3 simple ways to turn your smart phone into a grocery coupon machine
It seems like everything is on sale if you know where to look...
Sometimes saving money is as simple as taking advantage of the technology at your fingertips. You're probably on Facebook or your phone all the time anyway. Why not use them to save money when it comes to shopping for food? At the very least, using technology to save some green will ease your guilt about being so dependent on it!
1. "Like" the Social Media Pages of Your Local Stores
The next time you're browsing Facebook, look up the pages of the retail stores in your area. You might be surprised by the benefits you'll get by simply "liking" each page. For example, the Kroger family of stores - which includes Kroger, Ralph's, King Soopers, Fry's, Smith's, and more - often features coupon codes for a few bucks off your next grocery shopping trip. Such stores also post the weekly ads early so you can take a look at the future deals before the current ones end. And as an added bonus, you can download coupon codes for free products every once in a while. So saving money by using social media is pretty easy!
2. Look for Store Apps
Many of the top grocery stores have their own applications. Just check the app store on your smartphone or tablet and search for your favorite grocery store to see if it has its own app. Some examples of stores that do are Aldi, Publix, Winn-Dixie, Kroger, Fry's and Ralph's. Such apps make it easy for you to make grocery lists by clicking on what you want from the weekly ad, as well as allowing you to download and keep track of digital coupons. That means saving money doesn't even have to involve clipping paper coupons, as long as you're cool with fiddling with your phone for a little longer than usual.
3. Comparison Shop on Your Smartphone
If your local store does not have its own app - or even if it does - you can still save money by downloading an independent grocery application. This makes it easy to compare the deals going on at all your local stores before you buy anything. Some of the top free grocery store apps include the following:
- Grocery IQ: This app has a barcode scanner, coupons, and the ability to share lists and favorite the products you buy on a regular basis.
- Grocery Pal: This allows you to browse local stores for coupons; once you find some, you can email them to yourself and print them out.
- Flipp: This iOS app shows you all the weekly ads for your local grocery stores. Reebee is a similar app that also works with Android and Blackberry.
Do you have any of your own tips for saving money using technology?