I’m not saying you need to hoard 455 rolls of toilet paper or spend hours comparing sales ads, but there are a few unknown (and easy) things you can do to save some money on your grocery bill.
1. Scan The Groceries When You Get Home
Did you know the Nielsen company will pay you to scan your groceries each week? Crazy, right?
Once you sign up to become a Nielsen Consumer Panel family, the company will send you a free scanner (like the one pictured to the left) or you can use your smartphone. Every time you go shopping, you simply scan the barcodes on the back of each product and send your data off to NCP. Pretty easy, huh?
If you want to give it a try, you can fill out an application here:
Sign up to be a Nielsen Consumer Panel family here.
As an active participant, you earn gift points which you can redeem for different types of merchandise. You can choose electronics, jewelry, household items, and even toys for the kids. The longer you stay on the panel, the more opportunity you have to earn points towards prizes.
You also receive entries for the panel’s many sweepstakes. Prizes include money, vacations, and brand new vehicles. This is a great way to make your consumer voice count and be rewarded handsomely for recording your purchases. You’re already going to the grocery store anyway, right?
2. Tell the Packaged Food Companies What You Think of Them
Did you know the packaged food companies will pay you for your thoughts? These companies are hungry for data on what shoppers think of their products, so paid food panels are becoming more and more common.
Some of these panels are hosted online — sign up for sites like Swagbucks and Ipsos Panel to participate. If you sign up for both, you should easily make an extra $15-$30/month (most surveys pay between $3-$4 each for 20 minutes of your time). Sometimes I fill them out while I’m watching TV.
Larger panels are hosted locally — these usually require 2-4 hours of your time, but they pay up to $200. Here’s how to participate in a local panel.
3. Get Paid Extra to Use Your Coupons
Did you know that InboxDollars will actually pay you to print and use the coupons they offer on their website? Here’s how it works…
1. Sign up for a free account with InboxDollars (just need a name & email address). Plus, they give you $5 free since I referred you.
2. Navigate to the “Coupons” section. There you will find dozens of high-value coupons for everyday items like cereal and toilet paper. Select the ones you want, print them out, and use them in your store like a regular coupon. But here’s the kicker —- InboxDollars will pay you ten cents for every coupon you use.
Now, that might not sound like a lot of money, but I’m going to let you in on a little secret. Most of the coupons you can print on their site are the same coupons you find in your Sunday newspaper or on Coupons.com. They’re actually put out by the same people. So, it’s free cash for coupons you’re probably already clipping. And all those dimes start to add up after awhile…
4. Take a Picture of Your Receipts
Yeah, did you know that you can get cash-back on your groceries just for taking a picture of your receipt? The very popular website and mobile app, Ibotta will pay you to do just that. Here’s how it works….
5. Quit Costco/BJ’s/Sam’s Club
Listen — I shopped at the warehouse stores for years, but it’s gotten to the point where you can actually buy a lot of things cheaper online.
One of my favorite places to shop is Thrive Market because you can buy food at up to 50% off retail prices, plus the stuff they stock is usually healthier and more organic or sustainably sourced than what I find in the store.
I also like buying bulk items online on Amazon Grocery. Not only will you save $50/year in membership fees, but Amazon will ship most things to you for free.
Also, do you know about these Amazon-only coupons posted each week? For example, this week there are coupons on formula, granola bars, K-cups, and more. Just click the coupons you want and Amazon will automatically deduct them from your bill before you checkout.
6. Get 2% Back on All of Your Grocery Store Purchases
If you’re not using a rewards card for your grocery purchases, you’re really just leaving free money on the table. One of my favorite reward cards is the Barclaycard® Rewards MasterCard® – Average Credit. They give you 3 points for every dollar worth of groceries, gas and utilities you put on the card each month.
Plus, they give you 1 point for every other dollar you spend on anything else. And there’s no annual fee with this card, meaning if you paying off it in full each month, it really will cost you nothing to have this card. And the points can be converted to cash (1000 points = $10).
Consider this – the average family spends $824.70/month on groceries, $368/month on gasoline and $363/month on utilities. If you can commit to just putting those purchases on your card, you could pocket an extra $47.35 every month.
Your Turn: Would you use any of these unusual ways to add a little money back into your budget?
Good luck Thrifty Savers!
Once you sign up to become a Nielsen Consumer Panel family, the company will send you a free scanner (like the one pictured to the left) or you can use your smartphone. Every time you go shopping, you simply scan the barcodes on the back of each product and send your data off to NCP. Pretty easy, huh?
If you want to give it a try, you can fill out an application here:
Sign up to be a Nielsen Consumer Panel family here.
As an active participant, you earn gift points which you can redeem for different types of merchandise. You can choose electronics, jewelry, household items, and even toys for the kids. The longer you stay on the panel, the more opportunity you have to earn points towards prizes.
You also receive entries for the panel’s many sweepstakes. Prizes include money, vacations, and brand new vehicles. This is a great way to make your consumer voice count and be rewarded handsomely for recording your purchases. You’re already going to the grocery store anyway, right?
2. Tell the Packaged Food Companies What You Think of Them
Did you know the packaged food companies will pay you for your thoughts? These companies are hungry for data on what shoppers think of their products, so paid food panels are becoming more and more common.
Some of these panels are hosted online — sign up for sites like Swagbucks and Ipsos Panel to participate. If you sign up for both, you should easily make an extra $15-$30/month (most surveys pay between $3-$4 each for 20 minutes of your time). Sometimes I fill them out while I’m watching TV.
Larger panels are hosted locally — these usually require 2-4 hours of your time, but they pay up to $200. Here’s how to participate in a local panel.
3. Get Paid Extra to Use Your Coupons
Did you know that InboxDollars will actually pay you to print and use the coupons they offer on their website? Here’s how it works…
1. Sign up for a free account with InboxDollars (just need a name & email address). Plus, they give you $5 free since I referred you.
2. Navigate to the “Coupons” section. There you will find dozens of high-value coupons for everyday items like cereal and toilet paper. Select the ones you want, print them out, and use them in your store like a regular coupon. But here’s the kicker —- InboxDollars will pay you ten cents for every coupon you use.
Now, that might not sound like a lot of money, but I’m going to let you in on a little secret. Most of the coupons you can print on their site are the same coupons you find in your Sunday newspaper or on Coupons.com. They’re actually put out by the same people. So, it’s free cash for coupons you’re probably already clipping. And all those dimes start to add up after awhile…
4. Take a Picture of Your Receipts
Yeah, did you know that you can get cash-back on your groceries just for taking a picture of your receipt? The very popular website and mobile app, Ibotta will pay you to do just that. Here’s how it works….
- Sign up for Ibotta here (you just need a name/email address to start).
- Browse through the cash-back offers in your area before heading to the store (the offers change every week).
- Stick to your grocery list and find offers matching those items. You can still use coupons and “stack” your savings.
- Once you’ve reached $5 or more in earnings, you can request payout via Paypal or Venmo.
5. Quit Costco/BJ’s/Sam’s Club
Listen — I shopped at the warehouse stores for years, but it’s gotten to the point where you can actually buy a lot of things cheaper online.
One of my favorite places to shop is Thrive Market because you can buy food at up to 50% off retail prices, plus the stuff they stock is usually healthier and more organic or sustainably sourced than what I find in the store.
I also like buying bulk items online on Amazon Grocery. Not only will you save $50/year in membership fees, but Amazon will ship most things to you for free.
Also, do you know about these Amazon-only coupons posted each week? For example, this week there are coupons on formula, granola bars, K-cups, and more. Just click the coupons you want and Amazon will automatically deduct them from your bill before you checkout.
6. Get 2% Back on All of Your Grocery Store Purchases
If you’re not using a rewards card for your grocery purchases, you’re really just leaving free money on the table. One of my favorite reward cards is the Barclaycard® Rewards MasterCard® – Average Credit. They give you 3 points for every dollar worth of groceries, gas and utilities you put on the card each month.
Plus, they give you 1 point for every other dollar you spend on anything else. And there’s no annual fee with this card, meaning if you paying off it in full each month, it really will cost you nothing to have this card. And the points can be converted to cash (1000 points = $10).
Consider this – the average family spends $824.70/month on groceries, $368/month on gasoline and $363/month on utilities. If you can commit to just putting those purchases on your card, you could pocket an extra $47.35 every month.
Your Turn: Would you use any of these unusual ways to add a little money back into your budget?
Good luck Thrifty Savers!
