A huge part of our family’s budget is just spent on food, so I’m always looking for ways to save in this area. Sure, we love to eat, but I’d rather cut back on this area and use money for other things. I’ve come up with 10 ways we can all save on groceries. I’m sure there’s lots of other ways and you’ve probably heard of these before, but we all need a little reminding (myself included), so let’s all try these next time we’re going out for our weekly grocery shopping:
- Plan menus carefully and keep grocery trips to a minimum. This is something I definitely need to work on. Every trip to the store is usually taking up money that wasn’t in the budget for food. To minimize trips to the store, we need to plan a complete week of menus, including breakfast, lunch, and dinners. Then make a list of everything you need. You still might need one midweek trip back to the store, but try to keep it to no more that twice a week.
- When planning menus, try to use up food that you already have. There’s no point in buying more if you have some food that is about to spoil and needs to be thrown out. First, open your freezer, refrigerator, and pantry, and build menu ideas around what you have.
- Look online at your local grocery’s weekly ad. Build menus around what’s on sale, especially meats. Also, plan on stocking up on things that are on sale. Then you might not need to buy more of it before it goes on sale again.
- Look for coupons on the store’s websites. A lot of stores have coupons in addition to what’s on sale. Sometimes these aren’t easy to find unless you know about them. Stores, such as Target, have a link at the bottom of the website just for coupons.
- Combine store sales with coupons for biggest savings. Keep a file of printed out coupons and when you find those items on sale, buy the sale item with the coupon for super-low prices. Sometimes stores will have exclusions that won’t let you do this, but with groceries, it’s usually ok.
- Shop at more than one store. I know it takes more time, but it’s usually worth it. I feel like I could probably get tons of groceries for super-cheap if I went to tons of stores, but I do believe in balance, so I try to keep my shopping to about three stores. First, I go to a discount store such as Target for regular non-food items, such as medicines, toiletries, pet food, paper products, and even some non-perishable foods. Then I go to a regular grocery store for most of the perishable food, like produce, frozen food, dairy, and some meat. Then about twice a month, I go to a warehouse club and stock up on meats and things we always use, such as coffee, trash bags, paper towels.
- Buy store brands as much as possible. You might prefer name brands, but try some store brands for basic items, and you might not even notice the difference, especially for basics like crackers, pasta, soups, baking ingredients.
- Buy in bulk as much as possible. This is especially a good idea with things like meat. It’s gotten so expensive, we have to find ways to cut back on this. You can always buy the large value packs and then divide it up into plastic bags before you put in the freezer.
- Try cooking the old-fashioned way. Years ago, it wasn’t an option to use convenience foods that we have today. Our grandmothers had to stretch the food budget. That’s when she got out the old-fashioned cookbook and made things from scratch. Most of the ingredients were basic, already in her pantry, and lasted through several meals. I know we don’t have as much time to do that kind of cooking, but maybe a couple times a week, we should try.
- Use up leftovers and stop wasting food. We don’t have too many leftovers at our house because we have some big eaters, but sometimes, when we do, it seems like such a waste. It’s like throwing money in the trash can. Try to be creative and use up leftovers in a creative way the second night. For example, take leftover chicken, and make chicken salad sandwiches or chicken tacos. There’s lots of different things you could make. Leftovers could also be for the next day’s lunches.
So, let’s try to save our money for things that are more fun, like a summer vacation. Let’s get creative and resourceful and stretch our food budget. For more tips on menu planning and grocery shopping, be sure to read my previous post, Menu Planning and Grocery Shopping. Please leave comments and let us know more ways we can save on groceries. Have a great day!