No-Brainer Ways to Save Money on Groceries
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After housing expenses, food probably makes up one of the largest portions of your monthly budget. Luckily, there are tons of ways to save money on groceries that you may not have thought of.
If you start using these tips, I can almost guarantee you’ll see a dramatic decrease in your monthly grocery spending. These exact tips are what allow me and my husband, Joel, to eat for approximately $50 a week for the two of us!
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1. Make Your Grocery List Based on Sale Prices
This strategy has the biggest impact on my ability to save money on groceries. You know that ad you get that clutters up your mailbox every week? NOT CLUTTER! That thing is sometimes worth $50-$60 in weekly savings or more.
Seriously, I treat that weekly ad like gold. When I am getting ready to do my grocery shopping and make my meal plans for the next to week the first thing I always do is look through the ad from my local grocery store.
I decide what to purchase specifically based on what is on sale that week. Now that isn’t to say I buy stuff I wouldn’t otherwise buy or eat just because it is on sale. But, if I like chicken and pork chops and I can get one of them for way less than their usual price, you can bet I am going to stock up on one over the other.
I definitely buy extra meat and stick it in the freezer when there is an especially good sale too. And by buying a “family pack” and freezing the leftovers, you can save even more.
I don’t just shop sale prices for meat though, I look at the entire thing and pick out what to buy for produce, dairy, snacks, you get the idea.
Shopping based on what is in the weekly ad (which includes great prices on seasonal items) helps me save money on groceries every single month. I do still buy things that aren’t on sale, and you can too, but try to get as much on sale as you can for maximum savings!
2. Keep an Eye on Requirements for Sale Prices
While we are on the topic of sales, I have a secret for you. You know how a lot of times the sale prices are things like 2 for $5 or 3 for $10?
The secret? For a lot of these sales, you can just buy one at the sale price. So if it says 2 for $5 but I really just need one, I can buy just one for the sale price of $2.50.
Grocery stores are sneaky though and they want you to buy more, obviously. While sometimes buying more is ok, you might not always want multiples of certain foods.
Double check the tag, because every once in a while the “buy one” price is actually just the regular price. That’s always a bit of a drag. But the vast majority of the time, you really can just get one if that’s all you need.
3. Get a Grocery Store Rewards Card
Many grocery stores have rewards cards that will help you save even more money on groceries. Sometimes there are even sale prices you can only get if you have a rewards card.
The best thing though, is that in my experience these rewards cards are 100% FREE. Yay free (my favorite)!
In addition to saving money on groceries, some of these cards have additional benefits as well. I have had some rewards cards that accumulate points. When I reached a certain number of points I was able to redeem them for a free gift card (free Dominos anyone?)
Other cards allow you to get points that you can use for savings on fuel. I love this, because Joel and I tend to do a lot of driving on all our weekend adventures and now that we will be RVing full time, we will be spending even MORE on gas.
Those cents off can really add up quickly depending on how often you drive.
Pro tip, you can usually get even more points on your rewards card if you bring your own reusable bags. Plus you are helping to save the Earth, so even if you don’t get bonus points from the grocery store, you get bonus points from me. And from the Earth. So bring your reusable bags.
4. Use up Food You Already Have
Food waste is a HUGE problem in the United States. Not only does it harm the environment, but it could potentially cost you thousands of dollars a year. Yes, I said THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS!
Before you go to do your grocery shopping for the week, be sure to check out what you have. This will prevent you from buying more of something you haven’t used up yet.
This simple trick is one of the easiest ways to save money on groceries. One of the best ways to ensure you don’t waste food is by meal planning!
You can grab the meal planning template I use to help you plan and stay on track with your nutrition and your financial goals!
5. Go Meatless (Sometimes. Unless You’re Vegetarian, then Rock on all the Time!)
Meat is EXPENSIVE! One awesome way to save money on food is to eat less meat. I am not a vegetarian, but I definitely do have days where Joel and I forgo meat. Often we have pasta on these nights, because we are boring.
But, if you are a food connoisseur (definitely tried and failed like 6 times at spelling that sucker), there are many meatless meal options that you can experiment with.
Your grocery bill (and again, the Earth) will definitely thank you for going meatless on some of your meals.
6. Check for Close Dated Meat
I definitely would be sad without some meat in my life. Sorry cows… So one of my favorite ways to save money on meat is to shop for “close dated” products.
When the meat at the grocery store is getting close to reaching its sell-by date, they will mark down the price to hopefully sell it. That way they don’t have to throw it out.
When the price is marked down, the meat is STILL GOOD! I am not advocating for buying expired meat (pretty sure that isn’t even allowed). You don’t even have to eat it right away.
As long as you freeze the meat by the sell-by date, you will be good to go. Then, when it is time for your favorite meaty meal, thaw something out and cook it up as usual.
7. Check the “Price Reduced” Section
Another neat way to save money on groceries is by checking the “price reduced” or “scratch and dent” section. There are several reasons food could end up in this section.
Sometimes, the grocery store may have gotten an incorrect shipment and ended up with way more of something than they needed. I have seen shelf-stable food that expired in over a year in the reduced price section just because they had way more of a particular product than they needed.
The grocery store’s loss is your gain. That is the perfect time to stock up on something (as long as you will actually use it).
It is also possible to find things like dented cans or crushed boxes in this section. There is nothing wrong with the food inside. But since most people don’t want to pay full price for something that isn’t in perfect condition, these items tend to get marked down.
Here is another little trick. If you find something like that on the shelf and you ask for a lower price, you just might get it.
I have definitely asked for free cinnamon rolls before. You know those Pillsbury cinnamon rolls in the tube? Well, there was once a roll that literally exploded as I walked by that section.
I looked at Joel with a little bit of a gleam in my eyes and said “I’m gonna get these for free.” And I did. Cooked them that day! They were delicious!
So don’t be afraid to ask for a lower price on “scratch and dent” type items. The worst that can happen is they say no.
8. Don’t Shop When You are Hungry
Don’t tell me I am the only one who has gone to the grocery store with grand intentions of buying healthy, sale price items from my list. But then somehow, you look in your cart as your stomach rumbles and it is filled with all kinds of snacks that are 100% NOT on your list and NOT on sale.
When you go to the grocery store hungry, there is a tendency to spend more money and buy more food than you would otherwise (at least for me, this isn’t a scientific fact as far as I am aware).
So do yourself a favor and don’t show when you are hungry. This little strategy alone will help you easily save money on food!
9. Check the Unit Price to Find the Best Deal
While it is normally true that buying larger quantities will save you money, this is not always the case.
If you look closely at the price posted, it will list the entire price. It will also say something like 9.6 cents per ounce. When comparing prices between two sizes, looking at the price per ounce is the best way to see what is actually the best deal.
In the past, I have definitely seen the larger quantity costing close to double per ounce as compared to the smaller box. So always check that out before you buy to maximize your grocery savings.
10. Use Coupons/Coupon Apps
Using coupons is another great way to save money on groceries. There are lots of ways to go about finding coupons.
Of course, there are the good old fashioned paper coupons you can cut out of the newspaper ad. But more and more often, coupons are becoming digital. Chances are your local grocery store (especially if it is a chain) might just have their very own app.
My grocery store’s app is where I get most of my coupons. It is great, because if I know I only need a couple of things, I can search the coupons to see if there are any before I go.
There are even sometimes coupons for FREE items or things like $5 off a purchase of $25 or more.
These are the coupons you 100% want to make sure you have added to your store rewards card. Then just swipe the rewards card at checkout and all those coupons will also be applied.
Another great way to find coupons for groceries is with the 100% FREE Ibotta app. Ibotta offers cash back on thousands of products to save you tons of money!
All you have to do is download the app. Then you can search through for relevant coupons and add them to your list. After you make your purchases at the store, simply scan your receipt to get easy cashback!
But, they make it even easier for you if you have a grocery store rewards card (which remember, you should totally get!). If you have a card, you can link it to your account and then your purchases will automatically be recorded and you will be credited cashback for the coupons you snagged earlier.
That way you never have to worry about scanning receipts or missing out on any money.
If you join using my link, you can even get up to $20 in welcome bonuses for even more money in your pocket!
11. Avoid Buying Household Items at the Grocery Store
Complete honesty here, I am often guilty of doing exactly what I suggest not doing. Sometimes, not having to make multiple stops just makes life so much easier.
But the thing is, if you get into a habit of buying household supplies at the grocery store, you are going to pay for that convenience.
Sometimes, the convenience might be worth it, but if money is really tight, a quick run to a second store will definitely save you more.
So if you are strapped for cash or want to maximize your savings, going somewhere like Walmart or Target will probably land you a lower price.
Bonus points if you can get all your shopping done at one of those bigger stores. Then you are golden!
12. Keep the Snack Foods to a Minimum
Oh, I love snacks. Snacks are the best. But snacks are also really expensive and provide like 0 nutrition. Actually, they probably provide negative nutrition since they are so unhealthy.
If you can limit the number of snack foods you buy, you will definitely save a lot of money on your grocery bill every month.
I try to limit myself to one snack for myself and one for Joel with each grocery shopping trip. Since I almost always grocery shop just twice a month, we have to make our extra tasty treat last.
This helps us to eat healthier and save money on food, so it is really a win-win. If you have kids and you can swing leaving them at home, that will also majorly cut down on your snack bill!
13. Meal Plan
The final way you can save money on your groceries is by meal planning. Meal planning can help you save money in a number of ways.
First, it helps cut down on food waste! When you meal plan, you can more easily work into your plan those things that need to get eaten up before they go bad.
In addition, when you meal plan, you can plan things out for a week or two based on sale items and possible bulk purchases. I have an entire post dedicated to budget meal planning if you are curious about how to get started.
If I didn’t meal plan, there is no way Joel and I could eat for around $50 a week. And we do eat meat and buy lots of organic produce too! I only recently jumped on the meal planning bandwagon, but I am sure glad I did! (And so is my stomach. And my bank account.)
Meal planning also really helps me, because then when I am exhausted after work, the meal plan tells me what I should make. That way my exhausted brain doesn’t say, “you could probably just order pizza”… again. So this definitely helps reduce eating out as well which is a HUGE suck on your money!
Want to start meal planning? I have this handy dandy printable you can grab for free to help you.
Ways to Save Money on Groceries
As you can see, there are, thankfully, many ways to save money on groceries. Your food bill can easily spiral out of control, but only if you let it. If you use some or all of these tips, those groceries savings will quickly add up!
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