Sticking to a budget takes discipline. It requires keeping an eye on your long-term goals while being more intentional with your spending. Reaching your financial goals may mean changing some of your spending habits, especially when you can’t splurge on your favorite stuff.
But that doesn’t mean you can’t have your cake and eat it, too. In fact, there’s a fun and easy way to earn free gift cards to put toward those wish-list items — just check out these simple-to-use apps.
Swagbucks
With Swagbucks, you can earn money by taking surveys, watching videos and shopping online. The only drawback with this program is it can take a while to build up enough “Swagbucks” (SB) to cash in. One hundred SB is equal to one dollar, and most surveys on the app will only earn you between 30 and 100 SB. But once you have enough points, you can cash them in for gift cards to many places including Amazon and PayPal.
Rakuten
Rakuten, formerly known as Ebates, gives you cash back on online purchases. It’s quick and easy to use — simply download the app or the browser extension and get a percentage of cash back from participating retailers. Rakuten gives you free money for purchases you’re already making and can be a resource toward getting those splurge items that aren’t in your budget.
Honey Gold Rewards Program
The Honey browser extension is a great tool for saving money. Once you download the extension, it automatically searches for and applies coupon codes for your online purchases. You can get the most out of it by also participating in the Honey Gold Rewards Program, which earns you points for online purchases. Once you’ve reached 10,000 points, redeem them for gift cards at places like Amazon, Target, Sephora and Walmart.
Ibotta
Ibotta gives you cash back on qualifying grocery store items. Once you download the app, browse deals at hundreds of different stores, select the items you’re planning to buy and then upload a photo of your receipt to get money back on those items. Once your Ibotta account reaches at least $20, you can redeem your earnings for gift cards.
Sticking to your budget doesn’t necessarily mean you can never splurge, but it does mean you’ll need to strategize and plan for those bigger purchases. Using apps to earn free gift cards is one way to get some extra money to put toward the items you may not otherwise be able to justify spending money on.
~Here’s to Your Success!
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