Best apps to save on your holiday shopping and year round

UPDATE: ibotta has announced some of its Black Friday cashback offers. Go here to learn more.

With proper preparation, your smartphone can be your secret savings weapon for holiday shopping and year round.

By loading and signing up for cashback apps, store loyalty and other discount programs you can save both time and money.

I suggest bringing a portable battery or two for long shopping excursions such as Black Friday, because these apps will contribute to burning through your phone’s battery life faster.

Thanksgiving day edition available early for eager shoppers

Here are the apps I recommend you add to your arsenal:

Amazon: With Amazon Lightning deals constantly changing, the fastest way to order is with Amazon’s shopping app. Use the app’s visual search to help with comparison price searching, which comes in handy for price-matching. Many retailers including Target, Walmart, Toys R Us, Best Buy, Staples and Office Depot, match Amazon prices year round but some suspend price matching for Black Friday weekend. With Amazon’s Black Friday sale now underway, it’s worth comparing prices in local stores and matching prices. Also starting Nov. 15, the app will have a new feature for iPhone users called Package X-Ray where you scan a barcode from your package and can see inside without opening it. (Note: This feature doesn’t sound ideal for parents trying to keep gifts a mystery from tech-savvy snoopers.)

Ebates: When I shop online, Ebates.com is the first website I go to and now the cashback website, which also has a smartphone app, offers in-store cashback at select retailers. To earn cashback when shopping in-store you need to add a Visa or American Express card to your Ebates account and then select cashback offers to link to your card. To earn cashback online or on the app, head to Ebates first and then click on the store name to earn a percentage back on your purchase. You’ll also get a bonus for signing up and Ebates sends users cashback via check or PayPal every three months.

Plenti: If a trip to Macy's or the AT&T store is in your shopping plans, you'll want to sign up for Plenti, which is the nation's first coalition loyalty program developed by American Express. The credit card company teamed up with AT&T, ExxonMobil, Macy's, Hulu and other retailers to offer loyalty rewards and you can earn points by simply paying your AT&T wireless bill. Register at a participating retailer, online at Plenti.com or through the Plenti smartphone app. Once you have 200 points, you can get $2 off at select stores or save up 1,000 points for $10 off. Plenti also has an online marketplace where you can earn points for shopping online similar to earning cashback with Ebates.

Shopkick: Get points or "kicks" just for walking into stores, which adds up to free gift cards. Scan select items in the app for more kicks. You also can link your credit card to your Shopkick account to earn kicks at specific stores but I can't guarantee the safety. Days after I linked my credit card more than a year ago, I had a breach on my card and had to get a new one. It may have just been a coincidence and I haven’t had a problem since I linked my new credit card.

Target Cartwheel: Through Dec. 24, every day Target has 50 percent off a different toy with its Cartwheel app. But you can save on hundreds of items each day with the app. One of the best ways to find current discounts is to scan items with the app, or browse by category. You can also use Cartwheel with store and manufacturer coupons plus some store coupons are loaded in the app and can be found under the checkout section. If you don't have a smartphone you can also make a Cartwheel account at Cartwheel.com. You'll be able to add discounts to your account online but will need to print out your Cartwheel barcode and bring to the store.

Target Kids’ Wish List: Another Target app to use with Cartwheel to save even more is the Kids’ Wish List app. When you make a wish list, you get a 10 percent off coupon for the wish list items, which includes toys, sporting goods, outdoor products, video games, electronics, kids’ apparel, accessories, shoes, kids’ home products and kids’ music, movies and books. The coupon is a one-time only coupon, which can be used in-store and at Target.com through Nov. 23. Some exclusions apply.

Sam’s Club: Members of the warehouse club will want to download the new Sam’s Club Scan & Go smartphone app to bypass the checkout lines. With the app scan items as you add them to your shopping cart, pay from your phone when you’re ready to checkout and then show your receipt on the phone on your way out of the store.

ibotta: Normally I use ibotta to earn cashback on my groceries but there are also cashback offers for stores like Best Buy and Groupon and I expect more offers will be available closer to Thanksgiving. To use the app, you complete tasks, which include viewing a recipe or answering a trivia question, to unlock the rebate. For specific cashback item offers, scan the item’s barcode to confirm you're buying the correct item, and take a photo of your receipt through the app. For some stores, such as Best Buy, you’ll need to present a QR code on your phone prior to checking out. Once you have $20 in your ibotta account, you can cash out by depositing money in a PayPal or Venmo account or selecting a gift card. Go here to see some of the Black Friday ibotta offers.

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Find&Save: I'll be honest, this in-store cashback app isn't as good as it used to be. While I've earned more than $500 in the last two years, the offers have been few and far between until recently. Last year there were many offers on the app on Black Friday so I'm hoping we'll see this again. To use the app, you'll need to enable location services and app notifications. A change with Find&Save since I featured it in last year's Black Friday app guide is that you have to watch videos to unlock the offers. Then for most store offers, you'll submit a picture of your receipt to earn cashback. Once you have earned $25 with Find&Save, the money will be deposited into your PayPal account.

More store apps: I have many stores’ apps on my phone including Kohl’s, JCPenney, Walmart, Sears and Kmart’s Shop Your Way Rewards program, Macy’s, Michaels, A.C. Moore, Jo-Ann Fabric and more. I use some to access my loyalty cards, check prices and to easily find store coupons. An added bonus of using the Kohl’s app in-store is free shipping on all orders.

Kelly Tyko is a columnist for Treasure Coast Newspapers. This column reflects her opinion. Read her Bargainista tips at TCPalm.com/Bargainista and follow her on Twitter @TCPalmKelly.