We had a significant amount of student loan debt when we married. This debt felt crushing, so we decided to make significant lifestyle changes that would allow us to reduce our living expenses. Food is a large, recurring expense for every couple, so one of our first priorities was to devise a strategy for saving money on groceries.
All of this is to say that we do not have the cheapest diet. We eat delicious and nutritious whole foods that would otherwise be prohibitively expensive. Using the grocery shopping strategy we devised, we are still able to keep our diet without breaking the bank. All of the tips listed below are tried-and-true methods that we have used to save money on groceries, and we hope that the rest of this article will help you save money while feeding your family nutritious foods.
Shop Around for Groceries to Save Money
In today's economy, there is very little reason to shop at a single grocery store. Most of the time, shopping around can result in significant savings. The following section provides a brief overview of the various local and online retailers that we have investigated over the last five years.
Pay attention to the weekly ads
Part of our online grocery shopping strategy consists of deliberate, opportunistic shopping around the weekly ads. We collect the ads, make a basic grocery list that focuses on the weekly sale items, and then cook meals with those items. Despite its simplicity, this strategy results in significant financial savings when compared to traditional meal planning advice (design meals, then shop for ingredients).
It works so well because different grocery stores have different weekly sale items. You can eat a variety of healthy foods at significantly reduced prices if you focus on these rotating sales. For example, about once a month, a local grocery chain offers USDA choice beef roast for $2.99/lb, along with various vegetable discounts. As a mainstay that week, we eat a roast and vegetables. Chicken breasts and other vegetables will be on sale in another week. When there are great deals, we buy in bulk and freeze for later use.
Online shopping
The majority of our fresh staples – produce, meats, cheeses, and so on – are bought locally. However, because a large portion of our diet does not require refrigeration or freezing, these items can be purchased online and delivered to our door. In fact, many of the less common health foods can be found for less money online.
Organic cooking oils, raw honey, and raw beans, for example, are far too expensive at our local health food store. Rather than paying the local premium, we compare prices online at Amazon.com, where we have found great deals on staples such as organic coconut oil, organic brown rice, and all-natural peanut butter.
Utilize grocery cashback apps
In addition to credit card rewards, you can use several grocery cash back apps to receive cash back after purchasing specific food items or brands and submitting a picture of your grocery receipt. Because each cash back app works independently, you can recycle the same receipt to collect cash back on the same item multiple times.
Visit your local farmer's market
Look for a farmer's market in your area. Local markets in some parts of the country offer extremely competitive pricing on fantastic foods sourced locally. However, we have also visited local markets where vendors are attempting to charge five times the going rate on Amazon. Pricing is heavily influenced by the size of the market, the size of your town, and the number of suppliers.
Fresh produce, raw honey, raw nut butter, and hormone-free meats are among the best foods we've purchased from a local farmer's market. Before going to the farmer's market, research the average price of groceries in your area so you can recognise a good deal when you see it. You can also look on CouponsABC for the best deals on groceries (or ask around) for a local farmer in your area to barter with. There are many farmers who will give you a discount if you buy from them on a regular basis.
How to Save Money at the Grocery Store
It's time to go shopping after you've compared online prices and identified the best grocery stores in your area. Many of the suggestions in the following section are intended to help you make the best decisions possible while shopping inside the store. Remember that not every tip applies to both online and physical store locations.
Make a list
It is critical to go shopping with a plan. Make a list of the best deals and where they came from when you browse local grocery store ads. Items are usually put on sale based on their availability and demand. This is why you can find cherries, watermelon, and avocados in the summer and squash and pumpkins in the fall and winter. It is critical to make a list of sale items. It will not only help you avoid impulse purchases, but it will also allow you to get in and out of the grocery store faster, allowing you to get on with the rest of your day.
Go shopping by yourself
Shopping alone is not only the quickest but also the most efficient way to do your grocery shopping. Bringing children or a spouse along can be distracting, increasing the likelihood that you will forget an item on your grocery list. Shopping alone will allow you to spend less time in the grocery store and stick to your predetermined grocery list. You can buy goceries online on low cost by using deals & coupons by using codes from Askmeoffers, they provide the best coupons on their websites for almost everything.
Don't go shopping when you're hungry
I know you've heard it before, but it's true. When you shop hungry, you have less patience and self-control, which increases your chances of making impulse purchases. Eat before you go shopping and you'll save money.
Utilize a smaller cart
A smaller grocery cart, similar to eating from a smaller plate, will limit the amount you purchase, thereby eliminating food and financial waste. Many supermarkets now offer a variety of grocery cart sizes. By selecting a smaller one, you will be forced to consider whether an item is truly necessary before adding it to your cart.
Think about generic brands
Generic groceries can be more cost effective than name brand groceries. The only way to compare the ingredients and product weight of each option is to read the labels. In many cases, it's the same product in a different package.
Look for after-holiday sales
Shopping the day after a major holiday, when expensive items such as turkey, ham, lamb, pecans, and cheese are on sale, can help you save money on holiday food. Many stores overstock their shelves for the holidays in order to avoid selling out before the holiday. However, once the holiday is over, they must sell the remaining inventory. It may be inconvenient to go grocery shopping while still recovering from a major holiday, but the opportunity to stock up on more expensive items may be worth it.