With the Christmas shopping season upon us, we're all pinching pennies where we can.
Whether it's trying to find the cheapest presents, or bypassing some of those niggly extra costs (car making a weird noise you're ignoring? Same), this can be one of the most expensive - and stressful - times of year.
Here is a comprehensive list of apps that can help you save a few extra dollars, whether that's to be spent on loved ones, or yourself. We're not judging...
There's nothing worse than being stung by a huge mechanical bill just before Christmas (or any time really). It's safe to say most of the time we don't know when it's coming - and despite what my mum keeps telling me, I never put away money in a car-emergency fund.
That leads to my bank account taking a major hit when Babs the Wingroad needs fixing.
Worse than all this is trying to find a decent mechanic who is honest, charges a fair price and where you actually know what you're paying for.
FIXR has only been around a few months but is growing rapidly. The Kiwi-owned app is free to download and use as many times as required, and all you have to do when the steel box starts clunking is 'post' a job to the app. Five approved and rated car service businesses will send you quotes for the job, and you can pick the one best suited to your wallet and geographical convenience. No cowboys, either; the service promises they're all vetted businesses to ensure quality service.
It's hard to believe you can get underwear for 67 cents or jewellery for 73 cents sent from China, postage costs included. AliExpress is perfect for the little things in life and will save you a tonne of money on clothing, accessories, homemaking, kitchen gadgets and kids toys. But be warned: you're not paying for quality. The platform has a robust dispute process and traders absolutely detest having disputes raised against them. Then again, if you're paying peanuts for an Apple charger, chances are it'll probably stop working soon after arriving (speaking from experience).
Keep your purchasers restricted to the simple things in life, and remember if that T-shirt cost $1, it probably won't last five years of rugby practice - but it will make for the perfect pyjama top. Also, postage takes anywhere between five to eight weeks if you don't want to pay for it - so if you're ordering Christmas gifts, do it now.
This platform isn't dirt cheap, but offers good deals compared to retail prices. Mind you, every online 'deals' platform should theoretically beat retail prices, so that is just a given at this point. It feels like a fancier version of Groupon and quality of goods is probably the same or maybe better but not guaranteed. It runs promotions nationally, and you can pick geographically. It has a variety of goods, services and experiences on offer, and can be a fully-fledged hobby for militant bargain hunters. They often have some amazing deals on massages, show tickets and nights away - so a great place to find some luxe Christmas presents for less. You just have to be that person that gave someone a GrabOne voucher for Christmas - something I'm definitely not opposed to.
Gaspy is an app for Kiwis by Kiwis, telling you where to find the cheapest fuel in your area (Yes, it's probably Gull, but not always).
The app promises to save you hundreds of dollars by joining the Gaspy community, where you locate and share the best petrol and diesel prices in the country,
Although this doesn't offer discounts, this great little app is basically a list of prices from most of the service stations across the country. It's kept up to date by drivers just like you uploading prices from their local service stations. This helps keep all the information current and helps you find the cheapest deal in your area. Simply type in your location, how far you are prepared to travel, and the app will do the rest.
Newshub.
