Prices keep rising and rising. Inflation is back with a vengeance. This is especially true at the grocery store, where we keep getting sticker shock at the checkout counter.
Just look at the news headlines:
If you’re a steak lover, you might be out of luck. Just as grilling season kicks into high gear, prices are sky-high.
Overall, inflation rose 5% over the past year — the biggest jump since 2008, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
How can you keep up with rising prices? We’ve got some ideas.
1. Get Paid Every Time You Buy Groceries
What’s your favorite cut of steak? Ribeye? T-bone? Filet mignon?
No matter how strategic you are, groceries still account for a good chunk of your budget. Everybody’s got to eat. You may as well earn a little money back while your groceries are being bagged up.
A free app called Fetch Rewards will reward you with gift cards just for buying staples like toilet paper and more than 250 other items at the grocery store.
Here’s how it works: After you’ve downloaded the app, just take a picture of your receipt showing you purchased an item from one of the brands listed in Fetch. For your efforts, you’ll earn gift cards to places like Amazon or Walmart.
You can download the free Fetch Rewards app here to start getting free gift cards.
Over a million people already have, so they must be onto something.
2. Pocket up to 5% Cash Back at the Grocery Store
If you’re not getting rewarded every time you go to the grocery store, you’re missing out on extra money.
Aspiration lets you earn up to 5% cash back on your debit card purchases. For example, right now it gives you 0.5% cash back at Walmart and Target, and 5% cash back at places like Brandless. (For a full list of cash-back percentages, visit Aspiration’s website.)
It takes just five minutes to sign up for a new debit card with the Aspiration Spend and Save account.
Never leave extra money behind at the grocery store again.
3. Shop Groceries Online (or At Least Pantry Items!)
If you have a massive shopping list, grocery shopping can easily become overwhelming. Next thing you know, you’re lugging out hundreds of pounds of groceries — or at least that’s what it feels like.
Make life easier for yourself (and your arms) by buying your pantry and dry goods online — and earn cash bonuses along the way.
A free browser extension and website called Rakuten has connections with more than 2,500 stores, which means it can give you a cash kickback when you shop at one. When we checked, we found deals at Amazon, Safeway, Sam’s Club, Boxed and Walmart.
It takes less than 60 seconds to download the free browser extension and create a Rakuten account. All you need is an email address. Plus, if you use Rakuten to earn money back within the first 90 days of signing up, it’ll give you an extra $10.
Now you don’t have to worry about fitting that 36-pack of toilet paper in your trunk or hauling a box of cat litter across the store. Just have someone deliver it to your door and earn cash back along the way!
4. Stop Overpaying for Groceries You Order Online
Do you pick up groceries after shopping online first? Wouldn’t it be nice if you got an alert any time you’re shopping online and you’re about to overpay?
That’s exactly what this free service does.
Just add it to your browser for free, and before you check out, it’ll check other websites, including Walmart, eBay and others to see if your item is available for cheaper. Plus, you can get coupon codes, set up price-drop alerts and even see the item’s price history.
Let’s say you’re shopping for a new pair of shoes, and you assume you’ve found the best price. Here’s when you’ll get a pop up letting you know if that exact pair of shoes is available elsewhere for cheaper. If there are any available coupon codes, they’ll also automatically be applied to your order.*
In the last year, this has saved people $160 million.
You can get started in just a few clicks to see if you’re overpaying online.
5. Get an Extra $225 to Use Toward Groceries This Month
If we told you that before you head to the grocery store, you could get paid to watch cooking videos on your computer, you’d probably laugh.
No way, right? But we’re serious.
A website called InboxDollars will pay you to watch short video clips online. One minute, you might watch a chef teach you how to make fudge brownies, and the next, you might get the latest celebrity gossip.
All you have to do is choose which videos you want to watch and answer a few quick questions about them afterward. Brands pay InboxDollars to get these videos in front of viewers, and it passes a cut to you.
Unlike other sites, InboxDollars pays you in cash — no points or gift cards. It’s possible to earn up to $225 per month watching these videos, which could make a serious dent in your grocery bill.
It takes about one minute to sign up, and you’ll get a $5 bonus to get you started.
The bottom line is, prices at your grocery store are going to keep going up. The price of steak will keep rising.
Like it or not, that includes the price of everything you eat — including steak.
If you start following at least a couple of these tips, you’ll put yourself in a better position to handle rising grocery prices. And keep eating steak.
Any of these strategies will help.
Just pick one to start with.
