If you have been actively participating in my How To Plan A Christmas To Remember On A Super Tight Budget then you have probably created a nice stash of cash for Christmas shopping. This post is going to help you make that Christmas cash go further than you might have thought possible.

15 Websites & Apps That Will Save You Money On Your Christmas Shopping

(Some links in this post are affiliate links. I will be compensated when you make a purchase by clicking those links. See my disclosure page for more information)

Discount Gift Card Sites

Discount gift cards are one of my thrifty family’s favorite ways of dropping the price of an item further, even if it is already on sale. We have been able to purchase gift cards at a discount of anywhere between 7% to as much as 20% off through discount gift card sites.

1. Cardpool

Cardpool is the discount gift card company our family uses the most often because it sells physical, hold-in-your-hand gift cards and one person in our thrifty couple isn’t very app savvy so he prefers physical gift cards (oops…gave away who it is).

Cardpool does have an app though, if you prefer buying and using your discounted gift cards that way.

2. Raise

Our family has yet to use Raise, but it does seem to have a good selection of cards. At Raise, the gift cards are electronically based and saved in the Raise app for you to use when you need them.

Cash Back Sites

Our thrifty family makes sure to use a cash back site before we buy anything online. Sure, we do have to wait to get our money back, but this step can really add up to significant savings.

3. Ebates

Ebates offers a HUGE selection of stores to earn cashback through. One thing I don’t like about Ebates, though is that you not only have to wait until you meet the $5.01 cashback value, but when you do reach it you also have to wait until their next “Big Fat Check” payout date to get your payout, which only happens 4 times a year.

However, as I said the selection is amazing! Often if I can’t find a cash back at a store I am shopping at through the two other suggestions below, I go to Ebates and almost always I will find a cash back for that store offered there.

4. TopCashBack

What I love about TopCashBack is that there are no minimum payouts. You also earn a bonus when you cash out for Amazon gift card codes which makes your cashback rate even bigger. I do find it takes TopCashBack a considerable amount of time to credit your account for cash back, though.

5. Swagbucks

The greatest benefit of using Swagbucks to earn cashback is that through Swagbucks you can earn points called SB in so many other ways and when you combine those points together you can earn a gift card cash out pretty fast–especially since most gift cards start at 500 SB points. Most times Swagbucks is the first place I look for a cash back offer for online shopping.

psst…did you know you can use the Ibotta app to earn cashback on in store shopping?

Websites & Blogs That List Great Deals

6. Money Saving Mom

Money Saving Mom lists great deals all day long, all week long. I like checking the website daily to see what new deals have been listed.

7. Brad’s Deals

Brad’s Deals is an app and a website. I haven’t used the app version, but most years I sign up to receive Brad’s Deals emails just as the Christmas shopping season begins and then unsubscribe after I am done my shopping so I am not tempted to continue shopping the great deals.

8. Snail Pace Transformations

Apps That offer Cashback & More

9. Ibotta

Ibotta is an app that you can use to earn cashback on all your in-store shopping from groceries, to movie tickets, to craft supplies, to clothing and more. When you earn enough for a cash out you can pick from a PayPal deposit or several different gift card providers including Starbucks, Amazon, iTunes and more. One thing I really like about Ibotta is how fast it takes them to deliver your payout once you have earned it–I can’t remember waiting more than a few hours.

10. Shopkick

Shopkick has several different ways to earn points, but my favorite is the walk-in points. Simply open the app as you are walking in the store and you can earn points. Sometimes it is just 35 points, but sometimes they run specials where I have seen Shopkick offer 150 points or more for simply walking in the store.

11. Receipt Hog

Receipt Hog is a very simple app to use (use my referral code yect1667 to earn a bonus when you sign up). You simply snap a picture of your receipt and earn coins or spins. When you earn enough coins you can cash out for an Amazon or PayPal gift card code. Receipt Hog works at clothing stores, sporting good stores, book stores, grocery stores and even restaurants.

Websites with Great Prices On Name Brand Items

12. Zulily

If the loved ones on your Christmas list are name brand picky, Zulily could help you save up to 50% on some of their favorite brands. They offer new deals each and every day so if you don’t see something on your Christmas list today it could be there tomorrow. My family has gotten some great deals through Zulily.

13. Hollar

Hollar is what I would describe as an online dollar variety store. Prices at Hollar start at $1 and go up from there. I have gotten O.P.I nail polish for $4 a bottle from Hollar. I noticed they recently had K’nex sets starting at just $3. Items at Hollar move fast! What is there today might not be there tomorrow. New customers get free shipping on their first order of $10 or more (normally free shipping starts at $25).

Websites That Reward You With Free Items That Would Make Great Gifts

14. Tyndale Rewards

I have been a member of Tyndale rewards for years and over those years I have gotten some really awesome books for as little as 75 points and it isn’t as hard to earn those points as you might think. Tyndale Rewards offers a fairly good selection of fiction, nonfiction, children’s books, bibles, devotions and more for you to cash your points in for.

15. Recycle Bank

Recycle Bank gives you points for doing things like watching video clips or slide shows on environmental topics and then answering questions afterwards. Recycle Bank has a great selection of magazine subscriptions that could be given as gifts to those in your household. For instance, if your spouse is a runner you could grab them a year subscription of Runner’s World.

psst…I share more sites where you can grab great free or low cost gifts in this article.

How To Stack The Savings

So now you have 15 different places that could save you money on your Christmas shopping, but where the fun part comes in–at least for us thrifty people–is stacking the 15 on top of each other as much as possible.

Find a bargain
Use a discounted gift card: Our thrifty family tends to keep a gift card to a small handful of stores we shop at most often on hand. That way when we see a bargain at these stores we can make it bigger.
If shopping online use a cashback site. If shopping in store use a cashback app.
Search RetailMeNot for a discount code or free shipping code if shopping online (that’s a 16th website)

If you are lucky enough to use all four steps on your purchase you can easily save an additional 10% or more off an item on your Christmas list that was already a bargain to begin with

How To Plan A Christmas To Remember On A Super Tight Budget: The Series

Week One:Introduction & Our Story

Week Two:Where To Earning Gift Cards For Fast Christmas Cash

Week Three: Where To Find Free & Low Cost Christmas Gifts That Rock!

Week Four: How To Make A Prioritized Christmas List–An Essential Item For Keeping Christmas Affordable

Week Five: Half Of What You Need For Christmas You Already Own

Week Six: Where To Resell Your Items Online For Quick Christmas Cash

Week Seven: How To Use Your Talents & Passions To Generate Christmas Cash

Week Eight: 25 Christmas Traditions For Families On Tight Budgets

Week Nine: How To Hold An ‘Eat What You Have’ Week to Help Pad the Christmas Fund.

Week Ten: 15 Websites & Apps That Will Save You Money On Your Christmas Shopping (you are here)

Week Eleven: 7 Christmas Themed Swap-It Parties That Will Save You Money