You know the saying “Work Hard, Play Hard”. And if you’re like me, then you are working HARD but play very little. But let’s face it – we all need a break sooner or later. And that’s especially hard to do if you don’t have a lot of wiggle room in your budget.

Since I don’t have a lot of spending money to splurge on a vacation, I thought I would be a little more clever with how I am saving my money and I am sharing my secrets with you! These four ways to save money are going to help you put a little jingle in your pocket without really feeling like you’re saving at all!

My secret – free reward-based apps! There are a lot of apps out there that can either help you save money or help you get cashback. These are my favorites for helping me to do just that.

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1. SwagBucks

I have been a member of SwagBucks since 2013. I used it as a way to use my free time after college getting points for gift cards to places like Disney, Starbucks, and Target. I also used it as a way to get giftcards for my boyfriend who enjoyed places like Home Depot, Cabella’s, and Amazon. They have gift cards for anything! But you can also cash out your rewards in the form of PayPal cash or a Visa Reward Card! You can earn SwagBucks by doing surveys, answering polls, browsing the web, and – my personal favorite – online shopping! There are so many surveys to try and sometimes if you’re lucky you can earn big time. One time I earned $40 in rewards for a survey that I had to complete over the course of a two-day online consumer research portal – in total, I probably only gave them about 30 minutes of my time to answer their questions. Super score! As long as you have a little free time, answering surveys is quick and can easily get you a lot of points without investing anything but your time.

However, a more mindless way of earning comes from online shopping. By adding the SwagButton to my browser, every time I enter a site that is hosted on SwagBucks, a banner will appear telling me how much cashback I could earn. Not to mention, if I get as far as the checkout, it will also prompt me to click the banner again and it will search the web for me for coupons to save me money! This tool comes in handy especially when these are purchases I have to make like getting business cards or replacing something in the house that broke. One time I used this function while I was in Barnes and Noble shopping. I knew I was going to buy a book and instead I used the app to buy the book online and clicked the option for in-store pick-up at checkout, submitted the order, walked up to checkout, and told them that I had just ordered the book I was holding for in-store pick-up! I literally only did it for the cashback. Since I have started using SwagBucks , I have earned $152 in rewards, and if I hadn’t left my account inactive for four out of the six years I have been using it, then it would be a lot higher! If you want to get started on your own SwagBucks account, use this referral link to get started: https://www.swagbucks.com/lp-savings-button?cmp=695&cxid=swagbuttonref&rb=10438751&extRefCmp=1&extRb=10438751

2. Poshmark

Poshmark is an online community to earn money by selling your new or used wardrobe. This is a great option for people who have a lot of fast fashion pieces, designer products, or maybe just things that they won’t wear or use again. It makes it so the money that you have invested into your style doesn’t go completely down the drain by just getting rid of it. Now you can earn some of that money back to invest in other pieces!

I started using this app July 2019 and in just five months I have earned $216! Other than making some money back, I can use the funds that I have earned in my Posh Account to purchase other things in the app that I want to add to my closet at a really great price! A lot of the outfits I have put together lately have been a combination of my personal closet and pieces I have bought through Poshmark. For instance my Star Wars Stormtrooper outfit, the top and jeans were things that I bought through the app. I have probably spent about $75 total in the app with the funds that I have earned, so cashing out what was left was a nice little boost to my bank account! If you want to get started on your own Poshmark account, use this referral link with my code DONNA_FAABORG to receive $10 to use in the app: https://posh.mk/aweuZGmBy2

3. Fetch Rewards

Do you do a lot of grocery shopping? Great! This app is for you! Fetch Rewards is an app where you upload pictures of your grocery receipts to earn points to redeem towards a number of gift cards, including Mastercard or Visa Reward cards. The only real downside of this app is that it is fairly difficult to earn points quickly. However, if you shop their Special Offers, you can earn a lot faster and in bigger chunks! Uploading a receipt no matter how much was purchased will usually only get you around 25 points, which is 25 cents. But if you shop their recommended products, their special brand deals, or their bonus point items, sometimes your receipts can receive upwards of around 5,000-10,000 points per receipt. It all really depends on what you buy. If you want to get started on your own Fetch Rewards account, use this referral link with my code B4FWF and you’ll receive 2,000 Fetch Points.

4. myVegas Slots

Ok, I get it – this one sounds a little out of the blue. But the myVEGAS apps are great if you are looking for a cheap way to get to Vegas or any number of fun destinations! Since I am only about a four hour drive from Sin City and because taking a vacation there is pretty cheap to begin with, this app is a way for me to make it even cheaper.

This gaming app let’s you play simulated slot games to earn coins that you can use to shop their rewards shop for cheaper room rates, free buffets, adult beverage drink coupons, discounted Cirque du Soleil tickets, and more! The reward shop is even separated into which casino or hotel that you would like to stay at. Obviously you don’t have to pick just one to redeem your rewards, so what I plan on doing with my rewards is to pick and choose as much as I can from different casinos so that whenever I can take a vacation there, then I have a better reason to explore a little more. There is no obligation to buy their fake money to use in the games because it’s easy to win in the game itself. Plus every day, they will send you an email that when you click the link, it will give you 3,000,000 in their currency to continue playing the game!

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Currently I have just under 45,000 in reward points. I don’t have a way of converting that to a dollar amount since their rewards vary by casino and type (i.e. whether it’s a discount or a meal voucher, etc). However, based on the points needed to buy things in the reward shop, it is a pretty decent amount! Especially considering I have only been playing this game for about a month and half. Trust me, by the time I am able to actually go to Vegas, my trip will be fairly close to free! Use this link to get the app for iPhone. And use this link to get the app for Android.

Final thoughts on tips to save money without trying

Honestly there are so many apps out there that you can use to help you save money. They take some effort to participate in or remember to use but the end result of having a little extra pocket change makes it all worth while. Even though I am somewhat against having a ton of apps on my phone, I want to hear from all of you! What are some other money saving tricks that you have up your sleeve? Leave a comment below! Who knows, maybe someone else may find it helpful too!

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