People who frequently use rebate websites may have wondered if there are equivalent sites for grocery shopping — sure there are, and plenty of them.

As a quick refresher, popular sites like Ebates offer coupons and cash rebates to customers who shop at partner retailers such as Macy’s or Walmart. San Francisco-based Ebates is owned by Rakuten Inc., one of Japan’s largest online shopping malls. When you click on an Ebates link through the website or app, an email, or by installing its browser extension to start shopping, you’re eligible to receive cash back. You can also receive cash back at the store by linking a credit or debit card to your Ebates account.

Grocery store rebate apps work much the same way, with an extra step of submitting your receipts after you shop. There are a slew of such apps including Checkout 51, SavingStar and Receipt Pal, plus the four we’re reviewing below. Each of these turns your grocery receipts into cashback awards and each has its own special features, strengths and limitations.

It’s fulfilling to earn cashback rewards just by scanning your grocery receipts. To maximize your earnings, you’ll probably want to check the apps when creating your shopping list. It’s even more gratifying if you can combine your app rebates with store discounts. But it’s also easy to overspend — squelch the impulse to buy something solely for the cash back because you may end up wasting money instead of saving it.

When shopping for a loan, it’s tempting to cast your eyes to the monthly total. That low monthly payment may fit into your budget, but it’s more important to look at each loan’s annual percentage rate. The APR will provide a much clearer picture of how much the loan will actually cost you in the end.

The monthly payment is determined by the loan amount, the interest rate and your loan term, but it doesn’t tell you how expensive the loan is. While a low monthly payment on a loan may appear to be a good deal, the total cost of a loan may be much higher than you think if it carries a high APR and the payments are spread out over a long period.

What is APR anyway?

APR is the annual rate of interest paid on a loan. It tells you how much it costs to borrow for one year. The reason why APR gives you a true picture of how expensive your loan is is because it factors in not only the interest costs but other fees lenders charge for a loan. The APR is determined by lenders’ fees, the risk of the business that is borrowing the money and the length of the loan’s term.

If a lender doesn’t charge additional fees, the loan’s APR and interest rate are the same. But if the lender charges a 5% loan origination fee, the APR can be higher than the simple interest rate. For example, you can probably find a personal loan that has an 8% interest rate, but if the lender bundles fees into the total loan amount, the APR may be 9% or even higher.

Longer-term loans have higher APRs because the risk of default is somewhat higher. Lenders make lending decisions based on a borrower’s creditworthiness — the higher the credit score, the better the rates and terms. Lenders perceive those with subprime credit scores as risky borrowers, and that’s why those with less-than-stellar credit often are subject to higher APRs and longer terms.

Why a low monthly payment may not be cheap at all

A low monthly payment doesn’t necessarily mean the loan is inexpensive, but a high APR definitely means a higher cost of borrowing because it tells you how much interest and fees you pay on a loan.

Here’s an example of why the monthly payment is not the only factor you should consider while borrowing money:

Earnest, an online lender, offers no-fee personal loans with fixed rates from 6.99% to 18.24% APR. On a hypothetical $10,000 loan amount, the monthly payment is $210 if Borrower A gets a five-year loan with a 9.49% APR. The borrower will have to pay $12,598 by the end of the loan term. That translates to a total interest cost of $2,598.

In contrast, if Borrower B takes the same loan with a 6.99% APR — the lowest rate — and a three-year loan term, the borrower has a $309 monthly payment. Borrower B’s monthly payment is higher than Borrower A’s, but the total interest paid over the loan’s life span is only $1,114, less than half of what Borrower A will pay over five years in interest.

Now, let’s say Borrower C picks a $255 monthly payment for a five-year, $10,000 loan that carries an 18.24% APR, the highest rate. The total cost of the loan is $15,301, with $5,301 paid in interest — more than half of the loan principal and $4,187 more than Borrower B will pay. This is the most expensive loan option offered by Earnest, but the monthly payment isn’t the highest.

Borrowers A and C have the same five-year loan term, but because they qualify for different APRs, Borrower C ends up paying about $2,700 more in interest, or more than twice of what Borrower A pays in interest on the loan, even though their monthly payment amounts are closer.

Monthly payment vs APR: What should I focus on when shopping for a loan?

Your monthly payment doesn’t really tell you much about your loan. If you focus only on whether you can afford a loan on a monthly basis, you may be vulnerable to sneaky sales tricks that make it seem like you’re getting a good deal when you’re really not.

When you borrow money, If you are looking for nothing but a monthly payment that will fit your monthly budget, the easiest way is to stretch out the loan over a few more years. Instead of a two-year loan, you may take a five-year loan with lower monthly payments but a higher APR. Unfortunately, by doing so, you will end up paying more for borrowing money over the life of the loan.

Instead of settling on a monthly payment, you should look at the APR and the long term. Lower APRs on the same loan amount always mean lower interest payments. Although you won’t get the lowest monthly payment with the shortest-term loan, you will spend less in the end.

How do I reduce loan costs?

Improve your credit

Before you shop for a loan, check your credit score. Lenders offer better terms and lower rates to borrowers with higher credit scores because they are less likely to default on their debt. A recent LendingTree study estimated that someone with a fair credit score paid $29,106 more than someone with a “very good” credit score for the same $234,437 mortgage loan and $5,629 more in interest for the same $5,265 credit card debt. LendingTree is the parent company of MagnifyMoney.

If you have a subprime credit score, you can save money on loans by improving your credit score. The key to increasing your score is to make on-time payments on bills, keep your credit utilization ratio at or below 30%, have a mix of credit accounts and don’t apply for too many loans too frequently. Read more about how to improve your credit score.

Pay off your debt faster

If you have already taken on an expensive loan and if your lender doesn’t charge prepayment penalties, you can reduce your interest payment by paying off your debt fast. There are two ways to save money: pay extra each month or make a large lump-sum payment when you get a windfall.

President Donald Trump made good on his threat of imposing tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese-made goods when he announced Monday that a 10% duty will take effect Sept. 24, rising to 25% by the beginning of next year.

The silver lining: The later timing avoids Christmas morning meltdowns from kids who missed out on trendy electronic gadgets due to increased prices. The bad news? This may not be the end of the trade war. China reacted to Monday’s announcement with talk of retaliation, which led President Trump to threaten further tariffs on another $267 billion worth of Chinese imports. That would bring the total value of Chinese goods subject to tariffs to more than $500 billion, virtually all Chinese imports.

Tariffs Explained: What They Are, How They Work, Why It Matters

For now, the administration removed nearly 300 items from the original proposed list, a nod to U.S. companies’ concerns since Trump first threatened tariffs this summer. Popular consumer electronics products such as smartwatches and Bluetooth devices are among those that dodged the higher tariffs. Some consumer safety products, such as bicycle helmets, baby car seats and playpens also were taken off the list.

It could be worse for consumers, but …

The tariffs account for nearly 40% of the $505 billion in Chinese items the U.S. imports annually. Although they will start at a more subdued 10% level, eventually, American consumers will keenly feel the pain from the swath of stiff tariffs on thousands of goods as varied as fish, baseball gloves, luggage, dog leashes, furniture, lamps and mattresses.

“What the tariffs will do is basically cause many people to pay more for whatever they buy in the stores,” said Gary Hufbauer, economist and nonresident senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. “It could be worse … 25% is a lot different than 10%.” The PIIE is a nonprofit, nonpartisan economics research institution in Washington, D.C.

“[They thought they might have to pay] $8 for that new T-shirt, they may pay $7, whereas previously it was $5,” Hufbauer said, giving an example.

Before excluding the 300 items, almost 23% of the targeted items on Trump’s $200 billion list were consumer products, according to a July PIIE analysis. By comparison, consumer products made up just 1% of the initial $50 billion worth of Chinese products Trump put into place earlier in the summer.

Why Trump takes a step back

Delaying the full 25% duty is an attempt to mitigate potential political and economic consequences ahead of the midterm election, said Hufbauer.

For one, Hufbauer said, Trump does not want to see the stock market tank before November.

“Many of his supporters own shares, and they would blame him because they thought the stock market was dropping because of his foreign policy, his trade wars,” Hufbauer said.

The U.S. stock market on Tuesday closed higher as investors shrugged off escalating trade tensions.

There is also a concern that if high tariffs are slapped on Chinese imports, American manufacturers that import components from China may have to pay higher prices for those parts or worse, lay off workers as a result. Even though consumers don’t buy parts directly, they end up being incorporated or assembled into products that consumers eventually buy. Manufacturers must either pass along the increased cost to consumers or find other ways to cut expenses.

“Those stories are not good for a person going into an election,” Hufbauer said.

What’s at stake

When the tariffs are at the 25% level, economists estimate that consumers will have to bear about half — 12.5% to 15%— while the rest is absorbed by the producer or manufacturer.

Those who have purchased washing machines this year may have already understood how tariffs affect consumer product prices. The price of imported washing machines shot up 16.4%, three months after the Trump administration imposed 20%-50% tariffs in February, according to the American Enterprise Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based conservative think tank.

There are also indirect impacts, which may emerge more slowly, as 47% of the $200 billion tariff list comprises tens of billions of dollars of intermediate inputs — those parts and components of final products we mentioned earlier — imported from China. Consumers will likely have to spend more on items assembled with parts imported from China that are subject to high tariffs.

What’s next

Trump has been tough on trade since he was on the presidential campaign trail. He has accused China of practicing unfair trade policies, such as forcing U.S. firms to transfer technology to Chinese counterparts. Supporters of the new tariffs hope it will persuade China to play fairer on trade. Even critics agree that China has in some ways stymied growth in U.S. industries, but they also criticize Trump’s protectionist trade policy and say it will ultimately hurt industries and individuals in both countries.

It’s possible Trump will act on his rhetoric and continue to wage a trade war against China, economists said. But Hufbauer thinks Trump is trying to pressure China into making concessions ahead of the upcoming trade talks between Beijing and Washington.

If Beijing is willing to make concessions on some of the main issues Trump raised, the trade tensions could be dialed back a bit, Hufbauer said. “I don’t think we’re going to get into a happy friendly time,” he said. “But I think we could reduce the confrontation a lot if China decides to make some concessions.”

However, if 25% tariffs are imposed on total trade in both directions, then we would enter a full-blown trade war we haven’t seen since the 1930s. In that case, economists said American companies that rely on global supply chains will hold off on investment decisions due to the uncertainty around global trade, which will negatively affect the U.S. economy and eventually cause the unemployment rate to swing up.

“Using the terminology of war, Trump’s misguided trade war is generating lots of collateral damage and friendly fire that is putting [America’s] companies, workers and consumers at great risk,” said Mark Perry, an economics policy scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and professor of finance and business economics at the University of Michigan-Flint.