<div class="block">A few days in a row of ordering out can become a bit costly but you have options. Phil Lempert, editor at Supermarketguru.com, joined &#39;Stretching Your Dollar&#39; to share a few money saving tips when it comes to ordering takeout. </div>

Stretching Your Dollar

Stretching Your Dollar: Apps to Help Save You Money on Food

With cost rising around every corner eating itself can turn into an expensive activity. There are apps that can help you save though. So joining me now is Phil Lampert, the editor of supermarket guru dot com. Uh Phil, if our viewers are concerned about the cost of food, it is an absolute staple. What are some apps that you recommend that could help them save? Well, the first thing you've got to remember is it's gonna take you more work and you might not get the brands that you want. But one that I really like is called Seeded. Now, this is for those people who want to save money when they go out to a restaurant. What happens is they've made deals with about 2000 restaurants throughout the nation. Um You might not have your favorite restaurant on it, but it's a great way to learn about new restaurants and what you can do. And when you go to the app, it actually shows you what percentage you'll save if you go to that restaurant. Now, here's what you've got to do. You also have to take a picture of the receipt um to then send to them to verify that you went to the restaurant. And here's what's the most interesting part about this. It's about the data. So, what the restaurant is doing is they're giving you a discount so that they can start to collect data, not in particular about you, but on what people like at their restaurants can help them, you know, figure out specials new products, what people aren't buying, if a lot of people are coming in and buying gluten-free pasta, they know that, you know, there's a trend. Yeah. Ok. Interesting. So, what about the app? Too good to go. Is that one where consumers could save? Yes, absolutely. And I love this. Um, what, what they do is they really work with individual stores. It could be a restaurant, it could be a bakery. It could be a pizza place and it's all about saving food from being wasted. And again, what you do is you get what's called a surprise bag. Um, it's about a third, less expensive. Uh, sorry, it's about a third of the price. So it's two thirds less, less expensive. Uh, but you don't know what's gonna be in the bag. So it's a surprise bag. So it's almost like going to a dollar store and, you know, finding those great deals that day, they might not have the same deal, but it's gonna take some work because you've got to go to different stores in order to get these surprise bags. Interesting. I like the sustainability factor there too. I knew another app. I think it's called IBA. Is that one where consumers can save? Yes. Now again, here you've got to take a picture of your receipt. Um What it is, it's different brands um that in particular um in different stores. So it's not throughout every store that you might want to go to. Um these brands are paying IBA um in order to add the product. So as you're walking in the store, you get a pop up and it says, ok, you can save a dollar on this $2 on this. Um, and then you press it again, you send in your cash register receipt and you get cash discounts. All right, any other apps that we should know about when it comes to saving on food? Yes. Um, probably the most important one to do and to fit our lifestyle is go to the app for the supermarket that you shop at. You're gonna see once you sign up for their frequent shopper cart program, you're gonna see great deals on the brands that you like. These three apps are really interesting. They're good. Um, they do things but frankly, you know, it's, it's a lot of work. Um, and I prefer just using the supermarket's own app because that way you get frequent shopper card discounts, you build up your loyalty program and frankly, you know, you're gonna be able to buy whether it's a store brand or your name brand, um, that you normally buy. So, if you do wanna save money in this particular environment, do you think that people should just stop going out to eat? Is that a way to save? Well, yes and no. Um, you know, it depends on where you go out to eat. If you're going to a white tablecloth, expensive restaurant. Yeah, you might want to cut that back. Um, but, you know, today with the price of food going to a fast food restaurant could be less expensive then, you know, making food at home. Uh, but also a lot of supermarkets are now doing is on their websites and on their apps, they're putting up recipes that have cost savings in mind. So search out those recipes. Look at what's in your refrigerator. 40% of all of our food is wasted in this country. That's, you know, um, a sad state of affairs. But that means that 40% of the money that we spend on food is wasted. So use those leftovers if you are going out to a restaurant, make sure you bring home a doggy bag. Ok. Um, good to know. What about meal prepping? Of course. Uh, that can help you organizationally. But do you think it can also save you money? Phil? No. Um, wait, wait, no, it'll save you money for that first deal where they give you 10 meals free or 20 meals free. Uh, but also back to sustainability. I'm really concerned about these meal prep kits with all that extra packaging, all that, those little glassine sleeves and the plastic sleeves and so on. Um, meal prep, you know, was hot for, you know, probably a minute. Um, and you know, being in Wall Street, what happened to these meal prep companies, um, left and right. A lot of them have gone out of business. So what you really want to do is, you know, use a recipe book, whether it's online or on your phone or just in a hard cover and really plan out your meals. Um, so you know what you're making and don't overbuy. Ok. Good to know any other services or resources. Phil that you would recommend that could help our viewers. Yeah. Number one store brands. Uh, let's not forget that store brands typically are about 20 to 25% less expensive. Uh, number one, they all have a money back guarantee. So if you don't like it, you know, you can always bring it back, read the ingredients and the nutritional information. Compare that to the national brand. And if it's identical, guess what that national brand is probably making it for that retailer, for that grocery store. Um, so do that and always shop with a list. We, we, if you don't shop with a list, you really are wasting about 30% on impulse items when you go into the store. Yes, I know. That impulse buy factor can get the best of us sometimes great advice. Phil. That's Phil Lemert with our money saving tips.