Sara H. is a mom from Houston, TX who loves playing with her toddler and watching her curiosities grow.
She’s currently taking a break from work to take care of baby Ava full-time while her husband, George, works at the local insurance office. Since there’s only one income streaming in, she makes efforts to save money wherever she can.
“I never thought I’d consider myself a frugal mom but we have to be smart with money. I keep a budget, meal plan, and use apps to help me get cash back.” – Sara
Here’s what Sara uses in her day-to-day life to save money:
Cash Back Apps
“These have been a lifesaver,” says Sara. “It makes it so easy to save money on groceries, household items, restaurants, almost everything.”
Her favorites?
Ibotta
An indispensable app that’s been on her phone for almost 6 years. She saves an average of $500 a year using the app on groceries, restaurants, and general household items!
“I check it even before I go to online sites like Groupon too. You just seem to get cash back on everything but my favorite is Walmart and Target.”
After you’ve chosen offers, simply upload a receipt image, and you’ll immediately get cash back.
Drop
This cash back app doesn’t require much work after the initial set up of linking the credit cards you regularly use.
“I love this app,” says Sara. “You pick 5 brands or stores you want to get cash back on, and whenever you buy stuff there with the cards you linked, it automatically gives you cash back without having to do anything else.”
Stores include Target, Trader Joes, Walgreens, Starbucks, Macy’s, Dunkin Donuts, Uber, Amazon and more. High profile companies that’ll let you earn money back any time you spend money there. “It’s like a loyalty card but you don’t have to carry a different one each time. I’ve cashed out at least $150 in gift cards since I’ve started using it late last year.”
ShopKick
Shopkick is a shopping app that’ll reward you for the stuff you already buy both in-store and online. It’ll also reward you for just stepping into certain stores or scanning specific items off the shelf!
Even Oprah said this app is addictive.
From one Target trip, Sara earned a total of 1,155 kicks/points on items she already needed. That put her at 97% to redeem a $5 gift card. Pretty easy stuff!
In order for ShopKick to work properly, you’ll have to turn on Location Services and Bluetooth. This ensures that you’ll get your kicks/points when you walk into stores!
Inspiration
Since Sara is the main chef of the family as well, she needs the constant inspiration of what to cook that’s not complicated. “I saw this free ebook of weeknight dinners and it was really easy to follow.”
The ebook she’s referring to is 12 Easy Weeknight Dinners. “Since the recipes turned out great, I continued getting their newsletter to keep me inspired and I’ve never bought a cookbook in my life.”
Free Stuff
Being a mom is overall tough, but somehow free stuff and samples make the day just a bit brighter.
Sara is part of the PinchMe samples program.
“It’s fun opening up my mailbox and seeing a box of samples. I’ve found a lot of products I’ve liked enough to buy full-size after trying the mini versions.”
Thanks, Sara for sharing your tips!
