Home delivery services and meal subscription companies (i.e., HelloFresh and Chef’s Plate, etc.) allow you to eat out or prepare healthy meals at home without ever having to leave your home. Apps like GrubHub, Doordash, and Uber Eats allow you to pick out your food online and have it dropped off at your doorstep with the touch of a finger. The best part is, it’s not just common delivery foods like pizza or chinese, you can order pretty much anything you want with home meal delivery services.

Here are some tips to keep in mind to best optimize food subscriptions and delivery services:

1. Know your budget

Before you go into an app and pick out your lunch or dinner for the day, make sure you understand what your limit is. A lot of people end up overspending and spending way more monthly on food than they used to simply because they don’t have a budget for their delivery service orders. Make sure to leave space in your budget for both a delivery fee and a tip to give to the driver. Understand that food delivery will cost a little bit more than you are used to because you are paying for convenience. Just make sure you have a budget and plan for those delivery fees and tips.

2. Research the delivery process

You should know how the delivery process works before you decide to order food. Simply put, an employee from one of the delivery apps will receive your order through their app and then they will go to the restaurant you placed your order at and pick up your food. They will have your phone number as you provide it through the app and they will be able to text or call you to give you updates about your food or let you know they are arriving. Know what you are getting into and read up about how these companies work and how they get your food to you.

3. Choose based on selection and ingredients

Each app/delivery service has a different selection. They do not all carry the same restaurants and so you will need to look through and see which one has the selection that entices you. You may want to have more than one of these services on your phone or computer so that you can have access to a lot of selection. Decide what selection is good for you based on what ingredients their foods contain. Make sure you are eating good quality food.

4. Do you have allergies?

If you have any food allergies it is immensely important to be aware of that while you are using a food delivery service. Make sure to be extra careful, if possible, alert whatever food delivery service you are using of your allergen. Try to pick out foods that don’t contain any allergens naturally. You don’t want to select something that you are allergic to and ask for that part to be removed, it is an extra risk that you do not need to take.

5. Look at nutrition and preferences

Ordering out is fun, and it is likely that you will do it often once you start using these services. This is why it is important to eat healthily and be nutritious. On top of that, look to the service that contains more of your favorite cuisine. If you love Italian food, use the food delivery service that contains more Italian restaurants!