I've been working on my budget for a few months now, but I always have problems with my groceries. I don't know how to use coupons, get the best deals, or plan my meals. Does anyone know an app that I can use?
This is hard for me to do also. At least I do save money by not eating out very much.
If you haven't already, check out Ibotta. They offer lots of rebates, especially at Walmart, and you can combine them with rebates from other sites, coupons, and store sales to get things really cheap or free. What's more, each rebate can often be credited up to 5 times on one receipt, so if it's for a product you really like, you can buy 5 and get the rebate multiplied. Once you've earned $20 in rebates, you can cash out. The money can be sent to a bank or PayPal account, or you can exchange it for a gift card. The app is easy to use. You can even link your store loyalty account, so you don't have to manually upload your receipt (which isn't hard, either–you just snap a pic). I don't even buy that many name-brand products, but since I started a little over a year ago, I've saved over $800 with them.
If you haven't already, check out Ibotta. They offer lots of rebates, especially at Walmart, and you can combine them with rebates from other sites, coupons, and store sales to get things really cheap or free. What's more, each rebate can often be credited up to 5 times on one receipt, so if it's for a product you really like, you can buy 5 and get the rebate multiplied. Once you've earned $20 in rebates, you can cash out. The money can be sent to a bank or PayPal account, or you can exchange it for a gift card. The app is easy to use. You can even link your store loyalty account, so you don't have to manually upload your receipt (which isn't hard, either–you just snap a pic). I don't even buy that many name-brand products, but since I started a little over a year ago, I've saved over $800 with them.
I use Ibotta also along with Fetch. I’ve save some good money but just have to be careful as with all coupons, that the items are something you actually use or at lest want to try. Don’t chase the rebate, for sake of ‘winning the challenge, as I have been guilty of doing. You could end up spending more than intended 
Buy a months worth bulk
I'm in college but my mom taught me it's best to make as much as you can from scratch using whole foods. It can be time-consuming, but it's usually healthier and cheaper. She made a big list of all our favorite dinners and divided them into categories like on a menu. Then she added how much it cost to make each thing. Now she picks from the different categories and makes a plan for the whole week. Since she knows how much each recipe costs to make, what ingredients she already has, and what's on sale at the grocery store, she knows how much she has to spend for the week. She also makes sure to have a couple easy things planned in case she's doesn't have time to make a harder recipe. It seems to work really well.
Such a good idea. Thanks
Meal planning has been a huge benefit for me. Gave me a reason to look deep into the freezer and pantry….. I only meal planned dinner as when I work out in the field, I can't be here to fix breakfast and lunch for husband but I did plan easy options for him as to not encourage him to run to town for fast food. Making breakfast sandwiches and freezing them wrapped in parchment paper is the BEST… easy breakfast or lunch for either of us so I could grab and go if needed.
A.K. is right, I did create a menu, and it does help me budget. It also makes it easier to decide what to make each week. I also set aside some time to meal prep, which makes it much more likely that I'll actually make what's on my list and not waste any fresh ingredients.
Since the OP asked for an app–I'm not sure if they wanted one to help w/budgeting or to save money–I'm going to recommend Shopkick. It's like a grocery store scavenger hunt where you scan products from their list. You don't have to buy anything, but they do offer rebates on products. I only take advantage of that if it's something I'm already planning to buy and if I can combine it w/a store sale or a coupon/rebate from another app, like Ibotta or Fetch. You can also earn some points each day running a few short videos or finding hidden points in their "Discover" section. You can cash out at $5, but it has to be a gift card. They offer a lot of different GCs, including Amazon, but not PayPal. Still, Amazon GCs are great, at least for me, because I add them to my Amazon account and use the balance to buy gifts or things I can't get elsewhere.
Learning to cook from basic ingredients has saved me a LOT on groceries. A 5 (80 oz) lb bag of rice is only $3.72 at my local Walmart, but a 32 oz (2lb) box of boil-in-bag rice at the same store is $11.85, and rice from scratch is EASY!
Is there a discount grocery store in your area–the kind that sell closeouts and products close to their expiration? I've found some incredible deals at the stores near me, and I've never gotten anything that was spoiled or stale.
Thanks for all your advices! I'm creating an ideal menu that works for me, identifying the groceries stores in my area, comparing the prices and see if I can save money. I assigned a budget for my food expenses, but I spent more than I planned because I had to buy cleaning supplies (toilet paper, deodorant, detergent, etc.). Do you include that expenses in the groceries budget, or do you create a different expense found?
