cards and more.
5. Get gift cards for shopping your favorite brands
It doesn’t get much better than that, right?
This innovative app is called Drop.
The idea behind Drop is that you start earning points immediately for every purchase you make through the app.
By ordering food, making travel plans or shopping at your favorite store you earn points through the app and redeem rewards. Rewards translate directly into gift cards.
If you’re a member you can link a debit/credit card, so you won’t need to scan your receipts.
6. Monitor recurring subscriptions
Chances are you or someone you know has a recurring subscription. Whether it’s a monthly box delivered to your door or an evergrowing list of streaming services (dang it, Disney Plus), you’ve probably forgotten to cancel and kept getting that surprise charge each month.
If you want to take control of your monthly spending habits, download Truebill.
Truebill helps you manage your finances all in one place by giving you monthly reports, canceling unwanted subscriptions and helping you lower your bills.
According to their website they’ve helped people save over $14 million dollars collectively.
7. Earn cash back on purchasing everyday items
While this app might seem similar to Fetch Rewards or Drop, you don’t receive gift cards, just cold-hard cash.
With the Ibotta app all you have to do is add offers, shop, upload your receipt, and you’ll receive cash within 24 hours — withdrawable from PayPal, Venmo or received as a gift card.
You can also save in-store at popular retailers like Walmart and Target. Just find an in-store retailer you want to shop at and add your offers in the app.
There are also bonuses, which is a chance for you to earn some extra cash. You can earn bonuses by redeeming your offers and referring friends and family. On average, Ibotta users can earn $20 – $25 per month, meaning savings of between $240 – $300 a year.
8. Million dollar life insurance — for as little as $8 per month
Life insurance sounds like a heavy topic, but it doesn’t have to be. If you have loved-ones, life insurance can protect them financially after your passing. Getting insurance can be a long, taxing process — probably why a lot of people still don’t have life insurance.
This is where Bestow comes in. Bestow humanizes the process of getting life insurance down to a matter of minutes.
A Bestow application has four simple steps:
- Your information. Basic identity like name, email, address, Social Security number.
- Your Life. Citizenship, medical history, lifestyle and hobbies.
- Beneficiaries. Who ever would receive the policy payouts in the event of the insured’s death.
- Policy and payment details. If approved, you choose the monthly payment and enter your credit card info.
They also offer short term and long term plans — 2, 10, and 20 year terms for as little as $3/month.
9. Give yourself a little credit
It’s easy to go years without ever checking your credit score. While we advise against that, checking your credit can also be stressful. If you’ve ever missed payments or been late to pay bills, your credit was likely affected to some degree.
This handy app, Credit Sesame, is here to give you all the information you need about your credit score.
Credit Sesame provides personal credit management and it’s easy to use and understand. With this app you can:
- Easily access your credit score, credit report and credit monitoring… all for free
- Understand your credit by discovering what affects your credit
- Leverage your credit by getting products based on your credit
- Protect your credit with credit monitoring and ID protection
It’s best to know where your credit stands so you can improve it if you have a low score, or keep doing what you’re doing if you have a high score.
10. Get paid just to keep an app running
Passive income has never been easier.
If you were thinking that you’re too busy to earn some extra income, this app will be your new go-to.
And it’s called Panel — an app that you leave running in the background on your phone. All you have to do is install it on your mobile device and enable location services for Panel. You’ll immediately start earning points that you can exchange for rewards.
While this isn’t going to make you rich, you’ll probably earn an extra $5 to $10 a month. It brings passive to a whole new level.
11. Get up to 40% cash back while shopping
Rakuten (formerly Ebates) is the massively popular cashback portal. You can earn cashback on all sorts of things, food delivery, concert tickets, travel and of course shopping.
After you’ve downloaded the app, you shop and browse offers as usual. When you select the store you want to shop at, a list of deals, coupons and promo codes pop up and you can see the percentage of cashback you’re eligible to earn.
They have over 2,500 store partners and currently offer a $10 sign-up bonus, so there’s plenty to earn from.
And vacations? You can get cash back on airfare, car rentals, cruises and hotels from popular sites like Orbitz and Travelocity. Vacationing never sounded so sweet.
12. Investing in real estate — it’s cheaper than you think
It’s no secret that investing in real estate can be costly right from the start. Not to mention, with possible renovations, upkeep and general maintenance on your property…it could be a while before you start generating some income.
Enter Fundrise, an app that lets you start investing in a portfolio of real estate properties for a minimum of $500. One of the main perks with Fundrise is that your real estate portfolio is managed on your behalf.
All it takes are five easy steps:
- Sign up: open an account on their website or mobile app.
- Select an account level and plan.
- Receive a real estate portfolio.
- Manage your account: monitor and manage your information. You can view real-time returns, read in-depth project updates, set account goals, set up auto-invest and more.
- Profit: all your returns are deposited directly to your bank account.
So what are you waiting for? Start investing to start saving.
Currently the app is only available for iOS users
13. Ask this website to pay your credit card bill this month
You finally got paid, only to watch your paycheck get decimated by lingering credit card debt. Well, rejoice! We found a company that will pay your credit card bill this month. Yes, like…the whole bill.
A company called Fiona could help you pay them off tomorrow.
Here’s how it works: Fiona matches you with a low-interest debt consolidation loan you can use to pay off every credit card balance you have.
That leaves you with just one bill to pay every month, and the interest rates will be significantly lower than your credit card’s interest rates.
Fiona won’t make you stand in line or call the bank. You can compare loans online and checking won’t affect your credit score. It takes just two minutes, and it could save you thousands of dollars.
14. Instantly boost your credit score for free
A ton of Americans rarely check their credit score, probably scared of what they’ll find. But don’t get depressed if you check your score only to find it in the dumps. There’s a way to instantly boost your score.
It’s called Experian Boost and it can raise your FICO® score by tracking and reporting on your regular utility and cell phone bill payments..
It’s easy to start an account, all it requires is a little information about you (name and address) and you’re ready to go.
Boosting your credit has never been easier.
15. Invest like a woman
This company is redefining the way women invest. Ellevest can be your new digital investment advisor.
The Ellevest investment algorithm uses earnings, savings, age, education level and gender — all genders are welcome to use the app) — to create a personalized investing plan for your goals.
Currently, they have three service options to choose from:
- Ellevest Digital, online investment platform with no minimum balance and annual advisory fee of 0.25% of your portfolio.
- Ellevest Premium, an online investment platform with a $50,000 minimum balance and an annual advisory fee of 0.50% of your portfolio.
- Ellevest Private Wealth Management, an investment service for clients with at least $1 million in investable assets.
While your investments aren’t free of fees and you’re charged monthly, the Ellevest financial professionals make themselves constantly available to clients. Plus the service builds an emergency fund for you free of charge.
16. Invest for as little as $1 per month
Investing in stocks can feel overwhelming. There’s so many options and questions before you even start. If you get overwhelmed by the amount of knowledge you need to have to start investing, you’re not alone.
But what if you could start building your own portfolio and learn how to invest confidently?
That’s exactly what Stash has in mind.
After opening an investment account with Stash, you also get a personal debit account. The service then allows you to earn Stock-Back™on Stash debit card purchases, so every purchase you make builds your portfolio.
If you’re wondering about that $1 per month, that’s how much their Beginner plan costs. It’s a very easy way to learn the basics of investing and you even get access to free financial education courses as you go.
The other two plans cost a bit more, $3 per month and $9 per month, but you get even more included in your plan, including tax benefits for retirement investing, better tracking, and increased Stock-Back™.
Bonus: Fund your new Stash account with $5 for signing up today.
17. Get cash for ordering an Uber or Lyft
Ride-share has become really popular over the last few years, thanks to Uber and Lyft. You’ve probably lost count of how many times you’ve used an Uber or Lyft to take you somewhere, not to mention the amount of money you’ve spent.
Wouldn’t it be nice to get some cash back?
This app called Freebird does just that. Freebird isn’t just for Lynrd Skynrd fans, but ride-share fans too.
After downloading the app, order your Uber or Lyft to start accumulating points to trade in for cash rewards. The more points you accumulate the more cash you get back. A total win-win scenario.
18. Online shoppers rejoice!
If you’re an online shopaholic, check out Affinityy.
Affinityy gives you up to 15% cash back on purchases with thousands of major brands like Macy’s, ASOS, Walmart and Walgreens. It’s essentially free money, since you’re receiving cash back on things you were already going to buy.
Plus there are usually bonuses, like a $20 sign-up bonus, $3 for downloading the app, $10 per friend referred, and cash bonuses for frequent shoppers.
Once you start spending, your cash back gets sent to you in a check. You can also link a PayPal account if you have one.
19. Reevaluate your home insurance
One of the more frequent insurance (home, auto etc.) mistakes? Not checking for better deals.
If your home has the same policy as when you first purchased it, you might find yourself shocked when you shop around for home insurance.
There’s a diverse range of insurers now, eager to cut in with more affordable rates. Take Hippo for example, a modern broker for the digital age.
This company hands you a free online quote in 60 seconds, and shows you extra ways you could be cutting your home insurance bill.
When all’s said and done, Hippo can save you up to — or even over — 25% on your home insurance.