5 Grocery Apps That Help Save Time & Money

It’s no secret that groceries are getting more and more expensive by the week. In the past decade, food prices have risen a steady 5% annually, and there is no slowdown in sight. It’s a sad situation for many cash-strapped consumers. Especially some of the 46.5 million Americans who rely on Food Stamps to help provide basic food and sustenance for their families. That’s almost 50 million out of 330 million Americans that need this crucial help. About 15%+ of the population. Any rises in food prices for those people, as well as any other struggling lower-middle-class or impoverished Americans is bad news. But, 5% rises in prices a year are devastating. Food Stamp and other benefits that help people pay for their food such as social security, or people’s paychecks are not rising quickly enough to help pay for the increasing costs of food.

However, there is some good news coming! There are many apps on your phone that you can download in the age of smartphones that can help you save some extra money. iTunes and Google Play have released many apps that allow the consumer to watch short videos or commercials, and take pictures of or scan their receipts to get additional rebates on the items “featured” on their shopping lists that week.

Here is a list of some of those apps that may help you:

1. Flipp – Flyers (iOS, Android)

Flipp provides consumers with the latest ads and sale circulations for the current week all on your phone. No more handling sloppy piles of crepe-paper thin ads that rip and tear, or where pages inside of it fall out while you are trying to stop. Just download this app and enter your zip code (US or Canada), and you will see all the sales flyers in your area. You can shop and compare prices to get the best deals on the items you need that week! Use the search function to find the exact item you need. See who sells it cheapest, then just head over and pick it up! Now simply download this app and see where the best sales are without having to flip a single page.

2. ReeBee – Flyers (iOS, Android, Blackberry)

Reebee is similar to Flipp, however it also offers apps for the Blackberry platform. It was built with a phone other than Apple products built in mind, so for those using Android or Blackberry this option seems to be rather preferred. You can still access all the local flyers and circulations for deals, but sadly, there is no search function yet so you do have to go through every single page to find the best prices on what you need.

3. Checkout 51 – Coupons (iOS, Android)

Many people are saving money using Checkout 51 rather than spending endless hours clipping coupons. Checkout 51 was created for Americans and Canadians who love to save, but really hate clipping all those coupons. You are able to redeem virtual coupon savings by simply snapping a photo of your receipt from your latest shopping trip on your smartphone. The app generally includes the same products and the exact same deals that are offered in the weekly coupon ads. Checks are generally mailed to users when they hit the $20 marker of savings. The app keeps track of what you bought, what you saved, and what you need. You put in your address to get the check mailed back to you.

4. Grocery IQ – Grocery Lists (iOS, Android)

Grocery IQ allows you to create a shopping list and then finds the best prices for you so you can determine where to buy your items to save the most money through coupons and weekly sales. It allows you to share lists with other people who may do shopping with or for you such as family members or others you room/share space with. You can also send lists to your computer to print them out on paper to take shopping with you as well if you are more of a paper-and-pen type of shopper. It allows you to simplify shopping to save time and money as you do it.

5. AllTheCooks Recipes (iOS, Android)

AllTheCooks allows users to share recipes via social media, and puts all the apps in the same place for others to share and try. Provides excellent photographs to go with the recipes shared. Moreover, it allows you to search by ingredient to find what you can make with the leftovers from last night or what is left in your fridge.
Having these money-saving tools all on your smartphone makes it really easy to find the best deals, and the places to purchase the items. Making a list, getting what you need, doing it quickly, and saving money has never been so easy until the digital age.