We all know food prices keep climbing, climbing, and climbing with no end in sight. It is getting a little depressing and scary to walk through the grocery store aisles and see the prices double and triple. For those who were strapped for money prior to the sharp inflation, I can only imagine how scared, frustrated, angry, and fed-up you must be feeling. I imagine you feel like you want to throw your hands up and quit. You want to yell, “I can’t do this anymore! When will this stop?” I want to tell you that there is hope.
There are ways to increase your income, cut everyday expenses and bills, and also save money on food at the grocery store. I will share with you some tips and tricks that I use to keep my food bill low. I average $450-$550 per month for a family of 5 at the grocery store. Now, this does not typically include meat, besides lunch meat My husband is a farmer, so we have lots of red meat/beef and pork on hand and from the butcher shop. I am pretty sure we need to purchase some hens for eggs. We do buy in chickens every year that we have butchered for meat as well.
Here are _ tips to save money at the grocery store.
1. Grocery pick up whenever I go into the grocery store, guess what happens? If you guessed that I spent more money, you would be correct! It never fails, I see something on sale, or something looks good. Or Heaven help me if I go food shopping while I am hungry. Or, if I bring the kids with me, I automatically spend an additional $20-$50! But when I do grocery pick-up, I stick to my list and stay on budget.
2. Make a list and stick to it– again, you can also do grocery pick up so you REALLY stick to your list.
3. Meal plan– OK, I will be the first to admit that I am not great at meal planning. I will do good with it for a couple of weeks and then go a few weeks without meal planning. But I will tell you that whenever I plan out my meals, I spend less money, we eat healthier and I use up our food in the pantry and refrigerator more. Nowadays it is easier than ever to meal plan. There are weekly meal planning planners and apps you can use.
Ask me for my weekly meal planner pdf
4. Shop around– this could be done by physically shopping at multiple stores and comparing prices or you can compare “shop around” prices online. You can then do multiple food pick-ups again and stick to your list and budget.
5. Take advantage of sales, coupons, and online cashback apps. There are multiple cash-back apps that you can use to save money on food and household purchases. I use Ibotta and I can save up my cash back and get it on an Amazon gift card to use. I use it for purchases that I am already planning on making. You can also find coupons, paper or digital. Taking advantage of sales is a great way to also fill your freezer or pantry with food staples that are on sale. However, be careful with sales so that you are not buying food that you aren’t going to use, just because it is on sale. I will buy things that I am able to freeze when they are on sale and freeze the extra.
6. Buy in Bulk– now this one you also want to be careful of. Buying in bulk is not always cheaper, so make sure you are comparing prices, check the price per unit when using this tip to save money. With that said, a lot of items are cheaper when you buy in bulk. Make sure that you don’t buy too much of something and let it expire or not use it.
7. Freezer meals can be a good way to save money. Freezer meals are also a great option for busy Mommas and families so they can just grab a homemade freezer meal, unfreeze it, and heat it up. You can base some of these meals on food that you already have on hand to save you even more money!
Making meals in bulk and freezing the extra will help you save money on food
8. Planning snacks- a lot like meal planning, but for snacks and easy-to-go food. We are a sports family, and we are at the hockey rink 5-7 nights a week during the winter months. So, having easy, healthy, and ready-to-go snacks is a lifesaver, for time and money! I would go broke having to buy concession stand food every night, plus my kids would eat hot dogs and candy 5 nights a week as well. YUCK.
9. Buy generic, you don’t need to buy name brands. Except for Kraft mac and cheese! Yes, I am a sucker for the blue box of mac and cheese. But in all seriousness, you can save a lot of money by purchasing generic foods and cosmetics, and household items.
10. Location of where the food is in the store. Did you know that typically the most expensive items are at eye level at the grocery store? Look low and high for the cheaper items
11. Skip the prepackaged and single-packaged foods as these tend to be more expensive. I will buy a big back of crackers and if I really want them in smaller sizes for my boys, I will divide them up at home into snack bags to grab and go.
12. Skip the bottled water. Ok, I will admit, I am terrible at this. I keep stock of bottled water and grab-and-go. I will commit to doing better. But seriously, bottled water is so expensive! Especially when buying at a gas station. But even at the grocery store in bulk, it is expensive when the alternative is free or pennies on the dollar.
13. Grated cheese– yes, it is so much easier to buy already grated cheese than to grate it yourself. But it is also more expensive. It really doesn’t take that much time to grate cheese and you can grate as you use (a little at a time) or you can grate the whole block and store for later use.
14. Buy frozen, most frozen fruits, vegetables and meats are cheaper than buying fresh.
15. Do not shop hungry! Don’t go to the grocery store to shop while hungry. I know it seems simple and a little silly, but I will 100% spend more at the grocery store if I am shopping while hungry. So, I just don’t do it!
16. Use cash, if you are going to go grocery shopping in person, bring your budgeted cash amount and only use that. Do not bring out your checkbook, credit card or debit card to buy additional groceries. Using cash, you will spend less money and stick to your budget, because, if you go over budget, you must put items back.
Use cash to purchase your food, you will spend less!
17. Try meatless Mondays or even go meatless a few days a week. Meat is SO expensive, so by meal planning and having a few meals a week without meat in it, or limited meat, you can save a lot of moola!
18. Make a budget and stick to it. This one might sound silly as well. But if you make a budget and say you are not going to go over that budgeted amount on food, this will keep you on track and you will save money at the grocery store.
19. Display food that needs to get eaten soon out on the counter at home. I do this, especially with fruit that needs to be eaten before it goes bad. I will wash it up, put it out on the kitchen table or kitchen island and my husband or kids will see it and eat it.
20. Try neighborhood meal preps and cooking nights. Ok, this is a new idea that I recently heard about. And I haven’t done this yet. Basically, you get a group of neighbors to agree to meal prep and cook meals for each other. You take turns and ensure the meals are about equal in price to each other. Making large quantities of 1 meal is cheaper than a smaller quantity of that same meal. You also will have to cook and meal plan less often, so it seems like a win-win situation to me!!
If you plan ahead by making a budget, and meal plan, making a list, and using up the food you already have at home, you will save money! You can also ask for meat or expensive food items such as wine for a birthday or as a Christmas gift. I know a lot of people who do this and love it. We have gifted people beef since we tend to have it at home.
You can also check out your local Farmer’s Market. Sometimes the food there is cheaper than in the big stores. Plus you are consuming local food and shopping locally.
If you are not able to afford all of your needed food, check out your local food pantry. And if you are able to give extra, give to your local food pantry to help those in need. We all need to give where we can and help when we are able.
