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How to Reduce Grocery Costs


More bad news for Americans was provided by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for June: the price category for "food at home" increased 12.2% between June 2021 and June 2022. Because food costs have remained consistently high, many people have been forced to spend substantially more on groceries than they would want. Even first-time users of food banks have reportedly been documented.


Five out of the six food categories that are most frequently found in supermarkets have seen price increases, including dairy goods, fruits, and vegetables.

You will need to adopt smart shopping techniques in order to get the most out of your grocery budget because it is not projected that the price of food will decrease in the near future.

7 Tips for Grocery Store Savings

By combining apps and couponing into your approach, you can lessen the financial burden of grocery shopping. The cost of grocery shopping won't be fully eliminated by this, though.

If you're prepared to try with grocery shopping apps and other in-store money-saving techniques, take a look at these seven shrewd shopping hacks.

1. Shopping-Related Useful Apps

The main benefit of using these programs is that supermarket rebate apps can be utilized in addition to store coupons. Because the rebate is handled after the purchase, you can use both digital and print coupons in-store and file a claim for the additional rebate when you get home.

No matter how hard you try, not every mobile app you download will work correctly for you. There's a chance that specific applications will give you discounts on things you don't typically buy. Try out a few different options to get started, then choose one or two that fit your lifestyle the best.

Keep in mind that these apps are supported by affiliate agreements, which means that they are created to persuade you to buy a product so that the creators can profit. Don't succumb to the urge to purchase something you don't need just because an app advertises a discount on it.

Fetch

Fetch will instantly credit your account with the appropriate amount when you buy specific brands. You only need to take a picture of the receipt you have in order to use it. With the points you earn through the Fetch app, you may purchase gift cards to well-known retailers. As you utilize the application, your points will increase.

Only well-known products that are widely accessible at the majority of grocery stores are eligible for Fetch rewards. Generic brands are not covered by the rewards program provided by Fetch, despite the fact that they are frequently sold for less money and may be more economical.

Ibotta

When you use the Ibotta app, you can get cash back for purchases made at practically all grocery stores. Before you go shopping, you can add offers, or you can scan items as you are there to see whether they are eligible for a rebate. You must provide a photo of your receipt after making your purchase in order for it to be authenticated.

Watch out for incentives of $3, $5, or $10 when you redeem a certain number of deals within a certain amount of time. Only a select group of users are eligible for these bonuses. You have the choice of using your $20 in cash back to deposit it into your bank account, pay using PayPal, or choose a gift card valid at a variety of retailers.

With Ibotta, you may get cash back from a number of well-known stores, including Best Buy and Old Navy, among others. When you plan a trip, make an online purchase, or pay with the app, you can get cash back or a discount on your purchases.

Panel of National Consumers

The project that needs the most attention is the National Consumer Panel, often known as NCPMobile. In addition to asking you to scan each item in your order, it will also request more details about your payment method and any current retail discounts. Members can quickly exchange their points for a selection of gift cards and merchandise through the NCPMobile platform.

In order to enter a sweepstakes and earn points, you will also be asked to participate in surveys.

Shopkick

Even if you choose not to make a purchase, you can still accumulate points (often referred to as "kicks") by using Shopkick to scan items at a store. Once you obtain a certain number of Kicks, you can exchange them for gift cards to well-known stores like Walmart or Target.

It is vital to stick to your shopping list in order to prevent spending any extra money. The aim is to tempt you to spend more time in a store than you normally would, browse at products you might not ordinarily buy, and possibly add those items to your cart.

Additionally, by checking in and letting the app know that you are at the store, you can earn kicks just for being there.

Shopkick offers the chance to passively accrue points, which is an added benefit. You will automatically receive points for each dollar spent when you make purchases at participating merchants and pay with a credit card that is connected to your account.

2. Grocery store loyalty cards for customers

For the stores you frequent most often, download the loyalty program app. Instead of physically clipping coupons, you can just add discounts directly to your loyalty card. This choice is accessible. Cost savings will then be subtracted right away from the final amount when the transaction is completed. Additionally, your app might tailor coupon offers to go along with the goods you've already bought.

The app can help you plan your shopping excursions so you can take advantage of combination discounts offered by the store you frequent, such as "buy five, save $5." You might be able to accumulate gas points that can be exchanged for discounts at the pump if the grocery store where you buy also has a gas station affiliate.

3. Arrange Dinners Using Sale Items

Check out the seasonal food and make sure to browse the bargain aisles. To promote sales just before an item's expiration date, prices may occasionally be reduced. These bargains typically cycle, so it is unusual that you would discover discounts on items that are all comparable to one another in the same week.

If you're the kind of person who enjoys meal planning ahead, look into apps like Flipp or My Grocery Deals. By using these tools to compare prices in the convenience of your own home, you can skip the effort of manually sorting through circulars.

4. Determine the Best Shopping Day

For many grocery chains, Wednesday is the day on which sales from the previous week end and those for the upcoming week start. However, this is not always the case. On the other hand, Wednesday is usually the day. You'll have a better chance of discovering sales on more of the items on your list if you shop on Wednesdays. You should get in touch with your favorite merchant if you want to learn more about their sale rotations.

5. Make Sure You Have Plenty of the Essentials

It can be advantageous to buy two or three of the things in question when a regularly purchased item goes on sale. When it comes to hoarding goods, it's important to keep in mind that more isn't always better and that you'll need storage space for the extra items.

If you plan to stock up, be sure to check the unit price before making any significant purchases. The smaller box gives a cost savings for a number of commodities. Additionally, watch out for stockpiling items that can go wasted.

6. Commence your menu planning

Meal planning might help you stay on track with your food budget if you struggle to come up with menu ideas and end up making too many impulsive trips to the grocery store and spending too much money.

Making a menu in advance and buying all of your goods at once will help you save money on groceries. This enables you to benefit from seasonal sales on particular meat or vegetable cuts.

Despite the fact that meal planning may seem intimidating, there are apps that can help reduce the stress associated with it. For instance, Whisk allows you to create a unique meal for every day of the week. The program creates a connection with large supermarkets like Walmart and Kroger and provides an ingredient list that can be used to order goods directly from the store's website (or you can save the list to reference while shopping in person).

You're more likely to run into unexpected expenses when you go grocery shopping during the week without having a strategy for what you'll be eating than you are when you have a plan in place ahead of time.

7. Savings Stacking

You might start combining these many techniques to save money once you've had some experience with a few of them.

To earn money back, keep an eye out for items you commonly buy on grocery rebate applications. If several other apps are running comparable promotions, you might be able to earn points on both apps for the same purchase. If you find a discount for a product you use frequently, choose the store with the best bargain before making a number of large purchases. If your store offers this benefit, another reason to use your loyalty card is to accumulate gas points.

Make sure you have one of the credit cards that offers the highest rate of cash back on purchases made at grocery stores if you use credit to pay for your groceries.

Is All This Work Really Worth It?

None of these tactics will be sufficient to protect your budget from the consequences of inflation, especially when it comes to the price of food. But over time, even small changes can have a big effect.

Clipping coupons, scanning receipts, or helping with market research can all help ease some of the financial stress that Americans continue to experience as a result of the country's chronically high inflation rate. Everything is dependent on how much time you can and are willing to invest.