Save Money

7 Quick Tips to Save Money on Groceries (for Busy Moms)

Mar 21, 2020 by Lynelle 23 Comments

Are you ready to save money on groceries? Me too!

If you are here, you are probably tired of paying too much money at the grocery store on every visit.

We are a small family who never consumes that much food but somehow, I still ended up paying way too much at the grocery store. As a mom with two kids, my time is extremely limited. That’s why I stopped clipping coupons so heavily.

I used to cut and organize coupons every week. I had a very organized coupon binder which I later replaced with a more relaxed filing system. Unfortunately, I stopped because both methods required too much of my time.

Nowadays, I use digital coupons, cash back apps, and follow the tips discussed below to spend less money on groceries.

Quick note: This post contains affiliate links. Read my full disclosure for more info.

Top 7 tips on how to save money on groceries

1. Plan before going to the store

The process of saving money on groceries starts before going to the store.

Flyers are an effective way for stores to promote what they have on sale and hopefully, motivate the customers enough to get into their car and stop by the store.

Check the front and back pages of the flyer because it’s there where they normally place the items with the deepest discounts. Therefore, to save money, focus on those pages.

Here are three ways to access the flyers:

Sunday newspaper

If you like to mark the flyers, the Sunday newspaper would be a good option for you. Every week, it has a variety of store flyers for the upcoming sales and most of the time includes coupon inserts too.

Because Sunday newspapers can get a little pricey, skip most of the stores and go straight to Dollar Tree where you can get it for only a $1.00! And since it’s available on Saturdays, you can plan your shopping trip in advance and be ready to save when Sunday arrives.

Grocery store website

If you prefer the digital version, the store’s website usually has a copy of the flyer and sometimes, you can find special coupons and offers too.

Keep in mind that coupon sites such as Coupons.com, SmartSource, and RedPlum are great places to look for extra coupons.

Grocery apps

If neither of the previous options works for you, use your phone! But, instead of going to the store’s website, download the mobile app called Flipp.

Flipp allows you to choose your favorite stores and it even notifies you when a flyer from one of your favorite stores has been uploaded so you don’t miss the sale. This app also has a section that allows you to upload coupons to your loyalty store card.

2. Use what you have available

This step is easy to do but frequently overlooked.

Before doing anything, make sure to take a closer look at your pantry and your refrigerator to see what’s left. There you can find potential items that you can use for your meals. That will reduce your shopping list and amount spent.

3. Put your meal plan together

At this point, you know what’s on sale and what you already have. Now, determine what food you will prepare throughout the following days.

Planning your meals in advance helps save money on groceries and be more productive.

4. Prepare your shopping trip

Make sure you have a shopping list ready and organized so you know exactly what you need to buy. You can color-code your list or separate it by sections. In that way, you can take similar items at once without going back and forth between aisles.

Having an organized list and focusing on it helps me get out of the store faster and avoid the temptation of buying unplanned items.

Shopping alone and in the morning also helps me get out of the grocery store faster. Plus, I keep a snack in my purse in case I get hungry while I am at the store.

5. Find the hidden discount areas

Grocery stores normally have small areas in the back of the stores where they keep clearance items or manager’s specials.

Take a quick look at the items in this section to see if there’s something from your list. Even if the prices are low, make sure to only buy what you and your family will consume. Otherwise, you are not saving money.

6. Take advantage of the sales

The stores have sale cycles which means that once your favorite product is on sale, you have to wait until it is put on sale again. The sale cycles vary based on the store and products.

The purpose here is to take advantage when your favorite products are on sale. In that case, buy a few of them to have extra ones at home until they are put back on sale. Just make sure to only buy what you know you will use.

In the beginning, it’s normal to run out of the items because you are learning about the sale cycle and how many your family uses in between. But don’t worry because your estimates should improve over time.

7. Be a loyal customer

Many grocery stores offer discounts, rewards, and even free items to those who are part of their store program. For example, Kroger provides extra discounts on a variety of products around the store. It also offers extra discounts on gasoline and gives you a free item every month.

Thanks to that, I have gotten free candies, chips, pasta, healthy snack bars, and a lot more.

If you have a Kroger nearby, make sure that you enroll in their text messages to receive their notifications. Even though you don’t have to get the free item that same day, you do have to save the digital coupon on your Kroger card that day.

BONUS: 3 Ways to save money on groceries

I know that you are busy, but I’m pretty sure you still want to save as much as you can. That’s why I want to share with you three ways to save money on groceries:

Ibotta

You can get some cash back just by submitting your receipts to this mobile app. It’s a really easy way to get money back based on the items you purchased at the store within a certain period of time. The cash back requests are processed quickly.

Right now, you can get $10.00 off when you sign up for Ibotta for the first time or download the app and enter the code: lgkgveb

Walmart Groceries

Have you used Walmart’s grocery pickup service yet? Before, I wasn’t too convinced about using the service. I kept thinking that the employee would not choose the items in the same way that I do. But, my mindset changed as soon as I used their service. The process is fast, convenient, and FREE!

Place your first order and SAVE $10.00 when you sign up to Walmart Groceries for the first time.

Shopkick

Shopkick is one of my favorite cash back app and it’s similar to Ibotta.

The difference is that you can also accumulate kicks (rewards points) just by walking into your favorite stores. Those kicks can be redeemed for gift cards to popular stores such as Walmart, Target, Starbucks, Ulta, and even Amazon.

If you have a few extra minutes, scan some of the store’s given products for even more kicks.

I can help you get 250 kicks when you walk-in or scan for the first time! Just join Shopkick through my link or download the app and enter the code: BLUE921928

Now, you are ready to save money on groceries

There you have it! Ten tips that you can implement right away to help you save money on groceries.

Keep in mind that to save the most on groceries, you need to apply a combination of these strategies. In the beginning, you may feel like you are not saving a lot. Especially, if you only use one strategy. But, like in any other situation, the more tips you implement, the more you save.

Now, let me hear from you.

Which one of the ten tips discussed here would you implement first? Is there a tip that you currently use, and was not included in here?

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Top 10 Cash Back Apps to Get Extra Money

Jun 11, 2018 by Lynelle Leave a Comment

If you are looking for ways to bring extra money, you need to try these top cash back apps.

In the past, it was so complicated to get rebates, refunds, or any other type of cash back that many people preferred not to get their money back. Customers felt that all the effort just wasn’t worth it.

Fortunately, the cash back apps have arrived!

Note: This post contains affiliate links which means that if you make a purchase through my links, I may receive a small commission from the company at no additional cost to you. Thanks for supporting Mom Succeeds.

I still remember all the headaches:

filling out the official form
making a copy of your receipt
cutting the proof of purchase from the eligible product’s box or package
trying to put everything together in an envelope, and sometimes that alone was an extra challenge!
finding a stamp or even stamps!
driving to the post office to mail the envelope
waiting “patiently” for about 4-6, and sometimes even longer, for the check to arrive
once the check would finally arrive, going to the bank to deposit it

If following all those steps was a pain, doing it for every single rebate was even worse. Even though few companies are still using the traditional process, many companies have moved away from it.

Thanks to the technology, requesting money back through these cash back apps is a lot easier to process and a lot faster at getting the money back.

Cash Back Apps for Receipts

In this section, I am listing the cash back apps that require you to scan or take pictures of your receipts in order to be rewarded.

Some cash back apps also require you to buy specific brands or shop at specific stores, while other apps just want a copy of your receipts.

Cash Back App #1 – Ibotta

Ibotta is a very simple app to use and offers three ways to get money back. You can submit your receipt, link it to your loyalty cards, or make mobile in-app purchases.

Since they are currently supporting more than 280 stores, chances are that your favorite store, or stores, have joined too. Some of the participating stores are Walmart, Target, Walgreens, Dollar Tree, Amazon, Hallmark, Priceline, Etsy, Groupon, iTunes, and 1800Flowers.

One of my favorite features is the “Check Product Barcode”. It’s very convenient because I can double-check the eligibility of a product right at the grocery store before purchasing it.

There are also offers for “any brand” where you can get money back for different products regardless of the brand. It could be products like antacid, bananas, or milk. Sometimes, they literally accept any item on your receipt.

Ibotta adds the money to your account in 24 to 48 hours. In my case, I have used the method of submitting the receipts and I have seen the cash added into my account faster than that. Keep in mind that once you reach a minimum of $20, you can request a payout through PayPal or venmo.

In summary, I have been using Ibotta for a while and have had a great experience with them. They keep growing and adding more stores, which means more cash back opportunities for all of us.

And guess what? You can get a $10 welcome bonus just by using my link and scanning your first receipt. Click here to join Ibotta and don’t forget to use my referral code lgkgveb.

Cash Back App #2 – Checkout 51

Checkout 51 is another app where you can submit your receipts. You can search by product, categories, or stores such as Walmart, Target, Aldi, CVS, Costco, Family Dollar, and more.

Depending on where you live, you may also be able to add loyalty cards since it’s not available in all states. If you live in Texas like me, it’s not available yet.

Their offers go live on Thursdays at 12 am and expire the following Wednesday at 11:59 pm. Therefore, make sure to submit your receipts early. There are some offers that you can redeem only once, while there are others where you can claim more. Check the limit for each of your products before buying them. You can find all the information in the product description.

It’s also important to note that quantities are limited for all offers. Therefore, make sure to check the offers on Thursdays and to submit your receipts as soon as possible. Don’t learn it the hard way as I did.

I have been able to redeem all the offers I wanted except for one. It was a hot item and unfortunately, I waited a couple of days before purchasing it. I double-checked the app before leaving home and the offer was still available, but when I scanned my receipt from the store’s parking lot, the offer was already gone ☹

You can request a check once you reach a minimum of $20. After the request, it takes about 15 to 30 business days for you to receive the check. Even though PayPal is not an option at this moment, Checkout 51 is currently testing it with some members.

If you ever have a problem processing an offer, contact their support desk. I did it in the past and they quickly took care of my situation. Click here to join Checkout 51

Cash Back App #3 – Fetch Rewards

I heard a little bit about Fetch Rewards before and decided to download it. Then, I just kept it on my phone for a while without checking it. Now, I regret it.

Fetch Rewards is like several cash back apps combined in one app.

With this app, you also need to scan your receipts, but you earn points based on the brands you bought instead of the store where you shopped. Since the points earned are not based on the stores, you can scan the receipts from any store you want. So far, they have more than 250 brands which include Dove, Suave, Capri Sun, Kraft, Heinz, Oscar Mayer, Tropicana, Coors, Miller, and more.

Fetch Rewards accepts receipts within 14 days from the checkout date on the receipt and you can submit a maximum of 14 receipts in a rolling seven-day period. You can redeem your points for an e-gift card from places like Amazon, Applebee’s, Best Buy, Walmart, Chili’s, Kohl’s, Panera, Target, and many other great places!

There’s also a special offers section that gives you the opportunity to earn more points if you purchase the required products of the offer by the deadline listed on the description. There are not too many offers but hopefully, they will continue adding more over time.

This app has a Smart List section where you can create your shopping list to keep it handy. Not just that, it also has a Recipe Inspiration section. Since I don’t like to cook, I try to get inspiration from any place I can.

You can find plenty of recipes which are sorted into 13 sections including For the Kids, Main Dishes, Pasta, and Beverages. Each of the thirteen sections has at least hundreds of recipes if not thousands. I immediately saved the Bacon ‘n Eggs Pie recipe!

Click here to join Fetch Rewards and get 2,000 points added to your account when you use my referral code PV2AY and scan your first receipt!

Cash Back App #4 – CoinOut

The name, CoinOut, may sound familiar to you since they were on Shark Tank. It’s a very easy app that allows you to scan your receipts in exchange for coins.

I am expecting this app to continue growing over time but for now, it’s a simple, easy, and straight-forward app.

At this moment, it doesn’t seem to require a minimum amount to cash out to a bank. I even tried cashing out my balance of .35 cents and it let me go through the process. The only downside, as expected, was that the small local credit union I use was not included. Therefore, I couldn’t use the bank option.

But, don’t let my situation discourage you because they do have big banks such as Chase, Citi, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and USAA.

In addition to the bank, you can cash out your balance by requesting an Amazon gift card which normally takes 24 to 48 hours to be processed. The last option is to donate the money to a charity. Just keep in mind that it requires a minimum of $10 in your account. Click here to join CoinOut.

Cash Back App #5 – Receipt Hog

Receipt Hog is another app where you can get money back for receipts. In this case, you scan your receipts and you can earn either coins or spins. The number of coins depends on the receipt’s total dollar amount. The spins are just for fun but still give you the opportunity to earn more coins.

You can also earn more coins by linking the app to other accounts such as your email, Amazon, and Facebook.

Once you reach the necessary amount of coins, you can redeem them for cash sent to your PayPal account or an Amazon e-gift card where a code is sent to your email. The cash out amounts vary by country but for those in the United States, the minimum required is 1,000 coins.

The cash-out process is similar to the other cash back apps. After you submit a request, it takes up to 7 days to be approved.

Receipt Hog accepts receipts from different stores including Costco, Walmart, Walgreens, Kroger, 7 Eleven, and Ulta. Download the app now and start searching for your receipts because you can submit receipts that are up to 2 weeks old! Click here to join Receipt Hog.

Cash Back App #6 – Walmart

Savings Catcher is a program created by Walmart. All you do is scan your Walmart receipts with your phone and then, Walmart scans the circulars from competitors in your area to see if they advertised any of your purchased items for a lower price. If Walmart finds it, you get the difference on a Walmart eGift Card.

The Walmart eGift Card doesn’t expire which means that you can keep accumulating your balance until you reach a maximum of $1,000. However, the maximum that you can earn per calendar year is $599.99 which is still great!

It normally takes Savings Catcher up to 72 hours to process your receipt. I have received over $200 by only scanning my receipts. And, I would have received more if I wouldn’t have forgotten to scan many receipts in the past.

By the way, you can scan any receipt with the purpose of keeping a digital copy of it on their system, but Walmart only compares prices from receipts that are less than 7 days old.

Let me also mention that you can submit up to 7 receipts per week. In the beginning, seven receipts per week may not sound enough, but it hasn’t been a problem for me and I am always at Walmart.

Quick Tips:

If I feel that I may have more than seven receipts at any given week, then I scan the longest receipts with the highest dollar amount first. Since those receipts have more items listed, the probability of getting money back is higher.

What I also like about Savings Catchers is that it acts as a digital recordkeeping for your store receipts. Since it keeps the receipts on their system, you can use them whenever you need to return an item. Click here to join Walmart Savings Catcher.

Cash Back Apps for Shopping

The following cash back apps let you shop and get money back without having to scan any receipt.

Cash Back App #7 – Earny

How annoying is it to buy something only to find out that the price dropped a few days later? Annoying, right?

It would be much better for us to track all our purchases in case the prices go down. But, who has time for that? Not me and probably not you either. But, Earny does it for your online purchases.

The Earny app lets you earn automatic rebates if prices drop for your online purchases. For it to happen, the app gets the receipts from your inbox, searches for lower prices, and claims the difference for you. It also tracks your Amazon purchases if you link the app to your Amazon account.

It’s literally a one-time setup and Earny tracks your online purchases for up to 90 days. It even lets you know when a refund has been approved. At the end of every month, Earny has an Earnings Summary that includes a list of refunds that you received for that month. Based on that information, Earny collects 25% of your refund for the work. In other words, they only get paid when you get refunds. Click here to join Earny.

Cash Back App #8 – Ebates

Ebates is a program, mainly for online purchases, that has been growing in popularity during the last years. Right now, they have more than 2,000 stores participating including Kohl’s, Walmart, Macy’s, Target, Groupon, and eBay.

The benefit is that you can use either your computer or the phone app as we are focusing on here.

With Ebates, you can also get money back for things that you would normally purchase. Just be completely sure that you click on the Ebates link before making any purchase and that you get a quick confirmation letting you know that you are ready to shop. At that moment, you can move forward to complete your purchase.

Once you are done, the store will let Ebates know that you made the purchase. Just keep in mind that it might take hours or even days for Ebates to receive that notification. Ebates pays every three months through a check or PayPal.

You can also use their In-Store Cash Back to save even more. Just add the card that you are planning to use at the store to your Ebates account. Then, find the offers in the Ebates app or site and link those offers to the card you added. Finally, when you go to the store to make the purchase, and make sure to use the same card you added to your Ebates account. The store’s notification period and the payout process will remain the same.

Want more reasons to join? Click here to join Ebates using my referral link and get a $10 bonus after a qualifying purchase.

Cash Back App #9 – Walgreens

Walgreens has a program called Balance Rewards that gives you the opportunity to earn points when you purchase different products (including photos and prescriptions). You can redeem those points for dollars off on future purchases as soon as you reach a minimum of $1 or 1,000 points.

There’s also an opportunity to earn additional points per month by making healthy choices. In my case, it has been as easy as linking my Walgreens account to my Google fit account. After that one-time quick set up, I have been earning 20 points for every mile walked or ran with a maximum of 1,000 points per month. Which means that you can easily score a free cereal box, toothpaste, or toilet paper every two to three months. Click here to join Walgreens’ Balance Rewards program.

Cash Back App #10 – Do$h

Dosh gives you the opportunity to get money back for eating out, shopping, or staying at a hotel. For the offers, you can find both, online stores and physical places located near you. To be eligible, you need to shop through the online offers in their app.

In this case, you don’t have to take any pictures of your receipts. Just complete your purchase through the Dosh app and wait up to 90 days for your money to be added into your account. Why so long? Because Dosh considers the transaction completed when the return period for the products purchased has expired.

I wish they would have more offers available because even though I have many places around, I only have few of them participating in this app.

To cash out your balance, you need to have a debit or credit card linked to the app and a minimum of $25 on your Dosh account.

Let me give you two quick tips:

After linking your card to the app, wait at least 24 hours to make sure your card has been registered.
If you linked a debit card, use it as a credit card during the purchase otherwise Dosh won’t have a way to confirm your transaction with the credit card companies. Click here to join Dosh.

Scanning your receipts for the cash back apps

I was only using the Walmart app at the beginning. Therefore, it was easier to scan my receipts at the parking lot or even before even leaving the store.

Now that I am using several cash back apps, I do it a little bit different. I keep all the receipts together for that day and then I take few minutes to scan them all at once. I work on one app at the time, and then once I am done processing all the receipts, I go to the other app and so on.

Just remember, if it’s a hot item, you may want to submit your receipt to Ibotta and Cashout 51 as soon as you can. If that’s the case, make a mark on the back of the receipt to keep track of where you submitted it.

Over to you

As a reminder, these are only cash back apps. In other words, don’t expect for them to replace your job or even to become your side job. But, they are definitely a way to get some extra money. Money that you can use for Christmas gifts, birthday gifts, or to go on vacation.

Don’t get disappointed if you just get few cents here and there. Remember that those cents will accumulate over time.

If there’s an app that you are currently using but wasn’t included on the list, let us know!

Are you ready to get money back? Let me know in the comments section which of these cash back apps you are going to try first?

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