In the age of smartphones, there are some great money-saving apps we should all have on our phones. Getting into the habit of utilising these apps can save you a quick buck – and it’s not like most of us aren’t on our phones 24/7 anyway! Saving a few dollars here and there may not seem like much but over the course of a week it can really add up.
1.Pocketbook or Hello Clever a similar expense tracking app. There are dozens of expenses tracker/budget apps out there – some even in your banking apps. These are great as it categorizes the different expenses your money is going toward by connecting directly to your bank accounts. Most people do not have time to manually log their expenses into a spreadsheet so this is a quick and easy way to see where your funds are going. In these apps you can add your own categories and subcategories, as well as track your budget on a variety of timeframes such as weekly or monthly. They will even suggest expenses to lower based on your spending as well. (It’s coming for your uber eats addiction)
2. Fuel Map – With fuel at an all-time high (Thanks Putin) this app is worth checking out. It is a simple one-click on the app and it will show you all the petrol stations in your area. You can then decide which one is the cheapest and closest to you. It doesn’t seem like much but I would personally rather pay $1.33 at the servo around the corner for my fuel instead of $1.53 at the one down the road. Also, fuel prices have increased 32% in the last year. That is a huge increase in price, especially considering the cheap prices we had at the start of the pandemic.
3. Half Price – I love this app. I do my fruit and veg shopping at my local fruit/veg shop because it is so much cheaper. But I still do my meat and ‘everything’ else shop at Woolies, Coles or Aldi. The Half Price app tells you everything that has 50% off at Coles or Woolies without the need for rifling through the eco-unfriendly supermarket brochures. If you are willing to do some quick research and do the rounds at the various shopping centres for your weekly shop, you will find that you can make some substantial savings. If something is half price and you use it often then stock up while it’s cheap.
4. Library & Library apps. Check out your local council to see if they have a library app. Brisbane City Council libraries have the Libby app which allows access to thousands of free eBooks and audiobooks. No more Audible or Amazon Kindle subscription is needed. Cookbooks, nonfiction, fiction, picture books, etc are all available. If you like reading old school books then make sure you are utilising the local library. Even if they don’t have the book you want to read straight away you can usually get it ordered in.
5. Free TV apps. In our household, we don’t pay for more than one subscription service. I have access to more than one due to sharing screens with friends but I also have a few of the free TV apps such as ABC iView and SBS on Demand. These are great, don’t discount them! They don’t only have free-to-air TV shows, they have documentaries, old TV series, and fantastic new dramas, especially the ABC. (Killing Eve, anyone?) Have a look at your monthly spending on subscription services and ask yourself if you really utilize all of them? Can you cut back to one of the paid ones and test out some of the free ones listed below? You might be surprised at the amount of great content you can find for free.
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6. Super Cook
In this app, you type in the ingredients you have and it shows you some recipe ideas. Granted if you type in three items you don’t get many options but it is still good for if you want some new recipe ideas using some of the old veggies that are going to die in your crisper.
7. Shopback & Cashrewards
Shopback and cashback websites when purchasing things online can also save you money or provide you with discounts you otherwise may have missed out on.
8. Loyalty Club memberships. A lot of large chain stores such as spotlight, BCF, Priceline and numerous others will have some sort of member program (usually free to join just requires you to sign up to their email list) will usually offer some sort of discount/rewards program. The idea, of course, is to keep you spending money instead of going to competitors, however, if you are buying something that you were going to buy anyway these loyalty programs can give discounts that you otherwise would not have received.
9. Depop.
Depop is kind of like the modern-day online version of a second-hand shop. It is bringing vinnies into the 21st century and usually with better quality items. You are likely to pay more than you might at your local thrift store/op shop for second-hand clothes but this app will certainly save you money if you are looking to purchase more expensive brands. It is basically an online marketplace for people to sell their second-hand clothes and you can search by size, colour, brand, etc.
What have I missed? Do you have any money-saving apps that I should know about? Let me know in the comments.
