What’s the current state of grocery prices? While the good news is that food-at-home prices are growing at their lowest rate since June 2021, the cost of meat, poultry, fish and eggs continues to increase. According to the latest Consumer Price Index, costs for these grocery food groups are up by 3.2% over the last 12 months.
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To give their grocery budgets a break, shoppers have been doing everything they can to cut costs, but even the greatest measures aren’t hitting the way they once did. So, GOBankingRates decided to speak with three experts in the shopping space for their biggest tips on how you can save money on groceries.
You might be surprised at how these methods can help save money while grocery shopping.
Skip the Shopping Cart, Grab a Hand Basket
Going on a quick shopping trip? Money saving expert Andrea Woroch recommends grabbing a hand basket instead of a shopping cart.
Doing this, Woroch said, helps you avoid making any impulse purchases and keeps your shopping cart focused on the necessities only.
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Check for Grocery Promotions Before You Shop
Jay Jaffin is the chief marketing officer at Blackhawk Network (BHN). He and his business counsel dozens of Fortune 500 companies on rewards and loyalty program strategy, including local and national grocery chains.
Before you head into a grocery store or place an order online or via an app, Jaffin recommends checking for promotions and deals through a wide variety of shopping channels. Think store circulators, the website and the store app just to name a few. Doing so, he said, helps shoppers make more strategic purchases and find better deals, promotions and rewards.
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Use Your Store Points
If you’re an active member of your grocery chain’s loyalty program, Jaffin recommends using any points you accumulate towards paying for your groceries. It may sound obvious enough, but shoppers that let their points idle are actually missing out on much more than grocery savings.
“Being thoughtful with your points can actually open up future savings opportunities,” said Jaffin. “If you’re an active member, the store can personalize offers for you depending on your brand preferences, spending behavior and so forth — helping you save on the products you buy most often.”
Use Self-Checkout
When it’s time to head to checkout, Woroch said to pick a self-checkout lane instead of lanes with cashiers.
Woroch refers to a study conducted by IHL Consulting Group which said shoppers that use self-checkout spend less money on impulse purchases. Compared to shoppers that are more likely to be distracted with their phones when a cashier is doing the checkout for them, shoppers using self-checkout are able to pay attention to the items they’re buying and the cost when they scan these goods themselves.
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Grocery Shop at International Grocery Stores
If you really want to save money on grocery staples, try shopping at a local international grocery store Instead of a traditional supermarket.
Personal finance expert Erika Kullberg said smaller international grocers often sell rice, spices and fresh produce at much lower prices than what you’d find in a grocery chain.
Download Dedicated Grocery-Savings Apps
You might already be a regular user of apps specific to your grocery shopping experience, like cash back apps and the apps of the grocers where you shop.
Start adding dedicated grocery-savings apps into this lineup. Kullberg recommends Flashfood, which helps shoppers find discounted fresh food, like meat and produce, that’s close to its expiration date.
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Take Pictures of Your Receipts
By taking pictures of your receipts, Woroch said you can utilize a free rewards app like Fetch to turn receipts into gift cards.
“You earn points that can be redeemed for gift cards to a variety of stores including Target, Walmart, Starbucks and Sephora,” said Woroch, explaining how Fetch works. She also recommends checking Fetch’s special offers section to see which brands or stores allow shoppers to get more points faster.
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: 7 Ways To Save Money on Groceries That You Haven’t Tried Yet, According to Experts