Who knew when smart phones came out that these expensive mobiles would end up saving us time and money—and all for free? Granted, it is the apps that have proliferated to work on these smart phone operating systems that have made such benefits possible but it was the evolution of these glorified cells phones that has made running these new apps possible.
Here are some of the more popular free smart phone apps that help save the time it takes to do comparison-shopping and, more to the point, save you money.
Save on Gas
If you are like my husband who gets all bent out of shape when he runs across a gas station selling gas a few pennies lower right after filling his tank, then this app is for you.
GasBuddy
Search for the best gas prices by city, zip code or your phone’s location with GasBuddy. Available for the iPhone, Android and Blackberry phones, GasBuddy is free and can be used with Google maps to find the locations of service stations in the searched area. The app also tells what accommodations the gas station has like, ATM, car wash, air hose, convenience store, etc.
Get the Best Price
We have all done this: bought a product at one store only to find the same item at another store at a lower price. If the price is substantially lower, we might turn around and take the item back to the first store, which costs us time. Alternatively, we might decide to live with the buyer’s regret of having bought so hastily. Buyers be of good cheer because now there’s an app for that.
RedLaser Barcode & QR Scanner
This free eBay Mobile app for Android, Windows & iPhone turns your smart phone’s camera into a barcode scanner that can read practically any product code. While shopping, scan in the barcode and the app will return detailed product reviews and price comparisons from local stores or online. The app also works on QR codes as well. In addition, it allows you to scan in the product and build lists for future reference.
Save Money with Coupons
I have to admit that I am not the best in the world when it comes to using coupons, mostly because of how much time it takes to collect them, organize them and then remember to use them. However, when my usually not so thrifty daughter pulled out her iPhone while we were in line at Hobby Lobby and saved me 50% on my purchase, I was impressed!.
How this works: Groupon sends you the most relevant coupons based on your location, gender and age. You can select the deals you want to take advantage of and cash them in right then, save them for later and/or bring them up on your smart phone, as my daughter did, at check out. Note: no trees were killed in the making of this application. You’ll never have to clip, file and organize coupons again, although you can, if you want, because there is an option to print. Imagine what shoppers highlighted on TLC’s Extreme Couponing could do with this app!
With all the money saving apps available for smart phones, you can now fill justified in the extra cost of the data plans you have to sign up for in order to get a Smart at a reasonable price.
When it comes to saving time and money, now it is smart to have a smart phone!
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