iPhone – SnipSnap

SnipSnap SuperStar: Rosalind Culliver

March 19, 2013

I met Rosalind on her YouTube channel Beginnercouponer, where she features pretty sweet haul videos, demonstrating how to shop for free (or almost free!) at retailers like Target and CVS. Rosalind is relatively new to couponing, but she’s already a professional CVS Extra Care customer who knows how to buy groceries, cosmetics, and toys using coupons for next to nothing. I got to talk to Rosalind about her couponing strategy and how she incorporates SnipSnap into her frugal lifestyle. Here’s what she had to say!

Open Rosalind’s Profile in the App

MM: Hey, Rosalind! Tell us all about yourself. RC: I’m a recent stay-at-home mom, after I gave birth to my second baby 5 months ago. We are a family of 5 – currently. (There may be more to add!) We live a very simple and frugal life so, for fun, we watch movies as a family at home; we also have a husky, so we’ll be getting a little more outdoor-sy by going biking and hiking!

MM: How did you begin couponing? How has couponing changed your life?
RC: My husband talked to me about couponing a few years ago, but I never looked into it. I didn’t think it was necessary at the time, because I was working as well and we had a second income. But, after I became a stay-at-home mom, our finances weren’t as up to par. So I decided to learn how to coupon about 7 or 8 months ago. I watched a few videos on YouTube, searched the net, and went to a class held at my church – and then I decided to really get into it . I subscribed to 5 Sunday papers and started the non-clipping system. I made a few beginner’s mistakes here and there, but I eventually got the hang of it; once I built up ECBs [Extra Care Bucks] at CVS, I was amazed by how much I started saving! I still call myself the Beginnercouponer because I am always learning, and things always change/improve. I am much more experienced now and, after seeing how much money I can save with couponing, I always cringe when I see people buy things at full price that we as couponers can get for free! Even my husband is now always looking at prices and trying to use coupons for even the smallest items!

MM: How did you learn about SnipSnap? What has your experience with the app been like?
RC: I learned about SnipSnap when I was looking for a couponing organizational system on my phone. I downloaded a few apps and SnipSnap was one of them. I thought it was a great idea to scan your coupons into a digital coupon; the app tells you when a coupon is expiring to make sure you use it! I’ve used SnipSnap at several stores, such as Target, Hobby Lobby, and Home Depot. I’ve had many successful redemptions, so I decided to make a video introducing the app to my viewers on my YouTube channel!

MM: What is the best/most memorable purchase you’ve made with SnipSnap?
RC: The free pizzas I was able to get from Target!

MM: How does traditional couponing compare to couponing with SnipSnap?
RC: I think SnipSnap’s concept of making paper coupons digital is great – very handy and user friendly, because you don’t have to carry paper coupons around in your binder; you have them all on your phone! Who doesn’t have their phone with them nowadays!

MM: Do you have any tips or tricks to using SnipSnap that you could share? What is your SnipSnap strategy?
RC: I would recommend trying the app everywhere you go. You never know where you will be able to save that extra $5 or 50% on a transaction. Use it at restaurants if you can find coupons for where you’re heading out to eat. Use it at pet stores, use it everywhere! That’s my strategy: find as many places that accept my digital coupons successfully as I can.

MM: Do you use any other mobile couponing apps? If so, which are your favorite and why?
RC: Grocery Smarts is a great app to use because it has coupon match ups for many states and many grocery stores, which is very helpful! I haven’t found any other couponing apps that can convert a paper coupon into a digital coupon yet, although there are a few coupon forums that have apps.

MM: How much money have you saved with SnipSnap and what do you plan to do with your savings?
RC: I think I have saved more than $50-$80 using the app after just the first few stores I’ve been to. I plan on putting the savings in my pocket to use for more groceries or just savings in general!

Make sure you check out Rosalind’s YouTube channel to catch up on all her latest drug stores hauls. (Watch the video below to find out how to get Easter egg dying kits and bags upon bags of dark chocolate for almost free!) Rosalind also blogs at Wife Life as a Christian, about her every day life, super-saver strategies, and spirituality.

Kindle Classics: Are you Using Your iPhone to Read for Free?

September 11, 2012

You don’t need a Kindle to read Kindle books. You can also download Kindle reader apps for your smart phone or tablet. Find out how to get them here!

If you’d like to become more of a lit snob, but you don’t want to buy all the books (or the shelving) consider Amazon’s Free Kindle Classics Collection. With over 2,200 titles, the Kindle Classics collection is pretty extensive, and it’s a cinch to send ebooks to your phone. Want to get your Dickens on?

It’s easy. Download the free Kindle app for your phone/tablet. You can sign in with your Amazon account to register and sync the app, and then you’re all set to send free books, wirelessly, from the Amazon site to your Kindle app. This is what it looks like to complete a wireless, one-click order:

When you purchase a book, you’re given the option to share it with your social networks. Here’s what I’ve got going on in my Kindle app right now:

Everything from Les Miserables to How and When to Be Your Own Doctor costs nothing! Of course, I’m not going to limit my reading to the classics because they’re free, but the Kindle app is a pretty great intro to eReading, which is much more economical and, I think, more convenient on the whole. So when I’m craving something more contemporary, I can get it for cheap. And when I feel like snuggling up with Jane Eyre and reliving my freshman year of college, I can do that for free. But it’s an even better experience because the Kindle iPhone app lets me look up foreign or, ahem, “big” words, locate words or phrases throughout the text, and consult book extras for quick info to fill in comprehension gaps. (Hey, they happen!)

Want even more free Kindle ebooks? Check out The Free Stuff Times, which features a list of the top-rated free Kindle books on Amazon every day!

GasBuddy: The Smart Phone App You Need Now More Than Ever!

September 4, 2012

The longer you mobile coupon, the more you become convinced of your own consumer power to save, the more savings opportunities you see – even in places you’d normally feel powerless against high prices – like the gas station.

From CNNMoney:

If you visited the pumps this past Labor Day weekend, this is probably what you saw:

A series of unfortunate events (Hurricane Isaac and a fire at a major Chevron facility in Richmond) has sent gas prices skyrocketing. According to AAA, the price of regular gas climbed almost 10% in August, a jump that experts say is the largest in the last three years. The national average of a gallon of regular gas was at $3.80 on Labor Day 2012, a significant leap from the previous Labor Day record of $3.67 in 2008. And, while some experts predict that relief is within reach, savvy smart phone users are taking measures into their own hands, with an app that’s saving people hundreds at the pump each year.

I’m talking about GasBuddy, the social iPhone/iPad/iPod app that tracks gas prices across country and issues incentives like free gas to users who contribute the most data. Put simply: users report gas prices at the pumps in their area, while other users can search zip codes or use gps to locate nearby gas facilities and comparison shop from their phones – without having to drive around. Search the app and you’ll see the substantial range in gas prices throughout your area. Here’s what’s going on in my neck of the woods:

As you can see, there’s over $.30/gallon difference in price between the highest and lowest prices at my local pumps. I can use the app’s settings to select whether I want to display the search results based on price or location, but they’re all close enough to make it worth driving toward the biggest deal. In this case, selecting the best bang for my buck will save me over three dollars/every ten gallons I put in my car. If you drive 10,000 miles a year, at 23 miles per gallon, you’re buying over 400 gallons of gas a year. So that means, just by utilizing your best bet via GasBuddy, you could save over 100 dollars on gas annually!

It gets better! GasBuddy utilizes a user-incentive system that pays you for your input. When you download the GasBuddy app (for free) and sign up for an account, you’re rewarded with 100 points to start out. You earn 150 more points each time you add or update a gas price in your area (GasBuddy tells you when each price in your area was last updated so you get the most accurate information at all times). You can earn points for up to 5 price reports a day. Once you have 1000 points (you could rack these up in a day or two just by paying attention when you drive), you’re entered into a weekly drawing to win a $250.00 gas card. Since every 1000 points you earn grants you one entry into the drawing, you up your odds the more you update your area’s gas prices. Not bad!

Here are some recent, happy GasBuddy gas card winners:

Are you using GasBuddy to save big? Have another great tip for saving on gas? I want to hear about it! Email me at liz@snipsnap.it!