Okay, so this post is more of a cautionary tale:

I recently heard about a cool app called “Wish”. They tote themselves as being a completely new and fun way to shop. Here’s the basic idea: you tell the app (or website) what your preferences are and then it supplies you with deals on those types of products or services. Then as you shop, the application’s algorithms pick up on what you like and offer you more stuff based on your buying preferences.

But here’s the bottom line as far as I’m concerned:

• At the time of this review, Wish.com had an “F” rating with the Better Business Bureau
• The customer reviews are overwhelmingly negative on each and every website I checked out.
• Complaints ranged from extremely slow shipping times, false advertising – the product shown was entirely different than what they received, and unauthorized transactions just to name a few
• The products are cheap. Many customers compared the products to cheap “made-in-China” type trinkets.

I’m giving the app the benefit of doubt. Here’s what I mean: I signed up and got a “free” gift. I chose a nice looking tie. I guess we’ll see what I get in a couple days…or weeks.

For now, be wary my bargain-hunting friends.

So this app is very similar to the iBotta and Checkout 51 (click on either for my small post about each app), but what sets this app apart is that you get rebates when you shop online stores. It works pretty much the same as the other apps I mentioned so I won’t go into a ton of details. But I will tell you what I love and don’t love about this app.

What I love:

• Variety. There are over 2,000 stores to chose from. And the cool thing is that you probably already shop many of them anyway (JCPenny, Kohl’s, Home Depot, Overstock.com, Walmart, Groupon, etc).
• Hastle free. No forms to fill out or points to redeem. All you do is shop through the app and earn cash back. Just browse through all the deals and when you click “Shop” you immediately activate the cash back rebate.
• An instant $10 bonus when you complete your first purchase using Ebates.
• It’s free to sign up and download the app.
• You can earn up to 40% off of deals
• If you invite 2 friends and they join, you get rewarded with $50.

What I don’t love:

• You do end up giving away a lot of personal information (shopping behavior, credit info, location, etc) to the company. But I guess they collect a lot of that info through our phones already, right Uncle Sam?
• The cash back rewards aren’t as high as I expected.

All in all, I say this app is worth a try. Especially if you are an online shopper or use your phone to shop often.

Checkout 51 is an app that allows you to receive rebates when you buy certain items from a variety of stores. So this nifty little app is a lot like the iBotta app (Click here to see my post about iBotta), so I won’t duplicate a lot content here, but I will say that I really like using the two apps in conjunction because quite often when what I’m shopping for isn’t on the iBotta app, I can find a refund on Checkout 51, or vice versa.

What I love:

• You can sign up and use Checkout 51 on a computer or you can use the app on a mobile device. I mostly use the mobile app because it’s so much more convenient, but it’s nice to have the computer option.
• They refresh the app and give you new offers each week.
• A lot of the offers are things I’m already buying, so that’s awesome!
• Notifications!!!! – This might drive some of you mad, but you can turn on notifications and the app will tell you when you can get $2 back on granola bars, or $0.75 back on bananas, etc.
• Unlike iBotta, you can buy your items at pretty much any store and get the rebate. With iBotta you are limited by where you can purchase your goods.

What I don’t love:

• I’m not always a “name-brand” kind of guy so it kinda bothers me that a lot of what this app offers discounts/rebates on are name brand products.
• No shopping list feature. I’m not a fan of having to scroll through the whole list of offers to find what I want.

All in all, you should definitely try out Checkout 51!

This is another great app you should download if you are a serious coupon guru.

What it is:

Retale is a great way to find local deals. It allows you to select the stores you love to shop at then will update each week with deals and coupons from those stores. You know how you get those ad flyers in the mail? Well, Retale is a way to organize them all into one place without having to find a place to keep all the paper.

What I love:

• It is very user friendly and intuitive.
• I only have to see the ads I care about. No more sifting through the newspaper to find the ad from Michael’s (yeah, I’m kinda crafty).
• I can save the coupons I really want in a “Coupons” section of the app.
• The ability to create a shopping list from inside the app and have the app do all the work of finding me a coupon! I can’t say enough good things about that. I love this feature!

What I don’t love:

• Lets see…um…there’s got to be something…Nope. I love this app.

Don’t get me wrong, if you are a compulsive coupon-aholic, this app may not be robust enough for you, but for the day to day purchases you’re going to be making, I think this app deserves 5 stars.

Check out Retale in the Apple app store or Android market place.

Click here to return to the Home page.

So I usually like doing things myself, but recently I had my carpets professionally cleaned. The last time I tried to shampoo my carpets was a nightmare so I swallowed my pride and decided to hire someone. Let me tell you: the whole experience was a little scary at first, but fortunately it had a happy ending. I don’t know about you, but I’m never sure who to trust on the internet. Everyone who is offering a service says about the same thing. “We are better than our competitors”. Well duh! I know you think that, but so does your competitor, Mr. Carpet Cleaner man. All sassiness aside, I finally found a company I was willing to try. www.StgCleanestCarpets.com I had 3 reasons for using them. First, they had put flyers up on my townhouse, so I knew they were at least willing to put in some hard work. Second, a friend in the same complex used them and was satisfied. Finally (and if I’m being honest, probably the tipping point): the price. This is a bargain shopping website, remember! These guys were hands down the best price in my town. So bargain hunters, there’s good news, and there’s bad news. Continue reading →

Okay, if you haven’t heard about iBotta yet, where have you been? This is seriously an app I use all the time. I own an iPhone and I used to create a shopping list in my Notes app. But now, I just type in my shopping list into the iBotta app, where I plan on shopping, and the app tells me which of my purchases qualifies for a rebate. Most of the time the rebates are nothing huge…$0.25 here, $0.50 there but that adds up quick! Then when you want to cash in your rebates (you have to have a minimum of $20) you just choose how you want your moolah. PayPal? Sure! Target gift card? Okay. Have a craving for Olive Garden? Cash out and get a gift card. And there are lots and lots of options! Plus you get all sorts of bonuses in the app when you use it. For first timers you get $5 just for joining. And if you enter in my code, I get a fiver too! Yes, that is a shameless plug, but I’m not to proud!

Here’s my code: mhmxtne.

iBotta has even made it fun to shop. Once you join, you become part of a team of shoppers. For instance, if you use my code above, you are on my team. Then there are team goals like, “If you’re team redeems 5 rebates this week, everyone on the team get’s an extra $2!” Pretty cool! There you go bargain hunters! Download iBotta today (and use my code please).

Click here to return to the Home page.

I love the feeling of new socks. Amiright?! There’s just something that feels…good. Well that’s kinda how I feel about this new website, “Bargain Jargon!”

It’s probably pretty self explanatory, but just in case it isn’t, let me explain what this site is all about (As a matter of fact I gave a much better explanation in my About page). I want to share with the world some of the best bargains, bargain shopping tools and life hacks I can find. From great steals I have found myself, to bargains I’m exploring.

So here’s to hoping you love hunting for bargains as much as I like new socks…and bargains.