How to use a store's smart phone app to save yourself some money.
I resisted getting a cell phone for the longest time. I am not a social butterfly, and I don't make, or receive, many calls anymore. However, my bank now requires us to use their bank app to scan checks for deposits. My military bank, USAA, is stationed in Texas but I live in Minnesota. I have the option of sending checks through the mail, but that takes time and I really don't want to risk any deposit being lost in the mail. So, I had to get a smart phone and cancelled my landline phone that I had for the past 30 years.
But, there are many other advantages to using your smart phone.
Almost all the stores I shop at now have their own phone apps. What I find very useful is using their Shopping List feature. I know Harbor Freight and Home Depot both have a little heart icon that you simply tap on and that item is automatically added to your shopping list. I don't get notices on sales for those items like I do for Amazon, but what I can do is just tap on the item in the list and quickly see if that item is on sale for this week.
Also, for Harbor Freight anyway, it tells me if the item is in stock, or not, so I can decide if it's worth my time to swing by there to pick it up or save a little gas money and time and go straight home. Harbor Freight also has a link on their app with their in-store sales and specials, so you can easily check out the new sale items for the current period.
If you are a veteran, Home Depot now requires you to use the phone app for the military discount program. That's 10% off many items and well worth it when shopping. I bought a few clearance items at Home Depot today, originally $15 but marked down to $5, and I got another 10% off the clearance price using the phone app with my military discount.
Some places even give you an initial discount or cash reward for downloading their app and making a purchase online with your phone. I have not personally been able to use one of those deals, yet.
Forgive me if this just old news to you younger people, but I'm just finding new ways to save money with my cell phone apps. I hope it might be interesting to someone else and maybe save them some money.
I resisted getting a cell phone for the longest time. I am not a social butterfly, and I don't make, or receive, many calls anymore. However, my bank now requires us to use their bank app to scan checks for deposits. My military bank, USAA, is stationed in Texas but I live in Minnesota. I have the option of sending checks through the mail, but that takes time and I really don't want to risk any deposit being lost in the mail. So, I had to get a smart phone and cancelled my landline phone that I had for the past 30 years.
But, there are many other advantages to using your smart phone.
Almost all the stores I shop at now have their own phone apps. What I find very useful is using their Shopping List feature. I know Harbor Freight and Home Depot both have a little heart icon that you simply tap on and that item is automatically added to your shopping list. I don't get notices on sales for those items like I do for Amazon, but what I can do is just tap on the item in the list and quickly see if that item is on sale for this week.
Also, for Harbor Freight anyway, it tells me if the item is in stock, or not, so I can decide if it's worth my time to swing by there to pick it up or save a little gas money and time and go straight home. Harbor Freight also has a link on their app with their in-store sales and specials, so you can easily check out the new sale items for the current period.
If you are a veteran, Home Depot now requires you to use the phone app for the military discount program. That's 10% off many items and well worth it when shopping. I bought a few clearance items at Home Depot today, originally $15 but marked down to $5, and I got another 10% off the clearance price using the phone app with my military discount.
Some places even give you an initial discount or cash reward for downloading their app and making a purchase online with your phone. I have not personally been able to use one of those deals, yet.
Forgive me if this just old news to you younger people, but I'm just finding new ways to save money with my cell phone apps. I hope it might be interesting to someone else and maybe save them some money.