Many of us have SmartPhones – and besides helping us talk, text and surf the web – they can also help you save money! I’ve been trying out a few apps recently for smart phones that can make your coupon life easier. (If you have something other than an iPhone, please share your faves in the comments!)

1. Go to the app store for your particular phone and search for similar apps. If you have trouble finding what you’re looking for, do what I did: I couldn’t figure out how to do something I needed to do and I put it out there on Facebook. In under an hour, I had exact directions on how to do what I’d spent a week trying to figure out!
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2. Both Groupon and Living Social, two deal sites we talk a lot about here on Time 2 $ave, have smart phone apps. I installed both of those. It transferred all my info to the phone, so now when I want to use a deal I purchased, I just pull it up on the phone and show it to the merchant. No printer required, no finding that elusive printout–couldn’t be simpler! I can also check quickly for the daily deal and buy it, using my stored info. Both of these apps are free.
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3. I also saved Swagbucks to my screen so that I can remember to do more regular searches and earn more Swagbucks. If you use Cellfire (Kroger shoppers, take note!) they also have a free app.
4. Key ring is a cool app. It does take a few minutes or so to set up. Once you install it, you use the phone’s camera to scan the barcodes of all your store loyalty cards, naming them as you go. Then you can take them off your keyring, store them at home in a safe location, and bring them up on screen with a couple of clicks to be scanned from the phone by the store clerk! This is also a free app.
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5. I like the notes app that came already installed on the phone. You can use it for shopping lists, best price lists, deal match-ups, etc. I used mine the other day to make a list of what all I got in my drugstores run, how much I paid total, and how much I had in RRs left over.

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