App Round Up 9/18/17

I am constantly bombarding you (probably not even a strong enough word) with app recommendations. I thought it might be helpful for me to summarize some of my faves for you with some awards and honorable mentions.

Most Opened on my Phone

My most opened financial app on my phone is 100% Mint. I open this at least once a day every single day. Mint is the app I use for budgeting so every morning I open it and see what new transactions have posted, how my budgets are doing, and what my over account values are. If you don't use a budgeting app, I can't recommend it more. It is so so important to know how you spend your money, even if you aren't looking to make any immediate changes in your behavior. If you got fired tomorrow for being on Instagram too much at work (a legit fear of mine), do you know how much your monthly expenses are and how long you could survive without a job? BUDGET!!!!

Best Ratio of Earnings to Effort

This is an easy one. If you online shop EVER you should download eBates. TLDR; download the plug in for your browser, shop online, click the little eBates icon after you fill up your cart, checkout, get a check in the mail every 3 months. Seriously SO easy and you can earn so much (and then you can return stuff and they don't subtract that out).My honorable mention for best ratio of earnings to effort is Drop (referral code: 9frzw). This one you set up once and put in zero effort after that (although you can earn more with bonuses) but it didn't win this one because the earnings aren't that high. I recommend getting it because it doesn't hurt but don't expect anything crazy! Also Dosh is similar to Drop! Zero effort after setup then you earn cash back at places - sometimes local bars or sometimes online stores like Sephora.

Most Useful but no Earnings

My favorite app to recommend that doesn't actually earn you real $ is Tab. I HATE being the one to say no to splitting a bill. I don't want anyone to think I am cheap (but also if they have read my blog they already know) but I don't want to be the one who spends $70 when I only ordered salad. Tab is the best because it makes splitting the check SO EASY. You select what everyone got and then it tells you how much everyone should pay (tax and tip included). My favorite part is you can do all that, then tell the app its someone's birthday and it will split that person's meal amongst everyone else. SO SMART. TIME IS MONEY THIS IS TIME SAVED MONEY SAVED DOWNLOAD TAB.

Most Life Changing

Okay this might sound dramatic, but it was really life changing when Venmo happened. I know it isn't groundbreaking for me to write about Venmo but how could I leave it off my list of financial apps. If you live under a rock and haven't used Venmo yet, it allows you to send money back and forth with your friends. There's a meme somewhere about how life is a series of venmo payments back and forth with your friends which is so true. Also, Venmo stalking replaced Snapchat best friends stalking. Plus John from the bachelorette invented it or something. Important.

Apps I Love but Want to Work Better

I LOVE Ibotta. I put it in my instagram story all the time because it really is great. It consistently earns me a littttle bit back on tons of purchases that really add up. It is really great because it offers cash back on Uber (right now 75 cents). It also has Amazon, most grocery stores, and most drug stores. My biggest issue with it and why it falls into this category is for some reason Uber isn't available on the app in all areas. I get tons of DMs of people asking why it isn't available for them and it is just location based and comes in and out. It is upsetting and I want everyone to earn cash back on Uber!!! Also in this category is Honey. It's another plug in for your browser that finds coupons for your online orders. Sometimes it's great and saves a ton. Lots of times it doesn't find anything.

Highest Earning but Highest Effort

Poshmark is not for the faint of heart. It's an online second hand store and while I think it is as easy as it could be it does take work to get listings up and to sell! I have made almost $800 which is amazing but that was selling 40 items. For each of those items I had to take pictures, write descriptions, and share repeatedly. I have 71 more listings right now I had to do all that for too. Once you make the sale though, it's super easy to ship your item and you get your money pretty fast! There are lots of other apps I love but I can't write anymore and I'm sure you don't want to see any more words here. DM me with questions!