How to get the best deal when having your groceries delivered

CHICAGO - It’s a time saver but not always a money saver.

In a FOX 32 special report, Dawn Hasbrouck takes a look at how to get the best deal when having your groceries delivered.

The weekly trip to the grocery store can wreak havoc with more than just your wallet. That’s one reason why many of us are now paying to skip that trip.

"Grocery delivery can be a great time saver once you’ve gotten into it and started to use it. That’s really the big benefit. That’s why people really like it," said Consumer’s Checkbook executive editor Kevin Brasler.

While time is money, just how much money are you willing to pay to save a little time?

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"In some cases, you may only pay $5 more for an order and in others you may pay as much as $40 more for an order, and that’s before you tip," Brasler said.

"So it’s always going to cost more to get your grocery delivery because somebody has to pay for that extra labor. How much more you’ll pay depends very much on where you shop for groceries and even what service you use."

Brasler says the biggest grocery delivery fees come from third party companies.

"And a big reason for that is sometimes they mark up the in-store prices, and sometimes they mark them up by a lot, we found," he said.

So what can you do to keep grocery delivery from driving up your total food bill? Brasler says start by making sure you are shopping at a store with low prices.

"There are lots of options here in the Chicago area in terms of grocery stores. And some charge far higher prices than others for the same order. We price shopped all the big options here in the area and found that Walmart and Meijer had the lowest prices," he said.

After that, another expert says consider using free delivery trials that some stores offer.

"There are stores like Walmart or even Amazon that will give you a free trial to their shipping memberships that would offer free grocery delivery. Amazon’s Prime is a free 30-day trial and Walmart Plus is a free two-week trial. Target offers shipping, so you could sign up for their free trial," said consumer finance expert Andrea Woroch.

Woroch says you can save some money by staggering these free trials over a few months’ time.

"Something else to look out for are coupon codes to cut those delivery fees and may be even save money off your order," Woroch said.

Woroch says sites like CouponCabin.com is a good place to look because it organizes coupons for you, and you can find coupons for several different stores.

Don’t forget to take a good look at the credit card you are using to buy your groceries.

"Some give you more cash back for grocery purchases," Woroch said. "A good example is the American Express Blue Cash Preferred card. They offer 6% cash back at U.S. supermarkets on up to $6,000 per year," Woroch said.

"Finally, if you link a rewards app like Fetch to your email, you are going to qualify to earn points for all those online grocery deliveries that you make," she added.

Woroch also suggests using a flat-rate cash back credit card because there won’t be a limit for certain cash back rewards, and you can earn rewards at big box stores.