Spoiler alert: we all want to save money…and we all want to save money on groceries. Regardless of where you live or how you live, trying to cut out expensive-habits is something we do to avoid waste.
While I’ve written an article collecting the biggest items that high-school and college-graduates need to budget for, food and grocery-shopping deserves an article by itself. The struggle to save money on food is a struggle that exists whether you are rich, poor, middle-class, upper-middle-class, or anything in between (well, okay, maybe not rich).
The fact of the matter is that many of us are willing to do whatever it takes to keep money in our bank account. When we are not calculating expenses on rents, utilities, or auto-maintenance, we realize a fair amount of our coupon-clipping and deal-dashing habits come in the form of wanting to save money on food…
…specifically on groceries.
I’m going to come forward and admit that I think grocery shopping is a real pain. Not only is it a time-consuming and money-sucking endeavor, it’s a pain to try and keep track of which stores have the best sales on ingredients, meats, vegetables, or packaged foods. Even if we’re buying cleaning supplies instead of food, the question still stands; what’s the best way to get value out of grocery-shopping that doesn’t involve clipping coupons or bargain-hunting? Is there even a best way to save money on groceries? Is it all just a game?
If you’re having to feed others besides yourself, it can turn into a war of wallet-attrition.
After all, there’s got to be a way to save money on groceries and earn cash back while doing so, correct?
If you live in the 21st-Century then you probably already know the answer to this.
And chances are, you’ve probably heard of (or used) the solutions.
The Apparitions.
There’s a world of apps to help you with everything across the board. Some apps will help organize your shopping list while others will give you the chance to earn cash back on your purchases (like how some credit cards earn you a percentage of cash back, these can do so digitally or at least give you the option to earn other types of rewards). By utilizing apps such as the ones listed below, they will give you more incentives to go to the grocery and allow you to be better organized in your approach—especially on a tight budget.
After doing a fair amount of research, listed below are five apps that help not only in grocery-shopping, cash-back on purchases, and other rewards.
I will go ahead and admit that there are a ton of apps in this realm that are not mentioned. The ones listed below are check-marked as easy to use, the most popular, and offer you the most value for your purchases (and time).
Ibotta is the end-all-be-all when it comes to grocery apps. It’s as simple as linking a customer-loyalty-account (the type of rewards-account you can find at all major grocery-store-chains), taking a picture of your receipt, or making purchases on your phone while logged into the app. Ibotta supports over 250 major store chains so it’s worth it to use their services to help you earn cash back on groceries and other retail purchases.
The only downside to using Ibotta is that to unlock the cash-back-codes, you usually have to complete tasks like taking a short questionnaire or watching a short video.
Regardless, it’s like having a cash-back-credit-card without the credit card!
2. Checkout 51.
Checkout 51 is a little different in that it comes with several pre-made offers that involve different types of products. The trick to getting the most out of this app is using it to buy items you were already going to buy in the first place. Buying items for the sake of earning a percentage of cash back on them isn’t really saving money at all!
But if there are reliable food-brands you know you’re going to buy every month, then being able to find deals on them is better than finding no deals at all!
3. Receipthog.
The nice thing about Receipthog is that it doesn’t apply to just grocery-stores but it applies to pretty much everywhere you can swipe a card. How Reciepthog works is simple: the more you spend, the more designated ‘coins’ you earn. After you’ve built up enough ‘coins’ then you can exchange them for cash—paid out through establishing a PayPal account—or Amazon gift cards if you so choose. As always, try to utilize the ‘coins’ based on what you were already going to buy, not on impulse-purchases.
4. SavingStar.
SavingStar is similar to Ibotta in that it allows you to connect your grocery store rewards account and get cash back. The twist this time is that you need to activate the cash back for the items before you get them. If there are eligible coupons or rebates for the items then the app can build up cash—cash that can then be deposited into your bank account or a PayPal account.
5. GroceryPal (apple link)
This app acts as a built-in coupon board that you can access from your phone. It allows you to look at a list of items that are on sale at multiple retail outlets. Although it does not directly earn you cashback, it allows you to look and see what items are on sale before you do your shopping. You can even access multiple retail-chains all in one place just by using the app alone.
6. Paribus
Paribus gets you the opportunity to save money in a roundabout way. While it does not cover groceries specifically, it’s extremely useful if you tend to buy household items online. If an item that you purchased from a certified-online-retailer (Walmart, Macy’s, GAP, etc.) goes on sale within their allotted return window, then Paribus will automatically refund you the discount. It’s a handy tool that allows you to get the best deal on items should they magically go on sale a week or two after you’ve purchased them.
7. Coupons.com.
Coupons.com is exactly what it sounds like: a massive website featuring usable coupons at every angle. The mobile-app allows you to use coupons by putting them on your phone instead of printing them out. If you prefer to save money on groceries by coupon-hunting the old-fashioned way, coupons.com offers a streamlined approach that doesn’t waste paper.
Organizational Apps
While organizational apps won’t get you cash back directly, they are still useful to help keep your grocery-budget and meal-planning on track. Below is a list of the most popular—and useful—apps that will help with everything food-related.
1. MealBoard (apple link)
MealBoard is a shopping and organizational template that helps with everything from getting your grocery-shopping-sorted out by separate categories and allowing you to have meals put together for the days ahead. If you’re planning on meal-prepping, it is indispensable in how it allows you to organize getting ingredients bought and allocating days for recipes to be eaten. If you have family members or a significant other to take care of, this app can bring about a revolution in how you treat your groceries and food. If it’s just you, it will still prove worthwhile.
2. Out of Milk (website link)
This is a useful app if you have roommates or family members who are also responsible for buying groceries or picking things up from the store. You can add a list of certain items that you regularly buy (like milk, juice, eggs, etc.) and it keeps track based on the average amount you use on any given day. You will then get a notification to let you know when you will run out of your designated ingredients…like milk for instance.
3. Anylist (website link)
Again, this is very useful if you have roommates or family members who are responsible for splitting the bills. Anylist allows you to share a designated list of food items (or other items) with a group of people who can easily access it. It’s better than having to keep texting out grocery-lists week-after-week, or getting upset because somebody didn’t buy a package of jalapenos like they were supposed to. Anylist breaks down the lists of old by allowing you put a list on a virtual-refrigerator (the internet) that can be accessed by your friends at any given time. The power of the 21st Century compels you!
Conclusion:
There are a multitude of grocery-shopping and organization apps that you can choose from. There are tons more that I didn’t list or mention here on this website; if you don’t like the ones I listed here, I encourage you to find out a different set which works for you.
The ones that made the list are the ones I think are easiest to utilize in terms of shopping and organizing. Trying to meal-prep and grocery-shop on a budget can be an ordeal and I hope at least one of the apps present here can lead you in your quest to save money on groceries.
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