Earning Credit Card Cash Back on Groceries

One of the biggest expenses a family will face is their grocery shopping bill. Even for families who eat the majority of their meals at home, the costs for feeding a family can be staggering. The healthier you eat, the more you seem to pay for the food! Buying food is an expense we simply can’t remove from our budgets, but there are some strategies for reducing your grocery shopping bill and for using grocery rewards programs on credit cards to help your money stretch even further.

Two Types of Grocery Rewards Credit Cards

The first type of grocery rewards credit card will provide cash back on your credit card statement for your grocery store purchases. Some cards will provide the cash back percentage on any grocery or convenience store purchase; while others only give you cash back when shopping at a specific retailer. In general, a store specific card is not the most desirable of credit card offers, as it forces you to shop at only one place in order to earn rewards.

The second type of grocery cash back credit card gives you rewards points whenever you use the credit card. The rewards can be used for grocery purchases, or in some cases, other types of retail shopping – depending on the card. For most cards, you receive one point for every dollar spent, although you may find some cards which provide additional points for grocery shopping or gasoline when compared to points received for other types of purchases. Additionally, it is possible to find a 0% APR credit card that offers cash back on groceries, which you can use to reduce interest expenses with via balance transfers.

Reduce the Grocery Bill

If you commit to using a grocery rewards credit card for all of your food shopping, you’ll start seeing the rewards build up and save you money. Remember to pay your grocery credit card in full each time you receive the statement, otherwise the interest you pay carrying a balance from month to month will offset the savings received through the rewards program.

Here are some additional tips to reducing the grocery bill:

Plan your family meals around what’s on sale at your grocery store

• Stockpile non-perishables or items which can be frozen, whenever they are on sale and can be purchased with coupons
• Choose fruits and vegetables based on what’s in season (they’re less expensive); and visit farmer’s markets when they’re open for less expensive produce. Grow your own if you can.
• Choose generic brands instead of name brands for quality food at lower prices. The only time it may pay you to look at name brand items is when they are on sale and can be combined with manufacturer and/or store coupons, too.
• Use coupons. The few minutes it takes to clip coupons from the paper or print from your computer can really add up. Be careful to only buy products you would buy anyway – and not to buy something just because you have a coupon for it.

For more information on credit cards that can save you money on groceries, please see the cash back credit card section where you can review credit card applications and apply.