Sick of Clipping Coupons? This Free Bot Does It For You — and Applies Them

Life comes at you fast. There’s not always time to clip coupons — even if you do it digitally.

Now you don’t have to.

Do you use a Visa card to pay for your groceries (or at restaurants)? If so, there’s a tool that’ll automatically find and apply coupons for you — for free.

It’s called Trim, and it’s a bot that works through Facebook Messenger.

Here’s how it works

Getting started with Trim is pretty straightforward, but takes a few steps.

First things first, sign up and connect your Messenger account (make sure you’re using the latest version).

Once you connect your account, Trim will send you a message via Facebook Messenger.

While Trim syncs up with your bank account, it’ll give you some options you can choose from in the meantime, including Trim Savings.

Sign in with your Facebook account or email and you’ll be able to link your Visa card. Sorry, MasterCard and Amex don’t work with this app.

Within a day, you’ll be sent an offer in Facebook Messenger. Trim boasts that new users are eligible for up to $30 in cash-back deals as soon as they sign up.

When Penny Hoarder editor Matt Wiley signed up, he was immediately presented with offers for $1 back on any $5 grocery purchase (useable 10 times), a $1 statement credit for spending $5 at any U.S. restaurant, as well as $10 back for spending $20 at any U.S. movie theater.

Not bad, eh?

How do you get paid with Trim?

Once you’ve activated an offer, you’ll get a credit on your Visa card in the next 5-7 days. 

The next time you make a qualifying purchase with your Visa card, that credit will go toward the cost of your purchase.

The debit card question.

I know what you’re thinking: What if I use a Visa debit card to buy my groceries?

It’ll still work. If you’re swiping a Visa debit card, just select “credit” instead of “debit” at the checkout counter. Also, you must not use a Personal Identification Number (PIN).

It’s that easy.

Trim says you can expect to get a free money-saving offer about once a week.

Did we mention there’s no fee for this? Because there’s no fee for this.

Trim’s Other Free Services

In addition to saving you money on groceries, Trim is basically a free financial assistant.

Once you’re connected, you’ll be able to access a dashboard within your Facebook Messenger thread with Trim. You’ll see options to negotiate your Comcast bill down to a lower price, sift through your subscription services and cancel ones you forgot about or don’t need.

Trim also shows you your account balance and recent transactions. Want to know how much you spent at Starbucks last month so you can budget better? Just ask the bot — you’ll get an answer almost immediately.

Sponsorship Disclosure: A huge thanks to Trim for working with us to bring you this content. It’s rare that we have the opportunity to share something so awesome and get paid for it!

Mike Brassfield ([email protected]) is a senior writer at The Penny Hoarder. With two kids to feed, he’s a heavy user of grocery coupons.