Upgrade your Internet speed for FREE with these money-saving apps

This post is sponsored by TextNow. All always, all these opinions are 100% my own (and you know I am opinionated!)

We all want faster internet and the simplest solution is to simply pay your ISP to upgrade your Internet package. However, this can be expensive. There are many speed optimization tips to get faster wifi, there are no hacks to beat your ISP. Your ISP sets the speed you get so reluctantly, the only option you have is to upgrade your internet package.

This can be expensive so its time to get creative!

5 ways that you can save money to pay for your upgraded Internet:

Free Cell Phone Contract

Let’s start with a cell phone contract. While we want to have a connected cell phone, what we don’t want is the cell phone bill. So let’s get rid of that cell phone bill but still get unlimited text and unlimited talk for FREE!

This is where TextNow comes in.

TextNow is a free app that you install on your phone and you get your own cell phone number. This is a  real cell phone number and is not one of those apps that requires someone else to have the same app installed so you can talk to each other. This is a regular cell phone number much like the one you have right now from your mobile provider.

When you are within your home’s wifi, the phone will use the WiFi to make and receive calls.

However with TextNow when you leave the home, TextNow still works as it connects to the Sprint Cellular Network. So you have the regular freedom to roam around and still be connected!

What’s the catch? How can TextNow be free?

All you will see are some ads in your text messages. If you don’t want to see those ads, you can pay a small add-on fee and they will be removed.

If you would like to have data when you are on the go, simply buy a data-bundle so you can still keep an eye on your email, social media and YouTube videos when you are out and about.

What I really do like about TextNow is that you can use it as a number for your side-business without carrying two phones. You can also give it to your kids so they are connected and you can call them but without paying a monthly fee for those extra numbers.

Grab your copy of TextNow here for Android or download TextNow on your iOS device here.

Free Money when you shop

We are currently in this weird space where we want to go out but frankly, it is better if we stay at home. So that means that we have turned to online shopping for everything – from household detergents to fruit and vegetables, and of course, our gadget shopping too.

This is where Ibotta comes in.

This is a free cash-back app that gives you real cash – not points  – for everyday purchases when you shop.

In fact, Ibotta has paid out over $600 million in cash rewards to more than 35 million users since its founding in 2012. Now you can get some of that cash too.

There are two options to get cashback: in-store shipping or online.

For in-store shopping, you can pay via the Ibotta app, link to your loyalty accounts, or you can take a pic of your receipt upload it to Ibotta. They will find the items within the list that you can earn cash back on! You get money back for the stuff you already bought.

If you shop online, you can use the browser extension. Just shop as you normally would and they will let you know if there are cashback offers available to you.

It’s amazing how quickly this money accumulates on the items that you are buying anyways.

Get Paid NOT to use your phone

Let’s be honest, we know for a fact that we shouldn’t touch our phones while we drive. According to the National Highway Traffic Safty Administration, distracted driving has claimed 2841 lives in 2018 alone!

This is why I love what OnMyWay is doing.

This is an app that you have on your phone that will actually pay you not to use your phone while you are on the road.

You simply install the app and when you get into your car, the app kicks in when you drive over 10MHP and disables text and app alerts. GPS Maps and Music like Spotify will still work if you activate them before you drive off. If someone calls you while you are driving if your phone is connected to your in-car Bluetooth, then it will still work as normal.

If someone sends you a message while you are driving, they will receive an automatic reply letting them know that you’re driving – no distraction for you!

Buy and Sell Designer Clothes

This tip works for both making money and saving money.

The one task that many people are doing during this lockdown is going through their closet to see what they still wear and what they don’t. Typically people follow the 80/20 rule; you wear 20% of your cloths 80% of the time.

I went through my closet and my girls when through their closet and we discovered many items were brand new, never been worn and some even had the original price tag from the day we bought them.

This is where Poshmark comes in.

Poshmark is a great website that allows you to sell and buy clothes. As a seller, you simply snap a photo of the item you want to sell, add some details and list it. They have a community of people who are actively looking for items at discounted prices.  When someone likes your item, they buy it via the system and all you have to do is send it out to them and collect your cash.

This is also a great site when you are looking for brand name outfits but don’t want to spend big bucks purchasing them at the store.

Stop Unwanted subscriptions

If you are like me, you have many subscription fees that automatically get paid monthly. You know about the big ones such as Netflix, Hulu, Disney etc.  However, there are the companies that we pay subscripion fees to that we tend to forget about such as DropBox, SEO services, Royalty-fee audio subscription, domain renewals and many more.

And to make it even more complicated, some subscriptions are paid monthly, some are paid quarterly and some are yearly. It’s too much for the brain to keep track of!

I highly recommend Truebill.

This is an app that gives you a complete snap shot of your accounts. You can see which bills are due to be paid and by when. Truebill is also able to find all the subscription services too. You are presented with a list and can decide which ones you really need and which ones you can cancel.

There is also a smart saving facility. You can create rules to set money aside for items you want such as a new WiFi router or faster internet. The app helps you save for those goals.

Finally they have the ability to save money by negotiating your bill on your behlf. If they can negotiate a better rate for you, they take 40% fee of the saving. You get to save 60%! If they can’t get you a better rate, you pay nothing.