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10 Painless ways to save money on groceries
You’re probably thinking that the only way to save a ton of money at the grocery store is to coupon.
And honestly, I can’t blame you because we’ve all been around a person or 2 who coupons “all the things” and saves a lot of money doing it.
While I can’t say couponing won’t lower your grocery expenses at all, I can say that it isn’t always the best use of time when it comes to saving more at the grocery store.
Years ago when the couponing craze first hit I became obsessed. Any time that wasn’t spent taking care of my kids was spent clipping coupons and doing all the deals.
I quickly realized that COUPONING IS EXPENSIVE. Buying newspapers week after week only to end up needing more inserts for ONE deal was becoming costly.
And if it wasn’t going to save me money it wasn’t worth doing.
Even though my couponing days are long gone i’ve discovered even better ways of saving money at the store without having to give up more time and energy.
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More posts I think you will ♥
- How To Start A Stockpile Even If You Suck At Couponing
- How To Create A Realistic Grocery Budget (When You’re Trying To Save Money)
- The Best Budget Friendly Instant Pot Recipes In 20 Minutes Or Less
- The Best Meal Prep Containers Every Mom Should Own
So, How Can I Spend Less Money On Groceries?
1. Meal Plan
Meal planning is one of the best things you can do for your grocery budget. Not only does it save you a ton of time and stress from wondering what to make for dinner, it allows you to rest easy knowing the food you are buying has an actual purpose to it.
When it comes to creating a meal plan on a budget think easy. You don’t have to eat an extravagant dinner every night. Sometimes basic meals like spaghetti, tacos and soups are the way to go.
Avoid recipes that use specialty ingredients which tend to be more expensive or ingredients you know you will never use again. Limit fruit and vegetables to an amount you can comfortably get through before going bad.
2. Utilize Your Leftovers
Leftovers are key to keeping your grocery costs down especially if cooking isn’t your thing. By incorporating leftovers into your weekly meal plan you could essentially cook every other day (or even 2-3 days) if you really wanted to.
I have found using leftovers for lunch during the week instead of buying additional lunch items is also really helpful. The urge to eat out when things get busy has pretty much become non-existent because of how convenient leftovers have become. It almost takes more time to sit in the drive thru than to eat my leftover chicken.
3. Make And Follow A Grocery List
The grocery store is a very distracting place filled with temptation down every aisle. That’s why making a list is vital for keeping you in check at the grocery store.
How many times have you purchased something only to realize later you had it at home? We’ve all been guilty of it more than we would like to admit and over time those little mistakes can cost us in a big way.
4. Avoid Shopping Multiple Times A Week
The less you are at the grocery store the better. It might seem easy to go to the store every few days to pick up items for dinner but the truth is more often than not you end up picking up a whole lot more than just dinner.
If the little extra costs here and there aren’t enough don’t forget about the extra time and money spent driving back and forth to the store.
5. Take Advantage Of Grocery Store Delivery/Pickup
It’s no secret grocery stores are in the business to get you to spend more not less. When my local grocery store, Safeway, started offering grocery delivery it was life changing. Not only does ordering your groceries online keep you focused buying only the things you need you can still score the same deals that you would in store and sometimes even better.
They typically send out high value coupons such as $15, $20 and even $30 off your cart. Those are discounts I wouldn’t get in store had I gone in.
6. Set A Weekly Limit
Setting a grocery budget is important to keep you from overspending. Use a calculator while you shop to make sure you are staying on track. You will be amazed at how creative you will get with your grocery spending when you put a set dollar amount to it.
7. Keep A Stockpile
Having a stockpile is one of the best ways to save money not only on groceries but household items too.
Stockpiling items you regularly use will allow you to purchase items at their best price. There is nothing worse then running out of a household staple and then having to pay full price, yikes!
8. Don’t Get Sucked In To Every Sale
Just because something is on sale doesn’t always mean it’s a good deal.
Keeping track of what rock bottom prices look like for your area is a great way to make sure you are getting the best deal. This is something that takes time and practice. The more familiar you become the easier it is to recognize when a sale isn’t really worth it.
9. Use Cash
It’s absolutely impossible to overspend when you use cash. In fact when using cash you actually spend less.
I personally like to estimate costs before going to the store so that I’m only bringing what I actually need. I never walk into a grocery store with an entire months worth of budgeted grocery money, no way!
Estimating costs has become so much easier over the years due to the fact most stores now have pickup and delivery options which makes getting the prices of each item a breeze.
10. Use Grocery Apps For Additional Savings
Ibotta is hands down my favorite app when it comes to earning cash back from grocery store purchases. In the first 6 months I used it I had earned a whopping $400. For a free app that is a lot of money earned from things I would have already purchased anyways.
Bonus Tip!
Over the summer i’ve been really into shopping local farmer markets and produce heavy stores like Sprouts. I have saved so much money by doing this it’s insane! As a family of 5 who eats a ton of produce we were spending way too much buying our produce at our regular grocery store even at sale prices. Since i’ve made this small change we have saved an additional $200 a month on our groceries.
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