We’re used to thinking that smartphones are the gadgets we use for communication and entertainment. More often than not we spend hours surfing the web or scrolling through the social media feed. But did you ever think that a smartphone could actually help you save money? With so many apps popping up all the time, a fair share of them is designed specifically to manage your finances and up your money-saving game. Let’s review some of the apps that will help you become financially savvy while saving you a hefty amount of money each month.
1. Qoins: Pay Your Debts Fast and Easy
Many people have debts, but paying them off can become a real pain if you’re bad at managing your finances. Whether you’ve applied for 300 Payday Loans online or already have a debt that requires monthly payments, you need an app to manage all your money. Qoins allows you to put away small amounts of money daily, weekly, and monthly and then redirect whatever you’ve saved to cover your debt payments.
You can connect your various financial details to the app so it can find ways for you to save money. It can analyze each transaction, create round-ups, and then save them to a separate account. You can also deduct a certain amount of money each week and then later use it to pay off your debt.
2. GasBuddy: Save on Gas While Traveling
This app may not seem like the most obvious choice, but if you love traveling or use your car to commute to work, it could actually save you quite a few bucks in the long run. The app offers a variety of tools to help you save on gas every time you go out driving. You can use its trip cost calculator to see how much exactly you will pay for fuel on your journey. You can also explore real-time gas prices in the area you’ll be traveling to using a price map. GasBuddy allows you to find the cheapest gas stations nearby whenever you need to refuel.
3. Too Good to Go: Save on Your Food
What do you think happens to surplus food in the restaurants and cafes near you? As a rule, it goes to waste. That’s why the creators of Too Good To Go came up with the idea to connect consumers with their local eateries so they can buy ‘Surprise bags’ with some delicious foods waiting for them inside. The main catch? You don’t know what you’ll be getting until you buy one. While that’s a bit of a gamble, the app offers a great chance to try new foods from your local cafe at a very low price. On top of that, each purchase reduces waste and helps the environment.
4. Trainline: Save on Your Next Journey
Trains are usually considered one of the cheaper means of transportation, but sometimes you can save on train tickets as well if you plan your journey smartly. Just like with airplanes, you can save money by ‘splitting’ your journey into multiple tickets and adding one or more spots to your travel itinerary. You can save more money if you book in advance. According to the app, you can save up to 46%!
5. Vinted: Dress Up at Low Cost
Not everyone is ready to leave half of their salary at a fashion boutique. That’s when apps like Vinted come in handy. If you want to sell some of the clothes you no longer wear – this is the perfect place to do just that! The marketplace sells second-hand clothes so you can find big-name designers for a quarter of the original price. The shop has a huge variety of items with lots of popular brands to choose from, making for an exciting shopping experience if you’re into thrift stores.
6. Honey: Get Your Hands on Those Discount Codes
Shopping is all fun and games until you reach the final stage when you need to pay for all the items you’ve added to your shopping cart. That’s when apps like Honey can come in handy. Now you don’t have to look for discount codes manually – the app will do it for you, automatically finding and applying coupon codes at checkout. The app can also help you look for new deals and sales.
7. OLIO: Get Your Hands on Free Meals and Free Stuff
You know how the saying goes ‘One’s man’s trash is another man’s treasure.’ This is exactly what this app is all about! You can look for the items (or meals) that you’re interested in, or, alternatively, share some of the things you no longer need. It’s completely free to use and you’re helping reduce waste while you’re at it. You can also learn more about your neighbors and try various meals that you wouldn’t cook otherwise.
Conclusion
Saving money using your smartphone seems like a feat worthy of a hero, but it’s possible if you use the right set of apps. Forget about social media for a few hours and invest your time into budget-planning and finance-managing apps that can help you save money from each transaction. If you’re into traveling, apps like Trainline and GasBuddy can help you save on train tickets and refueling. Ultimately, you can even save on meals by buying surplus food using apps like Olio and Too Good to Go.