Image via WikipediaUsing technology to save money this holiday season.
Saving money is hard enough as it is, but for many of us, this holiday season is going to be tighter than ever. Especially for those who are struggling with the rising cost of living, are underemployed or looking for jobs, saving money on gifts is really important.
The problem is that shopping for the best bargain when the malls are packed with other holiday shoppers isn't easy. It can get so crowded and frantic that it is tempting to just buy it where you find it and leave it at that. However, if you have a smartphone, getting the best deal is easy with a few great apps.
Here are 5 great apps for saving money this holiday season:
Price Check by Amazon - This app is amazing. You can search for items by typing in the description or name or even by scanning the barcode. The app will search Amazon to find the best deal.
RedLaser by Ebay - Redlaser is sort of like Price Check, but it searches local stores and online stores, not just Amazon. It has the same barcode scanning ability as Price Check but it can keep lists of products you've scanned previously.
Gift Plan - This app doesn't actually find deals, but it gives you the ability to organize and plan your gift lists. You can create a profile for each person you will be shopping for and keep track of their likes and dislikes and, more importantly, their sizes. By having all of the information handy, you can take advantage of great sales without worrying that they will be the wrong gift, or accidentally buying more presents for one person than another.
Shopkick - This app turns shopping into a game. Like Foursquare, this app gives you points for visiting specific places. The difference is that you get points for doing specific actions at participating stores. As you rack up points, you can cash them in for discounts and gift cards to places like Target and Best Buy.
Lemon - One of the more frustrating things about holiday shopping is keeping all of the receipts that pile up. The Lemon app allows you to take a picture of the receipt. The Lemon service stores the image and the location of the store for safe keeping. You can also keep track of your purchases and organize them. When you shop online, you can even have the receipts sent to Lemon directly.
Holiday shopping doesn't have to be a pain. With these apps, hopefully yours can actually be fun this year.
What are your favorite shopping apps? Let me know in the comments.
By Melissa Kennedy- Melissa is a 9 year blog veteran and a freelance writer for PhillyJobsBlog and Beyond.com, along with helping others find the job of their dreams, she enjoys computer geekery, raising a teenager, supporting her local library, writing about herself in the third person and working on her next novel.
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