Groceries are a necessary expenditure for all of us. I mean, we all need to eat, right? Our food bill will be smaller if we are only shopping to feed one or two people, but when you have a family of four or five to feed those numbers will start climbing fast.
It’s important to not skimp too much on quality when it comes to food. If you don’t eat properly, your health will suffer which will also negatively impact on your bank balance! So how can you squeeze the most out of your grocery budget without having to compromise too much on the food you like to eat?
Write a List
This is one tip that you simply cannot do without if you are trying to save money whilst grocery shopping. It is surprisingly easy to throw things into your cart that you don’t need. You may think that a few cents here and there don’t matter but they soon add up! Without a list, you are also more likely to forget essential items. This may not seem like a big deal money wise, but if you have to return to the grocery store later in the week for forgotten items you will again be more likely to buy things you just don’t need.
Don’t Shop Whilst Hungry!
Never ever go grocery shopping when you are hungry! This will without a doubt lead you to buying things you wouldn’t normally have bothered with. In order to get the most out of your grocery shopping budget, you need to save those pennies to spend on your food supply for the week, or you will end up having to buy poor-quality alternatives that won’t be any good for your family’s health.
Plan Your Meals
It’s a wise idea to have a meal plan for the week in mind when you write your grocery list. This will help you purchase the right kinds of items, and again help you avoid those midweek returns to the grocery store. Think about which items will expire the quickest and how you can make sure they are used up in time. Wasting food is certainly no good for your bank balance (or your conscience!). Planning meals will help you week-by-week, too, as you will become more efficient at grocery shopping when you know what you need.
Shop Wisely
Grocery stores employ some pretty clever tricks to encourage you to spend more money. The one that most people are affected by is the way they arrange the products on the shelves. You will notice that the most expensive, high-end products are shelved at eye level – this is a deliberate ploy to encourage you to pick them up instead of the cheaper brands, and the generic stores-own ones. Usually, the cheapest items will be right at the bottom of the shelf. Of course, we don’t want to skimp on quality too much – be sure to check the ingredients in the cheaper items for the extra added salt, sugar and fat that is added to give them more flavour. A good compromise is to go for the mid-range choices with most of your grocery list. When it comes to purchasing things like meat, however, it certainly pays off to spend a little more – the flavour and quality really is superior with more expensive meat.
If you find yourself really struggling to stick to your guns with this one, consider doing your grocery shopping online where it is easier not to be led astray by in-store subliminal advertising.
Shop Around
Now, this certainly isn’t a great tip for convenient grocery shopping but if you have the patience for it, it will definitely save you money. Go to as many different grocery outlets as you can in order to find the best offers on the items on your list. There are also plenty of price comparison websites online that will help you determine where the good offers are. You may also find that it is better value for you to visit the butcher’s rather than getting your meat from the supermarket; it will likely be of a higher quality, and you will often be able to take advantage of “freezer bundle” offers that will see you through quite a few weeks! Farmers markets are also a great place to visit for your vegetables. In addition to the superior quality of food, you will be supporting small local businesses and probably spending about the same as (or much less than) you would in the grocery store.
Use Your Freezer
If you have the space for a large chest freezer, get one and use it! You can stock up on items such as bread, fries and other frozen goods whilst they are on offer, and store for a very long time! Items like bread can be stored for a ridiculously long time without compromising on quality at all. It is also worth buying frozen fruit and vegetables to use instead of fresh; of course, we should still use fresh vegetables, but compromising sometimes with frozen will help bring that bill down each week. Frozen fruit makes tasty smoothies that the kids will appreciate for breakfast! Another great way to utilize your freezer is to make big batches of meals such as cottage pie, casserole and bolognaise and freeze individual portions for later use, saving you time as well as money.
Buy In Bulk
If you have the means to store them, it’s always cheaper to buy your grocery items in bulk. The more you buy, the cheaper each individual item will cost. Of course, this does cost more with the initial outlay but your grocery bill each week will be much cheaper as a result.
Use Coupons
You’d be very surprised at how quickly a few cents or a dollar here and there saved with coupons can add up. It’s always worth taking the time to leaf through the newspapers and magazines (and websites!) that offer coupons for grocery shopping. If you manage to save just $5 a week, that will soon add up to $20 a month, $240 a year and so on. Set aside a specific file or envelope in which to store your coupons, and be sure to take the ones you’ll need when you go grocery shopping.