I often hear, "I wish I had more money to purchase your crochet patterns" or "I can't afford to purchase this right now!" Well let me tell ya I totally understand. I have bills to pay too! That's why I started my crochet business. I love to crochet & I love being able to work from home! I had to find a way to pay for my habit LOL. Well that's not entirely true but some what!
I'm always looking for ways to save a few extra bucks or make a few extra dollars! They say to work from home you can't put all your eggs in one basket. You have to have income come through different sources. For instance. I have 3 Pattern shops Etsy, Craftsy and Raverly. I sell finished items. I also have my blog with various Ad affiliates and sponsors. I also work as a contractor for Hobby Lobby as a pattern tester and designer as projects are available.
Just like I work various jobs you can use various means to save or make a few bucks here and there. Here are a few options that anyone with a current cell phone can do!
I'm not really a coupon clipper. It kind of overwhelms me! I however love to use apps on my iPhone! I'm pretty sure most of these are available for Android based phones too.
*This post contains affiliate links.
My favorite is Coupon App is
Unlock Cash Back Rebates, Go shopping at your favorite stores, buy products and keep that receipt, Verify your purchases by scanning products and taking a photo of the receipts and then you cash back.
I love this app because of the any brand rebates on common items like- milk, eggs, fruits and veggies and so much more. It's not just for groceries though! You can get cash back for Grocery, Apparel, Electronics, Wine, Beauty, Home, Fitness, Pets and well just about anything.
I find this to be my most used coupon app. If you also have friends that use it (links through Facebook) has bonuses and challenges where you earn extra cash back! You can't cash out until you hit $20.00 but when I have cashed out it goes straight to my paypal immediately! I've cashed out several times and I've been using it over a year! The great news is if you sign up I get $5 cash when you sign up with my referral and redeems a rebate with in 2 weeks, Plus for you, you get and extra $10. So Sign up here : Ibotta
This one I just discovered and I like it for a few reasons.
1. Shop anywhere, not store specific
2. No minimums or thresholds. Scan your receipts. Payment with in hours, never more than 24 hrs.
3. Any brand rebates - milk, eggs, fruits, veggies, bread
I've used Checkout 51 for a while now and honesty it's been slow going. You can't cash out till you reach $20.00 and I'm sitting at about $9.00 after like a year but..... I find that it's really different products and they might appeal to you more than me. Plus they have been getting better offers lately. This one is good though for the weekly "You Pick" offer on fruits and veggies which changes weekly. Some of the Offers are store specific but most are not which is nice.
It's nice when you can submit your receipts to all the different apps and that's when the saving stack up. So while this one isn't my favorite I can for instance maybe get free bananas when each app is offering a rebate! So you have to look at the big picture!
This is a new one too me! Honestly I signed up for the free Lindt Chocolate Bar! I find this app has really unique new items to get rebates on. So while I haven't used it much it has potential. Plus again it has a referral program for $2.00 for each friend that signs up after they turn in their first rebate. If you'd like to use me referral code it's KMEGUMFZ
Go get you some free chocolate for Valentines Day!
This is also a new one for me. This app is more store specific. The deals seem to be buy more save more. Like spend $30 in this brand get $5.00 off. It also has a weekly offer like 20% off a fruit or veggie. So again stack these savings!
This app is simple. You turn in your receipts. You get points. You earn Amazon or Paypal cash. This is so easy to use but I often forget to enter my receipts.
Snap by Groupon
I will/have stopped using this app as of March 1, 2015 they are changing the program completely over to Groupon. Bummer :(
These last three Apps I've been using a lot! These aren't for cash rebate, more for gift cards but you can get Amazon gift cards and you can purchase anything on Amazon. Including yarn!
This may sound silly but my hubby and I like to use this app! Basically you can earn "Kicks" (points) for walking into certain stores like Target, JCPenny, BestBuy, Walmart. You can also earn "kick" by scanning items. So we make a game of it. It's gets us out of the house and moving. Generally we like to just walk around the mall to get out of the house sometimes and it's an easy way to earn kicks pretty quickly. Cashing out your points for gift cards is really easy and quick too! I've done this several times over the past year! My hubby enjoys Starbucks and he often gets it free because this is his favorite gift card to get! I don't recieve any money if you sign up but they do have a referral program. You can earn 2000 kicks for every 3 friends that sign up, up to 100 successful invites!
Okay this sight is huge but I earn gift cards through this every year. I like that I can cash out for Paypal and Amazon. A lot of friends I know use this all year and buy Christmas presents with it!
I've used it for several years!
You earn Swagbucks "point system" by doing certain tasks. Some take literally seconds like polls, clicking through some offers, searching the web and other take more time- like surveys and watching videos. If you like to watch tv while you crochet this could be an easy way to make extra Swagbucks.
Inbox Dollars
This sight is just like Swagbucks only you earn actually money instead of a points system or gift cards.
You can cash out once you reach $30.00.
You earn money from surveys, videos, tasks, paid emails and more.
I find it fun and easy to use. You can sign up here.
Maybe in one month I'll make a earnings report for what I saved in February! I think you'll be surprised how much it all adds up!
Well I know that was a lot but again if you do combine all these you could easily save yourself a lot of money to use on crochet patterns, yarn or what ever you need extra cash for.
What apps do you use? What are some of your favorites? I'd love to know about more! Happy Savings!