4 useful websites that help Apple users save money

Saving cash so you can spend it here.

If you’re looking to buy a new Mac or download a new app, these web services should provide you with the insight and information you need to find better deals, and avoid wasting money — and none of these are spammy.

Save hundreds when you buy a Mac, iPad or iPhone

Refurb Tracker, www.refurb-tracker.com

Looking to purchase a new Apple product, but want to save a few units of currency? Then you might already know about Apple’s hard-to-find Refurb Store, where it sells products that have been returned to the company for repair. All of these products are covered by Apple’s full warranty – and they can be much cheaper than normal price.

Refurb-tracker lets you search for particular products at your local refurb store, and then lets you create alerts to let you know the next time they are available there.

It’s a super-smart way to get a good discount on your next Mac – nearly always better than Amazon, even on those MacBook Pros that seem to be seeing price reductions at time of writing.

Never miss an iTunes deal

CheapCharts, www.cheapcharts.info

Do you use iTunes or Amazon for movies and TV content?

Have you ever noticed how sometimes you only hear about any discount deals on apps, TV shows and movies sold in either service after they’ve gone?

You need CheapCharts, an online (also an app) service that monitors prices on both stores and lets you know when prices change – you can even add items to your favorites list and be told when the price falls. There is even an Apple TV app, which is useful.

Search ALL the stores from where you are

fnd.io, www.fnd.io

This site is incredibly useful. It lets you search for apps across all Apple’s App Stores, which is nice, but it also means you can search for iOS apps from your Mac and Mac apps from your iPhone.

You can search for books, movies, music and TV shows, too – and all without needing to enter iTunes or trying to navigate Apple’s App Stores from devices that don’t support them – plus you get all the data about the item, access to reviews and a bunch of other handy integrations.

This helps you keep an eye on the items you need and cuts the time you spend trying to find them. Time is also money, right? Best used in conjunction with the below…

[amazon_link asins=’197946460X’ template=’ProductCarousel’ store=’9to5ma-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’0d5e0f9f-d553-11e8-b211-81c4a0d37d87′]

Make sure you don’t waste money on bad apps

AppRecs,www.apprecs.com

Shopping for iOS apps is made a little difficult because some people post fake reviews that help really second-rate apps get higher up the top 100 charts, so you download them thinking they are great only to find out they aren’t.

This also means really great apps don’t get the attention they deserve.

App Recs helps mitigate this by filtering out the junk reviews in order to provide better insight. While Apple has improved its App Store review process since this service launched, but you’ll still save a few bucks by avoiding the purchase of crappy apps.

Do you have a useful online service you think will help Apple users save a little money? Please let me know in comments below.

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