Wen my husband and I first sat down and looked at our budget we realized we were spending more than $300 per week on groceries for TWO of us. That’s on top of eating out and not counting the meals we were getting eating at the in-laws for family dinners. That’s a ton of money for two people! Time to cut the grocery bill!
When we decided on a grocery budget I knew I had to find a way to save without sacrificing our quality (or quantity) of food. I wasn’t ready to commit to the extreme couponing lifestyle either. It took almost 6 months to figure things out, but I’ve compiled my top tips for saving on groceries.
- Plan. It’s one of my top tips for EVERYTHING in the budgeting world. A small amount of planning will save you a ton of money. Impulse shopping is what kills your budget. You can see in my 6 Bad Spending Habits You Have to Break NOW post that you can spend upwards of $60-$100 on impromptu trips to the grocery store just to make a family dinner. Not cool. By having a plan for the month you can lay out your budget so you allocate enough for each week and don’t run out of money at the end of the money, and by having a plan for the week you cut those last minute grocery store runs out. We personally plan one large trip for meat and non-perishables at the beginning of the month and then once a week or less to replace produce and pick up ingredients for weekly meals.
- Know your prices. Just because it says “sale” doesn’t mean you’re getting a good price and just because you find it at the dollar store doesn’t make it a good deal either. It takes a little time, but know the prices of the items you buy on a regular basis. Sound like too much work? Dr. Google to the rescue! We all have smart phones so if you’re wondering if you’re getting a good deal just take a look. It might sound crazy but I’ve put together a little list for certain thing that are my “stock up” prices and just keep it on my phone as a quick resource.
- Shop the sales. I know. I know. I just said that just because it’s a “sale” doesn’t mean it’s the best price, but hear me out. I am not one that likes to go to 4 stores to fill up on what we need for the month. I know the normal prices at our local wholesale store (SAMs) and that is where we get our meat and even some of our produce, and I also know the normal prices at our favorite grocery store. These are the 2 main places we shop. That being said, I keep an eye out for their sales. Certain items we ONLY buy on sale such as granola cereal, condiments, toiletry items, granola bars, etc – most non-parishables. Add a few coupons to the sale items and you’re less than half the price you normally would. You can find most stores ads online and plan a week ahead.
- Use the easy coupons. A lot of stores have their own coupon books along with the manufacturer coupons and yes, you’re able to combine them! You don’t have to be a crazy coupon lady to make this work for you either. There are some awesome people out there who have done the work for you. Utilize your resources! My absolute favorite is the Facebook group Publix Couponing 101. She matches up the sales of the week with the store coupons AND gives links to printable coupons. Zero effort on my part except printing a few things for the following week. And there are so many out there – Target, Kroger, Winn-Dixie, etc.
- Buy your meat in bulk. We make one BIG meat purchase in the beginning of the month. We buy in bulk from one of the wholesale stores and it saves us A TON. I’m talking less than $2 per pound for organic chicken. Yes, it requires some work on your part separating and freezing the meat, but it’s once a month and done.
- Stock up on certain items. I know I mentioned this before, but this is one of the biggest ways we save money. I know my “stock up” price, shop my sales and use those coupons. When a non-perishable item hits this “stock up” price I do exactly that, stock up! My hubby used to think I was crazy for buying 6 mayonnaises at a time, especially since we use such a small amount, but I knew if I bought it once it would be good for a year and I wouldn’t ever be spending $5.89 on a jar of mayo again.
- Stick to your list. Another planning tip. Our family has a list of basics that we buy every week: onions, tomatoes, avocados, lettuce, garlic, cucumbers, carrots, cabbage, and a few others. Those items are always on the list because week in and week out we use them. This is obviously something very specific to your own family, but every family has their basics. We take those basics and add on ingredients we are going to use for dinners that week plus pantry items we might be out of – seasonings and such. When you go to the store that list is your guide. If you stray from it you’re bound to go over budget. Why? Stores know how to advertise and place items so you want to buy them. They want your money and spend a lot of time figuring out the best way to get it. Stick to your list!
- Be creative. Yes, we buy almost the same items every month. We have our staples and it can sound a bit boring, but it has forced us to become creative in our meal planning. It’s amazing what you can come up with. Plus Pinterest is an incredible resource. There’s also quite a few websites out there where you can put the ingredients you already have in and they create recipes for you. My favorite is MyFridgeFood
- Eat what you buy. Don’t let the food go to waste. This is one of my hubby’s biggest pet peeves. When you start looking at food with dollar signs attached it’s a lot harder to throw it in the trash. Eat your leftovers. If you don’t like left overs then only make enough for that one meal. Pretty simple.
- Stick to your budget. Groceries are a category that can really get out of hand in a budget because you obviously need food so you don’t feel as guilty buying it. The problem comes when you buy too much, buy things you don’t need, buy things on a whim, or buy things at a high price. Break your monthly budget up in to how many times you would like to go to the store that month. We like to go once a week or less with one of those being our large wholesale purchase at the beginning of the month. It’s ok if you need to run to the store if you run out of juice, but only get the juice. Don’t turn that in to a $50 juice run by buying other things.
Budgeting hasn’t always been my favorite thing. It’s not because it used to be hard or because we had to sacrifice a lot. It’s because I was afraid of it. The though of it overwhelmed me and I wasn’t sure how to approach it. Since then I’ve really embraced the process and find that I’m constantly trying to find little ways to save money. Our grocery bill has not been one of those little things. It is quite possibly the biggest cut we’ve made but also seems to have had the least impact on our lives. We still eat quality, mostly organic foods and make fun and creative gourmet type meals – like Seared Steak with Arugula and Shaved Parm – one of my favorites!
My goal is to share our experience with others in hopes of breaking through the fear of budgeting. Remember, planning is key and it’s the little changes that make the big financial impact
Looking for more tips and budget saving ideas? Sign up below to receive FREE updates!
Great tips. We recently worked on cutting back on our grocery bill and have applied a lot of these already. Buying meat in bulk has definitely been a game changer for us. We can’t always find bulk meat where we live, but when we do, we stock up because it’s such great savings.
Sarah,
For sure the meat is our biggest expense! Luckily we do have multiple places to buy in bulk, but I know a lot of places don’t have that.
We’re actually at my parents’ farm in Tennessee right now and they’re in the same boat. No big bulk store for over an hour at least. BUT we found that the local little meat shops will actually give you a bulk price even if they don’t advertise. You just have to ask. May not be an option for you, but worth looking in to!
Groceries are truly the area we are constantly working on to make even better. It’s kind of like a game for me at this point. I refuse to reduce the quality of what we buy, but I’m always looking for a way to reduce the price!
Like!! Thank you for publishing this awesome article.