< Previous Entry

Next Entry >

Welcome to Sunday Classics, a series we run every Sunday that re-runs classic savings posts from cincysavers.com. Today's Classic Post explains one of the several digital coupon options shoppers have available to them for saving at local grocery stores. -------------------------------------------------------One of the most common questions I get is "What's your favorite savings app?"  Everywhere I go, friends, co-workers, readers, family...they all want to know what apps are on my phone! So I thought I'd share one of my favorite apps with you. Any apps I review are free, or paid for by me, so these are my honest opinons on apps that I use week in and week out. One of my most commonly used apps for saving money is Cellfire.  Cellfire was the first to offer digital coupons via the cellphone.  There are plenty of coupons available for local retailers, but the ones I focus most on are the grocery coupons.  When you enter Cellfire via the web or smartphone app, you will be given a chance to add coupons to your Kroger Plus card.  The web is simple enough--but the app adds some real sophistication. Easy enough to use, you simply touch the coupons you want to add to your Plus card.  Head to the store and buy the items, swipe your Plus card, and the coupons come off automatically! Digital coupons are one-time use, do not double and cannot be combined with paper coupons. Tonight I'm browsing through the list and I see:  Betty Crocker cake mix, Betty Crocker fruit snacks, Green Giant Steamers, Fiber One Chewy bars, Golden Grahams and more! Now, how does the app add to the sophistication?  Well, one of the biggest pitfalls of digital coupons is that I often forget which coupons I have saved. Out of sight, out of mind! That means that a lot of coupons expire before I ever remember they're there. What Cellfire on a smartphone does is allow you to set a location alert.  So when you walk into a store, it will alert you to coupons available for that store! For me, that equals no more forgetting! Also, there's no way for a cashier to check your digital coupons if you aren't sure if you've bought the wrong product.  Actually, many cashiers have no clue that a digital coupon even exists, so they will give you the "Uh, lady--are you nuts?" look when you ask them anything about a digital coupons.  Anyway, what Cellfire does is offer you a way to check if you've bought the right item!  When you're in the store and wondering if this is the right variety or size, use the bar code scanner in the app and snap a photo of the UPC code.  The app will tell you if it qualifies for the digital coupon!  Fantastic! This is just one extra tool to make saving money easier. I still use paper coupons more than I do digital ones, but I suspect with the new store alerts from Cellfire that I'll be using digital coupons more and more!

< Previous Entry

Next Entry >