Is it just me or does the grocery budget just seem to keep shrinking and shrinking? A few years ago, I could buy everything we needed for our family of 5 for about $75 each week. Nowadays, it’s closer to $125 a week. I know the kids are growing and they eat constantly but goodness gracious! I’m constantly looking for easy ways to save money at the grocery store and I bet you are, too!
8 Ways to Save Money at the Grocery Store
Plan Ahead:
Not to be Captain Obvious or anything but you’re bound to save money at the grocery store when you have a plan in place. Take a few minutes to sit down and make a meal plan, before heading to the store. Be sure to stick to your shopping list and don’t be discouraged if this takes a few weeks to master. Meal Planning is definitely a skill and an important one, at that!
Catch Me Outside, How ‘Bout Dat?:
Have you ever noticed that the middle aisles of the grocery stores tend to be stocked with junk food and prepackaged meals? Milk, eggs, meat, cheese, fruits and veggies are usually found on the outside aisle. Cookies, chips, pop, cereals and other unhealthy foods are in the center aisles. Save yourself some money by sticking to the outer aisles.
Stock Up:
Plan ahead to stock up by making sure you have a place to store plenty of foods. If you don’t have a pantry or plenty of cabinet space, find a cabinet that can hold foods you need to stock up on. When you find a food your family loves on sale, buy as much as you can possibly store and eat before it goes bad. It’s a great way to save some money and make sure you have plenty of food on hand.
Buy Generic:
I was raised by a “Brand Snob,” so when I started shopping, I simply used the same products my mom had always bought. It didn’t take me long to figure out that if I was going to try to save money at the grocery store, I’d have to let go of my ritzy attitude. The truth is, diced tomatoes taste the same, whether they’re name brand or not! It’s okay to insist on SOME name brands but try the generic brand before you rule them out for good.
Store It Yourself:
The truth is, you can often buy foods for much cheaper when you buy in bulk. Our family goes through a LOT of Ranch dressing but one bottle costs over $4! I can buy an entire gallon for $7 at our local Sam’s Club! As long as I have room in my fridge to store the gallon jug, why not save some money!?!
Buy Smart:
You can make your own chocolate chip cookies for less than 10¢ each but when you buy premade cookies, you can pay up to 30¢ per cookie! Not only does homemade food generally taste better but it’s usually much more healthy, too! Instead of going out for lunch once a week, splurge on some tasty lunch meat and make your own sub sandwiches at home. You can feed the whole family a yummy lunch for the fraction of a price of eating lunch at a restaurant!
Plan Your Trips Around Sales:
Our local store slashes the cost of the meat every Tuesday morning. Guess when I choose to go grocery shopping? You guessed it, Tuesday mornings! I can save between $6-$10 a week on meat by simply adjusting the time of day that I go to the grocery store!
Use Coupons:
I’m not asking you to spend hours each week cutting and organizing coupons. Instead, check your local grocery stores and see if they have an app that allows you to “clip” digital coupons. You’ll be amazed at how you can save money at the grocery store with just a few minutes work!
It’s never been more important to save money at the grocery store and armed with these 8 ideas, it’ll make it much more doable!
