15 best money saving apps
Load your smart phone up with these ultimate money saving apps and you'll have more money in your pocket in no time!
Without sounding too much like your granny, smartphones have changed how we do pretty much everything in life, and saving money is no exception.
There are literally hundreds of apps out there with the sole purpose of helping you save – it's just a matter of digging them out and working out which ones are best.
Luckily for you, we've rolled up our sleeves and done the hard work for you by trying and testing some of the most popular savings apps available. We've checked out everything from personal finance apps, to cashback apps, to apps that tell you what to cook with your leftover scraps.
Here are our favourites! And if you're after some apps to improve your student life, check out our list of essential apps that every student needs.
1. Monzo
Monzo is essentially a hybrid between a budgeting app and a prepaid credit card (paid for by you, by the way, no free money involved, unforts!).
It's a Mastercard that's linked up to a nifty little app that let's you keep an eye on where you spend your cash day to day, sending you notifications each time your card is used and how much you spent.
We like how using a prepaid card like this means you can skip out having to enter any spending manually into a budgeting app or spreadsheet, so no transactions are forgotten.
This way, you're given a really clear and accurate idea of your outgoings (and bonus points for the cute categorised spending graphs).
The other side of things is that the more familiar you become with your daily, weekly and monthly spending, the more aware you'll be of what cash you have spare to treat yourself with!
What we like most about Monzo: It puts the fun back into budgeting by gamifying things a bit – weirdly, it's kinda fun when you get a notification that you just hit your monthly grocery budget… until you realise that means beans on toast for a week 🙁
Get Monzo here http://www.savethestudent.org/out/monzo
2. PayFriendz
Whether you're splitting a restaurant bill, chipping in for a friend's birthday gift or doing a communal food shop, it's easy to lose track of who owes who and how much. What's worse is that the whole process of collecting what you're owed can be a major hassle, and a bit awkward between friends.
Payfriendz is a great solution to this problem, as you can use the app to send someone cash or request (politely now!) someone to pay you with a click of a button.
The only annoying thing is that you need to transfer money into your PayFriendz account in order to pay out, but that's pretty easy once you hook your bank card up with your account.
They also occasionally have a temporary friend(z) referral scheme running where you'll receive £10 credit for every three people you sign up to the service. Follow them on twitter to find out when the next referral scheme is running.
What we like most about PayFriendz: There's a messaging function so you can keep money discussions separate from whatsapp.
Get Payfriendz here https://www.payfriendz.com/
3. ATM Hunter
This is a great little app, especially for those days and nights out in a city you don't know so well. We've all been in that annoying situation where you're running about like a headless chicken looking for a cash machine 'cause you're in a bar that only takes cash, or their card machine is broken.
What's even worse is if you finally end your headless chicken pilgrimage only to find that the ATM you've managed to hunt down charges an arm and a leg just to use it. Seriously?
The ATM hunter app uses geolocation to find all of the nearest cashpoints in your area and display them on a map. It even tells you which ones charge and which ones don't – it's like a gift from above!
What we like most about ATM Hunter: You can also filter the search so it only shows cashpoints from your own bank.
Get ATM Hunter here http://www.mastercard.com/global/financial-education/atm-hunter.html
4. mySupermarket
This app is great. Whether you do your food shopping online or in store, you can use this app to make sure you're always paying the lowest price available on every item on your shopping list.
Create your shopping list on your phone via mySupermarket and the app will tell you which of the major supermarkets are selling those items at the lowest price, or if a particular supermarket has the item on special offer.
If you're not sure what you need until you reach the supermarket, you can even use your phone to scan the product barcode and the app will tell you if you can pick it up cheaper elsewhere.
What we like most about mySupermarket: The barcode feature is great for those of us who don't like sticking to shopping lists but still want to stay within a budget.
Get mySupermarket here http://www.mysupermarket.co.uk/
5. CheckoutSmart
If ever there's a smart way to save money on your shopping it's by claiming cashback on what you buy. CheckoutSmart works by providing shoppers with a daily list of items they're offering cashback on, with different symbols indicating which major supermarkets the deal will be available at.
All you have to then do is chase up those items, pay for them at checkout, take a photo of your receipt with your phone and then submit on the app (although do try to be sensible here and only buy what you actually need – being lead astray by offers doesn't really count as money saving!).
You'll then get cashback credit added straight to your account which is transferable to your bank account or paypal.
One small catch, however, is that if you withdraw less than £20 from your account, you'll be charged a 5% fee. Therefore, it's worth letting your earnings build up a bit before you withdraw anything.
What we like most about CheckoutSmart: That you can earn cash back for future shopping trips whilst you spend your money.
Get CheckoutSmart here http://www.savethestudent.org/out/checkoutsmart
6. Idealo
There's nothing worse than buying an item online or in a shop only to find later that you could've bought it cheaper elsewhere. Idealo is a life saver for anyone who is caught out by making impulse purchases – the minute you come across something you'd like to buy, get the Idealo app out before you part with your cash.
All you need to do is either search for the product in the search bar or scan the product's barcode to find how much you could get it for from other retailers. It could literally be a case of walking two minutes down the road to another store and getting it for half the price.
What we like most about Idealo: It makes you feel really smug knowing you're always paying the lowest price going… unless it goes on sale the next day, of course!
Get Idealo here http://www.idealo.co.uk/
7. Voucher Cloud
There are loads of voucher code apps out there to choose from, but it's easy to see why Vouchercloud is one of the most popular ones – the simplicity of the app and easy-to-use interface is a real plus point.
You can either browse through the top featured deals to find the best ones on offer, or use the 'near me' function to find out what the best deals are in restaurants close to your current location. Get your discount by clicking the 'Use voucher' button when your bill arrives, or when you're at checkout, and a code will appear that you show to staff to redeem your discount.
What we like most about Vouchercloud: Its 'track your savings' function lets you add up all the money you've saved using the app, which makes you feel good about being saving savvy!
Get Vouchercloud here https://www.vouchercloud.com/vouchercloud-app
8. Priority Moments
O2 Priority Moments app is an absolute goldmine for bagging freebies and major discounts at high street stores. For example, every Monday you can get lunch for £1 using the app. You won't know exactly where you'll be getting your bargain baguette until the day, but as long as you're near a high street, you'll be able to hunt the deal down pretty easily.
O2 also offer heaps of tickets to gigs, restaurant vouchers and other freebies, so just keep an eye on what's available and the time frame you have to redeem it. They also have a deal with Channel 4 which means customers can watch shows up to 48 hours before they're aired, so perfect for those Made in Chelsea addicts out there!
Not an O2 customer? Don't let this put you off! Check out our sneaky little trick to getting the benefits of O2's app without having to change networks.
What we like most about O2 Priority Moments: The deals are brilliant and really imaginative – there's such a wide variety of offers that you never know what's round the corner.
Get O2 Priority Moments here https://priority.o2.co.uk/
9. MusicMagpie
You might think this is more of a money making app than a savings app, but when you think about it – what better way to save money than recycling and selling on computer games you've already completed and DVDs you've never watched more than once?
MusicMagpie is an platform for selling on old CDs, DVDs and games online. They've now got a free app which makes the process a lot easier and more fun as you can keep an eye on your when sales on the go.
The inbuilt barcode scanner allows you to easily scan your items wherever you are and the app will tell you how much they're worth. You then send the items to MusicMagpie (if you're happy with the money they're offering) and the cash will be in your account the next day.
What we like most about Music Magpie: It's free! Any postal costs to send your items to them is also covered by Music Magpie, so you've zero expenses to fork out.
Extra tip: Before you sell anything on to MusicMagpie, be sure to check out how much your item is going for on sites like eBay – you might find you'll make more selling on there even despite MusicMagpie's free postage policy.
Get Music Magpie here http://www.musicmagpie.co.uk/get-our-free-app/
10. Meter Readings
We're all guilty of being a bit wasteful from time to time when it comes to energy consumption – whether it's being a bit too free and easy with switching the heating on, taking gloriously long showers or leaving our laptops charging for days on end. It’s easy to just put off thinking about what you're spending until that dreaded utility bill drops through the letter box.
Meter Readings is a brilliant app, and although it's not free, it will certainly save you a few bob in the long run.
The app allows you to keep an eye on how much you are spending every day, which might just prompt you to think of some cheaper (and more environmentally friendly!) ways of keeping warm during winter months. Not only this, but it also let's you compare what you're spending on your energy bills with your neighbours, to see if it'd be worth your while switching providers.
What we like most about Meter Readings: The price comparison option is obviously a real winner, but we particularly fell for the inbuilt torch function to help you read meters kept in dark cupboards!
Get Meter Readings here https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/meter-readings/id320551309?mt=8
Happy Time saving steemians!!