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Bringing Your Personal Finance into the 2020s

Utilizing personal finance apps to amp up your cash-back game.

By BrittneyPublished 4 years ago 4 min read
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With a new decade on the horizon, what better way to start off the new year than with a little extra cash? Over the past few years, I've scrimped and scrounged for every little extra dollar here and there just to make ends meet or to do the things I want. Much to my surprise, I've discovered a much easier way to do this than trying to squirrel away every extra dollar I had.

Rewards apps have been around for quite some time now, but developers have made sure to make it difficult to actually obtain rewards. Take Drop for example, users need several thousand of points to redeem rewards, but most offers will only provide 20-100 points per dollar spent (ie. $10 reward will cost you $100!). In order to gain the most from your spending, I've run down some of my favourite to get the best bang for your buck. Keep reading to get special links to obtain sign-up bonuses!

KOHO

Koho has been one of my top apps for the past couple years, originally I signed up for lower foreign exchange fees while on vacation, but I've come to use it so regularly that I gain decent cash-back on a daily basis. KOHO members can gain 1% cash-back on all purchases, while premium members can gain 2% on eating & drinking, transportation and groceries and 1% on everything else. KOHO has become my main card for purchases because there are no fees and I'm gaining cash-back without needed to use a credit card and worry about paying for my purchases later. While your cash-back is dependent on how much you spend, the little amounts do add up quickly and can be cashed out at anytime, added to a goal or saved for a rainy day. My absolute favourite feature is the ability to e-Transfer between your main bank account and you KOHO account with no fees, in as little as 30 minutes. Similar apps such as Stack currently don't support this or have the cash-back feature. In addition to your daily cash-back of 1-2%, making purchases through KOHO's partners can gain you up to 5% more cash-back (as a premium member that's 7%!). Recently I spent $25 on Foodora with my KOHO card and gained 6.5 cash-back! Other KOHO partners include Well.ca, Chef's Plate, Sunwing and Freshii.

With KOHO you really don't have anything to lose when you sign up. With the ability to load via e-transfer, direct-deposit and KOHO-to-KOHO transfers, its never been easier to stay on top of your finances and get rewarded.

Use the code O3NKVM2M or link https://app.koho.ca/referral/O3NKVM2M sign up and gain 1% extra cash-back for 90 days—that's 2% without having to be a premium member.

DIPP

Dipp has quickly become one of my favourite cash-back apps because it specifically targets local merchants around you. Dipp is fairly new and backed by RBC Ventures, but the offers are very generous. With Dipp, you can link multiple cards, and even link cards not associated with banks (Ahem, Drop), such as American Express, Capital One or even your KOHO card. The app allows you to double dip(p) by linking cards you may already be gaining cash-back from so you're always gaining cash on you purchases. Dipp offers high cash-back anywhere from 1%-10% and with the notifications on, you'll always know when you're near offers. While Dipp is fairly new, they are situating themselves as one of the top real cash-back apps, with an e-transfer withdrawal threshold of only $15, you'll be cashing out in no time.

Sign up with code "dipp10" for a $10 sign-up bonus, applied automatically to you account.

AMPLI

Ampli, also backed by RBC Ventures is new on the scene and while similar to Dipp with real cash-back and withdrawals at $15, earning is done a little differently. While Ampli does offer you a percentage back on your purchases, it also allows you to earn cash-back for spending certain amounts of money. For example, a current offer is "Spend $100 at The Keg, get $15 cash-back"—let's be real, it is very easy to spend $100 at The Keg and $15 is a nice bonus to get back. Ampli has a long list of offers of all different kinds and is currently even hosting a contest with a prize valued at $20,000, which you gain entries to by completing small challenges. While Ampli doesn't have a sign-up bonus at this time—"all cash, no points" should be a selling point all on its own.

With holiday shopping right around the corner, if you combine KOHO + Dipp + Ampli, it'll equal a whole lot of happiness—and cash, which is basically the same thing.

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