I’ve never enjoyed working out. At least not going to the gym or using a treadmill or lifting weights. I do, however, like fitness classes. That’s why my two favorite types of exercise classes are definitely yoga and spin, and I love how different they are. Yoga is all about slowing down, focusing on breathing, and balance, while spin is super intense. It’s just go, go, go!

Shopping can be this way, too. There’s your hurried shopping when you just need to get in, get out, and get home. Then, there’s the kind of shopping where you slow down, relax and enjoy the hunt. While I could never pick a favorite between yoga and spin class, I can easily say my favorite shopping is the slower variety, especially when it means I get to make the most of it at stores with customer loyalty programs. For years, I was power shopping—and trying to find discounts and sales in a hurry—and in the process missing out on the real savings built-in to customer loyalty programs. That’s why today I’m here to help you slow down, breathe like you’re doing yoga, and learn more about some popular stores with customer loyalty programs (that you’ve likely been shopping at for years) and how they can save you money.

Grocery Stores with Customer Loyalty Programs

Of all the stores I’ve power shopped over the years, grocery stores are where I rush the most. In fact, I’ve even found myself heading home from yoga, feeling super at peace and relaxed, and still rushing through the grocery aisles.

That can be a problem, though, because there are tons and tons of grocery stores with customer loyalty programs. Most feature a grocery store rewards cards which you swipe at checkout and lowers your bill. If you’re not using these, you’re leaving money on the table.

There are also some larger chain grocery stores that have loyalty programs that are a bit less well known, especially if you’re always rushing through the aisles. The Walmart Savings Catcher, for example, helps loyal Walmart shoppers ensure they’re always getting the lowest possible price. With this program, you just scan your Walmart receipt after a visit, and it compares what you paid to the prices at top competitors in the area. If there’s a difference, the program rewards it back to you.

That’s just one example, though. Target, as well as regional grocery stores such as Safeway and H-E-B, also offer similar loyalty rewards. It’s just up to you to take the time to slow down and ask. Oh, and there are also ways to use third-party shopping apps to get paid to grocery shop, but more on that later!

Department Stores with Customer Loyalty Programs

It’s way easier for me to take it slow with my shopping at department stores, kind of like how it’s way easier to relax with the yoga instructor at my studio that doesn’t make us do as many of the one-legged flying poses! The wide selection and the great deals at stores like Nordstrom and Macy’s just lend themselves to a nice, leisurely stroll through the racks.

While the details vary by store, all the most common department stores, including Sears, J.C. Penney, Kohl’s, Nordstrom, Macy’s, and Saks have their own variation of a customer loyalty program. Macy’s, for example, has a program that basically ensures you get a discount on everything you buy there, while Nordstrom and Nordstrom Rack have one that gives you a gift card after you spend a certain amount. That one is also nice because it entitles you to free tailoring!

They, of course, don’t publicize them as well as the grocery stores do, but that’s okay. Because if you’ve learned anything from me today, it’s that the next time you’re out shopping, you’re going to take your time, breath like you’re in yoga, and ask the clerks at the stores about customer loyalty programs so you don’t miss out!

DIY Customer Loyalty Programs

These programs at department stores and grocery stores are all well and good, and you should definitely be using them to get deals and save money, but there’s one method I think is a cut above all the rest: making your own customer loyalty program.

It sounds impossible, I know, but you can actually do it by using an app that makes you money while you shop. There are many of these types of apps to choose from, believe it or not, and they tend to work at most (if not all) of my favorite stores. How they work is simple: they give you points for shopping activities you do anyway (think scanning barcodes for more info or buying certain products) which you trade for gift cards you can use on your next visit.

One of the best parts is that you can actually combine these apps with the other store loyalty programs

There’s seriously no better loyalty program than that. One of the best parts is that you can actually combine these apps with the other store loyalty programs I just told you about. My personal favorite is an app called Shopkick, which I like because it gives you the most opportunities to win points. In fact, with Shopkick, you get points just for walking into the store! Plus, it has a really fun social media community if you’re into Instagram of Facebook (and, these days, who isn’t?).

So, there you have it, a great list of stores with customer loyalty programs, plus a great way to augment those programs by also using one of my very favorite shopping apps. That combination approach really is key, much like the focus of my exercise routine is doing both spin class and yoga. Sure, I could stick to just one, but the benefits are even greater when I do both!

Learn how you can start getting paid to grocery shop before your next trip down the aisle. Download Shopkick’s free app and get ready to be wowed. Welcome to the fun, Shopkicker!

If you’re as social media savvy as you are shopping savvy, join us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for daily shopping fun.

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As I’ve mentioned a few times, I’m the mother of three beautiful (and rambunctious) boys, and I do my best to teach them all that I can. Sometimes, though, my boys also teach me lessons.

Recently, for example, they reminded me of something I’d forgotten about as a busy adult: the importance of having fun! While sometimes it doesn’t seem like my boys can keep their attention on any one thing for more than a few minutes, when it comes playing, they can spend hours at it and not even blink!

Fun is important when it comes to sustaining interest, and I think we as adults don’t remember just how time can fly by when you’re engaged in something that’s actually fun. This, in my opinion, is a great lesson when it comes to figuring out the best apps for shopping deals. After all, you can get paid to shop with certain apps, but in order for that to happen, you have to actually use these apps. The more you use these apps, the more you can get paid, and the more fun you have when you’re using the apps, the more you’ll want to use them! So basically, more fun equals more money…and I think we can all get excited about that! That’s why today I want to talk about the best apps for shopping deals, as well as some of the top features you should look for when picking an app that’s actually going to be fun!

Fun Factor No. 1: The Best Apps for Shopping Deals Let You Earn Points

I swear, my boys can turn everything they do into some kind of competition. A storm recently knocked down a big tree branch in our backyard, and they spent an entire afternoon playing a game where they awarded each other points for jumping over it. This sounds silly, but it’s actually a great lesson for us.

There are a few different ways that shopping apps work—some give a discount at the register, others give you percentages off certain products—but in my experience, the best apps for shopping deals are the ones that award you points. That’s because you use those points however you choose. And, the ones that are the most fun of all give you points for completing different activities in the store and for shopping online at home, which turns your whole shopping experience into a game!

In my experience, the best apps for shopping deals are the ones that award you points.

Actually, the way my favorite works is that it turns each trip into a scavenger hunt for those points. I get points for going into certain stores, points for scanning barcodes to learn more about certain items, and, of course, points for making my purchases. I’m at the point now where I actually look forward to going out for groceries, clothes, or toiletries. It’s seriously that fun.

Fun Factor No. 2: The Best Apps for Shopping Deals Offer You Gift Cards

Birthdays and Christmas gifts are a source of all kinds of excitement for kids, and while we as adults don’t generally get as excited about gifts, there’s still something nice about getting a gift card. Well, in my opinion, the best apps for shopping deals are the ones that let you earn gift cards.

Those points we talked about in the last section are all well and good, but in order for you to really save money and get the most out of those shopping apps, you have to be able to trade those points in. I think it’s a lot of fun to earn gift cards to all your favorite stores, so you can give yourself a little Starbucks spontaneously as a treat for shopping. It’s fun to get paid in gift cards!

Fun Factor No. 3: The Best Apps for Shopping Deals Give Great Social Media

Another way my boys have fun is by sharing goofy memes and gifs with their friends on social media. And you know what? This is actually a way that I have fun, too. I just can’t get enough of the goofy jokes online.

I think that’s why it’s no coincidence that the shopping app I use the most is also the one that has the best and most active social media community. My personal favorite shopping app is called Shopkick, and it has one of the most fun social media channels on the Internet. I’ve shared so many laughs on their Facebook page, as well as practical shopping tips for using the app. The best apps for shopping deals seamlessly blend in fun, so you actually want to use them again and again, without having to force yourself to remember.

The best apps for shopping deals seamlessly blend in fun

Much like nobody has to remind my boys to play their Nintendo Switch, nobody has to remind me to use Shopkick when I go out to the store. I look forward to it because of all the factors we mentioned today.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been having fun using Shopkick and not even realized that I earned tons of points I could redeem for gift cards. I just look at my total points—or as the app calls them: kicks—and I often have way more than I thought. How fun is that!  

Ready to have some fun using one of the best apps for shopping deals? Download Shopkick for free and join a community of loyal Shopkickers who’ve already discovered the rewards of shopping with us—and how fun trips to the store can be!

And, if you love using your smartphone to stay up on social media, join us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for daily shopping inspiration.

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New Year’s Eve is my favorite holiday. I just absolutely love it. The reason is twofold: 1) I’m a well-known party aficionado and there’s no better night for a good party and 2) the next day is the perfect opportunity for a fresh start.

A fresh start on what, you might ask? Well, on whatever you can think of! As usual, this year I have a few resolutions. You know, all the regulars like hitting the gym more often, taking more time for myself, starting a new hobby, and, of course, saving more money. What’s a little different this year, though, is how I’m planning to turn that resolution into a reality. My plan is to use shopping apps to get free gift cards. Go ahead, say wow. I know, I had to take a moment when I first learned that I could get paid to shop. You just go shopping, do the tasks or activities the apps award points for, and then trade your points in for gift cards!

So, how does this boost my 2018 budget? Well, as I see it, I have to shop for things like groceries anyway. So, basically, I use my shopping apps when I hit the supermarket, then I get rewarded in gift cards for my purchases, and then I use those gift cards to buy myself something nice. (Ok, I use them to buy something I was going to buy anyway, like my Starbucks fave, a flat white.) But instead of doling out cash for my coffee, I get it for free. All because I bought my daily groceries.

I use my shopping apps when I hit the supermarket, then I get rewarded in gift cards for my purchases, and then I use those gift cards to buy myself something nice.

Still, my New Year’s resolution is a little more complex than just “use shopping apps.” I want to use shopping apps to get free gift cards more often than last year. (And spend less on things I was going to buy anyway.) So, I came up with a plan to help me make that goal, like sharing my successes and keeping myself accountable because, obviously, the more we use these apps, the more gift cards we can earn! So, buckle up, I’m going to share all three parts of my newest New Year’s resolution with you.

Resolution No. 1: Get Social When Using Apps to Get Free Gift Cards

In my experience, the key to getting the biggest possible boost to your budget by using apps to get free gift cards is making sure that you actually have fun when you’re using those apps. The more fun they are, the more you use them. If you aren’t excited to use these shopping apps, you might even quit them altogether.

You know what makes things more fun? Doing them with your friends! That’s why I tell all my ladies about my favorite shopping rewards app. Sometimes, this results in us hitting the aisles together; other times we’ll just get together to swap store stories (kind of like war stories, but about shopping). Sometimes, it even means trading shopping tips via Facebook or Instagram with friends who are far away. It actually doesn’t matter exactly how you’re being social while you’re using one of these shopping apps, it just matters that you’re having fun doing it. Best of all, some of the best shopping rewards apps give you extra points when friends sign up!

Resolution No. 2: Use My Apps to Get Free Gift Cards When Shopping Online

When it comes to my favorite tech trends, having a shopping app to get free gift cards is second only to being able to buy anything I want online. I mean, where I live we recently had a major snowstorm, and when I noticed we were low on dishwasher pods it was Amazon to the rescue.

That’s why it’s important to make sure my shopping app works for online purchases. Why? Because if I’m going to buy my dishwasher soap in the store and get points for it, then I also want to be able to get those points if I buy dishwasher pods online. Just because so much of my shopping has moved to the web—hello kitty litter and toilet paper via delivery—doesn’t mean I should sacrifice rewards points. Otherwise, I’d be missing out on a big chunk of free gift cards!

Resolution No. 3: Use Apps to Get Free Gift Cards, Then Share My Success

On top of always wanting to boost my budget and save more money during the New Year, I’m also trying to go to the gym more. This year, I’m even trying some new fitness classes, like spin and hot yoga.

My favorite part is when I get home after a workout and my family asks how I’m doing, if I rode harder, if I held my poses longer, you name it. It’s a great way to keep myself accountable! So I thought, why have that excitement stop at the gym? Why not find a way to share my successes online with my shopping app as well? And you know what I found? My personal favorite shopping app has a thriving social media community where users share their success stories every day. I don’t know about you, but nothing makes me want to get back out there and use my shopping apps more than hearing about the successes others are having. And, of course, the more I use my apps, the more I save!

Making Resolutions Stick: The Best Shopping Apps to Get Free Gift Cards

Now what you probably want to know is what my favorite shopping rewards app is. Well, there are actually a few different shopping apps to get free gift cards to pick from, but to accomplish each of my three New Year’s resolutions, I think one stands out as working the best. I’m talking about Shopkick! It’s already been really easy to get all my ladies using this one, mostly because how it works is just so easy. In the simplest terms, with Shopkick you get points—called kicks—for walking into the store, for scanning certain products, and for snapping a pic of your receipt. You can then trade those points in for gift cards to all your favorite stores. See? Easy!

Also, every time one of my friends signs up and uses Shopkick, I get 250 free kicks! And, Shopkick gives you points for your online shopping, too, which is another reason it’s the perfect app to help me with my budget resolutions. You get kicks for visiting certain stores online, for viewing select products, and for making mobile purchases and watching certain videos. Again, suuuuper easy. Plus, because Shopkick has a really great online community through Facebook and other social media, there’s a great incentive to keep using it and also to make good on my third and final resolution: sharing my successes!

You get kicks for visiting certain stores online, for viewing select products, and for making mobile purchases and watching certain videos.

I hope this has all been helpful for you, and I hope you have a great New Year, filled with totally dominating each and every one of your own resolutions. And finally, I hope to see you soon on Shopkick’s Facebook page telling me and, the rest of the great crew there, about your many, many, many successes!

Learn how you can start taking action toward your own New Year’s resolution to boost your budget and save some money. Download Shopkick’s free app and get ready to be wowed. Welcome to the fun!

If you’re as social media savvy as you are shopping savvy, join us on Twitter or Instagram for daily shopping fun and inspiration.

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I love my kids, and it shows, which is why people are always asking how I find time to do things for myself. I tell them the key is speed! When you have three boys, like I do, you have to be fast to get them ready for school, to their soccer practices, and to their friends’ houses and back. It’s always run, run, run. I feed off my kids’ energy for speed cleaning, powering through workout videos, and shopping for groceries. Lately I’ve been applying my need for speed to other stuff, too—like getting rewarded for shopping online.

I’ve talked about this a lot recently, but I’m a huge devotee of free mobile shopping apps to make money for what you buy anyway. If you’re not familiar, how it works is easy: you do your normal shopping stuff—go to the store, scan barcodes of certain products to get more info, check out—and these apps give you points which you can then trade in for gift cards. There’s a huge list of free apps that give you gift cards to choose from, and the best apps can be used online, too.

It’s probably because of my go, go, go boys, but I’ve found that my favorite apps that give rewards for shopping online are the ones that give you rewards fast! (Maybe you didn’t know there were even different speeds to collect your rewards, but trust me there are.) That’s why I’m here today to help you learn more about how to quickly earn rewards for shopping online. So, let’s hurry up and get to it!

Time Frames for Rewards for Shopping Online

One holiday season, I took a hard look at my budget and decided we could use some extra breathing room. So, I got a part-time job in the mobile devices department at Best Buy. This was great because the extra money and the excellent employee discount meant that I got good deals on everything on my holiday shopping list. It was one of those win-win situations!

On the phones and tablets we sold, we basically had two types of rebates that helped customers save money. One let us take an instant discount at the register; the other—and this was a while back now—required customers to send in proof of purchase, then wait for a rebate check. Well, guess which one was more popular? That’s right, the one that got customers their money fast. No shocker.

My personal opinion is that’s how rewards for shopping online should work—the faster you can collect points, the better.

Here’s a list of the things I firmly believe should happen fast with the ideal app:

• Learning to use it: You shouldn’t have to crack a code or be a tech genius to learn how to use the ideal shopping rewards app. It should be simple, intuitive, and a ton of fun!
• Collecting points: The ideal app should start giving you points quickly during any trip to the store. The best apps give you points just for walking inside!
• Payouts: Almost every one of these apps has a minimum award amount you have to accrue before you can cash out, ranging from $2 on the low end to $20 on the super high end. That’s an extreme example, and most of them are in the $5 to $10 range, but I personally prefer one that gives me the option to cash out ASAP because then I can do it quickly and on my schedule!

The Best App to Quickly Earn Rewards for Shopping Online

Which shopping app is the best, and quickest, in my humble opinion? For me, that would be Shopkick. Shopkick pays out in gift cards to all my favorite stores, including Amazon, Target, and Starbucks, and its minimum to cash out is only $2. That means I can get (another) Starbucks gift card to spend on my all-time guilty pleasure—the flat white—super fast, just the way I like it!

But Shopkick has tons of other things to love as well. It’s great because you can get points for shopping online and you can get cash back quickly on in-person receipts. They are always adding new products and stores, and it has one of the most active and fun social media presences anywhere. I’m always laughing at the fun jokes they put on there and sharing tips with other kickers (as we call ourselves) about ways to get rewards for shopping online even faster! It’s just so fun.

Speed is important, but so is making sure you’re up-to-date on the most effective apps for shopping online and off.

I’m glad I had a chance to slow down just a tiny bit today so that I could share all of this with you. Speed is important, but so is making sure you’re up-to-date on the most effective apps for shopping online and off. You really have to make sure you get an app that you love to use and that will give you your benefits quickly.

I don’t mean to end this briefly, but I think I hear one of the boys. I’m sure there’s a soccer game or a cub scout outing or a crisis in the backyard that needs my attention. And, if it hasn’t happened yet, it’s about to happen—fast.

Learn how you can earn big rewards and get them fast for shopping online. Download Shopkick’s free app and get ready to be wowed. Welcome to the fun, Shopkicker!

If you’re as social media savvy as you are shopping savvy, join us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for daily fun and inspiration.

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