Checkout 51: A Student’s Best Friend

I have been meaning to write a blog post on the app called Checkout 51 for a while but wanted to test it out a bit myself first. All I have to say is I give it a big thumbs up. I had previously written about Not So Extreme Couponing in the hopes of trying to find a better alternative for students when it comes to couponing or at least a less intense version. But I definitely will call Checkout 51 a student’s best friend.

So What is Checkout 51? Why should you care?

Well it’s an app for your iPhone (Google Play is currently listed as coming soon on their website) that has weekly deals that refresh every Wednesday. These savings range from $0.50 to even more than $2.00 depending on the product. And the best part of all is the fact that you don’t have to carry around coupons! Instead the savings are redeemed by taking a picture of your receipt by using the app and then selecting the products you purchased that are on sale through Checkout 51. Then some magical elves within the app will approve the credits (money back) and it will appear within your account on the app.

Checkout51

Checkout 51-Current Offers Example

Once you reach $20 in credits a cheque will be mailed to you which is a nice little amount that can help pay for your bills or whatever else you choose to do with it.

Something to remember- some weekly deals are limited in quantity and may run out before weeks end. Also all deals can only be redeemed once, which means you can’t buy 3 of the same thing on sale through Checkout 51 and save on all 3 products through 1 account.

Why is this better than standard coupons?

Personally I have even started to not like using coupons, I know it’s a shocker but it’s true. I have really begun to hate bringing my coupons with me and have often forgotten them. I really think students don’t like the idea of using paper coupons and carrying them around so Checkout 51 provides a great alternative. What’s great about this app is that you buy the products, don’t need to deal with the hassle of coupons and instead just use your iPhone to snap a pic of your receipt. The amount you save is then sent to you at a later date, which means you might just make better use of the money than if you just saved those $’s with standard coupons.

What I’ve bought so far.

  • Corn Flakes-$3.00 @ Metro and used a $2.00 Checkout 51 coupon.
  • Colgate Toothbrush-$1.00 @ NoFrills and used a $1.00 Checkout 51 coupon (woo free!)

If you want to save even more money when grocery shopping be sure to check out my post Simple and Easy Ways to Save on Groceries

Want to learn more about how to use the app in a step by step format? Check out this great post by Mrs. January called Checkout 51-The Ultimate Guide

Make sure to download Checkout51, it’s a great app, you can save some money while grocery shopping really easily and hassle-free and then get a nice cheque of at least $20. What more do you want?

Cheap Eats: Part 2

This is the second post of the cheap east series covering the topic of how to find cheap places to eat through tips from this blog post or printable coupons. This post will focus on the following options that includes;

  • Coupons
  • Daily Deals
  • Places you never thought of
Coupons

I know most people associate coupons with crazy ladies that are addicted to cutting coupons and show up on reality tv shows. But it’s important to note that it’s not a bad thing to whip out a coupon here and there especially when its going to save you some money. A great website to check out is BeFrugal.com where you can sign up and then print off coupons for restaurants. Another great tip is to sign up for the newsletters of your favourite chain restaurants where they often send you emails with deals and promotions that you can use at their restaurants.

Daily Deals
Websites like Groupon.com are great websites where you can get coupons and savings for chain restaurants as well as local restaurants. Check out these sites often and you can even sign up for their newsletters to make sure you get the most up to date deals.

Places you never thought of

This section was one of the main reasons why I wanted write a post covering this topic. Going to the University of Guelph myself I realized that there was a great restaurant on campus as part of our Hotel and Tourism program. This restaurant is run by students and is part of their curriculum which leads to fairly good meals and really inexpensive prices.

A list of a few great university/college campus restaurants

  • Niagara College-Benchmark
  • University of Guelph-P.J’s
  • Humber College- The Humber Room
  • Algonquin College-Restaurant International
  • Fanshawe College- Saffron’s Restaurant

How do you save while eating out?