Shop at Costco use a cash back app How to

Shop at Costco, use a cash back app: How to save on groceries while grocery inflation soars at fastest rate since 1979

Business News / By /

To feel the effects of inflation, just go to the supermarket.

Although inflation started to ease last month along with gas prices overall, food costs rose 1.1% in July, bringing the year-on-year gain to 10.9%, according to the latest CPI data.

The Food-at-Home Index, a measure of grocery price changes, posted its largest 12-month rise since 1979.

Muesli and baked goods cost 15% more than last year. Milk and dairy products are up 14.9% and fruit and vegetables are up 9.3% for the year.

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“Consumers are getting a break at the pump but not at the grocery store,” said Greg McBride, chief financial analyst at Bankrate.com. “Food prices, and particularly the cost of groceries at home, continue to rise and are rising at the fastest rate in more than 43 years.”

With the Federal Reserve already taking aggressive steps to combat rising inflation, consumers expect prices to eventually come down. They’re still expected to rise 6.7% over the next 12 months, but that’s a big drop from June, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s monthly consumer expectations survey.

The central bank has hiked its key interest rate by 2.25 percentage points so far in 2022, hinting that more hikes are yet to come.

Still, as Tomas Philipson, professor of public policy studies at the University of Chicago and former acting chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, explained: “It’s going to take a while [the Fed’s rate-hike cycle] to work through.”

How to protect yourself from the sticker shock in the supermarket until then:

5 tips to avoid getting ripped off when shopping

  • Use a cash back app. Ibotta and Checkout 51 are two of the most popular apps for making money back in business, according to Julie Ramhold, consumer analyst at DealNews.com. The average Ibotta user makes between $10 and $20 a month, but more active users can earn as much as $100 to $300 a month, a spokesperson told CNBC.
  • Scrutinize sales. Generics can be 10% to 30% cheaper than their “premium” counterparts and just as good, but that’s not always the case. Name brands may currently be offering bigger than usual discounts to maintain loyalty. Therefore, it is worth paying attention to price changes.
  • Plan your meals. When you plan your meals in advance, you’re more likely to buy only the things you need, said Lisa Thompson, savings expert at Coupons.com. If planning isn’t your thing, at least go shopping with a rough idea of ​​what you’ll be cooking in the coming week to stay on track and avoid impulse buying, she added.
  • Buy in bulk. For the rest of the items on your list, you can save more by buying in bulk. Joining a wholesale club like Costco, Sam’s Club, or BJ’s will often give you the best per-unit price for condiments and durable goods.
  • Pay with the right card. While you can earn 2% with a generic cash back card like the Citi Double Cash Card, there are specialty grocery rewards cards that can earn you up to 6% back at supermarkets across the country, such as the Citi Double Cash Card. B. the Blue Cash Preferred Card from American Express. CNBC’s Select has a full round-up of the best cards for grocery shopping, along with APRs and annual fees.

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