According to the USDA, it costs $146 a week to feed a family of four a healthy diet. Imagine if you could cut that figure in half – you'd have nearly $300 extra dollars each month!
Now imagine if you could cut your grocery bill without spending hours clipping coupons! Extreme couponing does yield big savings, but it's not the only way to save money at the grocery. No time or desire to mess with coupons? Try these money saving grocery tips.
10 Money Saving Grocery Tips – No Coupons Required
- Plan, Plan, Plan – Plan your meals, make a list and stick to it! Researchers at The Wharton School found that unplanned purchases can tack on at least an extra 20% to your grocery bill!
- Shop Less – The more trips you make to the grocery, the more you'll spend on impulse buys and gas. It's time to break the habit of running to the grocery everyday!
- Look at the Grocery Ads in the Newspaper or Online – The advertised items are known as “loss leaders,” and they're designed to get you into the store in hopes that you'll fill your cart with full price items. Make an effort to plan your meals using sale items.
- Brand Loyalty is Costly – Do you automatically put Nature's Own bread in your cart every week without paying attention to price? Brand loyalty isn't saving you any money. If you're buying the same brands over and over simply because your family likes them, try doing a blind taste test…you might be surprised to find that they like the store brand or another brand equally as well. Variety is the spice of life, right?
- Buy Store Brands – Switch to store brands and instantly cut your grocery bill by 25%!
- Compare Prices – Look closely at the fine print on the shelf tag to find the cost per unit. The small jar of peanut butter with the sale sign may catch your attention, but if you compare the price per ounce you might discover that it's cheaper to buy the big jar of peanut butter even though it's not on sale.
- Keep a Price Book – Could you tell me how much a gallon of milk costs? What about a loaf of whole wheat bread? If not, a price book will be your cheat sheet for savings. We all tend to buy the same 20 items over and over, so use a price book to keep track of the best deals. Simply list the 20 items you most often buy, and each week make a note of the price you paid and where you bought it. After a month or so, you'll know a good deal when you see it!
- Buy in Bulk – Stores like Costco and Sam's Club will save you money on most items, but don't get trapped into buying their expensive packaged prepared foods. You still have to know your prices, and that's where your price book will come in handy.
- Shop Around – There is no one grocery store that's the low price leader, according to GroceryPriceMonitor.com. The best way to maximize your grocery savings is to shop more than one store. Take a look at the huge variations in prices of a 3 lb. bag of red delicious apples last week in Atlanta: $3.49 Aldi, $6.99 Kroger, $4.99 Publix, $3.97 Walmart. Apples are apples, right? If you live in the Atlanta area, sign-up for a free 14-day trial of Grocery Price Monitor, and if you love it, use coupon code: TBD2 to save $2 off the monthly membership.
- Avoid Packaged, Prepared Foods – It's always cheaper and healthier to make it from scratch. This 5 minute taco seasoning recipe will yield the equivalent of 5 packets for a fraction of the cost. Try making your own instant oatmeal packets…it only takes 5 minutes and costs less than $1.
With so many ways to save money on groceries, the key is to find the method that works best for your lifestyle.
Please leave a comment to share your favorite way to cut your grocery bill.
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Image courtesy of Naypong, FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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In full disclosure, this post contains affiliate links to help support The Budget Diet girl! My advice will always be unbiased and free, but free won’t pay the bills! Thanks!
I suppose everyone is different–as to what works for them. I have a white board hanging on the fridge. Since so many are constantly dipping into the groceries..its difficult to keep up with what we have; what we’re out of so..I ask them to write down an item when its gone, or note requests for the next grocery run. I’m really bad at writing up weekly menus. Our schedule isn’t consistent enough to follow one consistently, so..each week I set aside a few dollars to run to the store with-to pick up anything I might be missing for dinner. The goal, of course, is to not go at all–which I’m getting better at. We are very picky about brands. Some things–it doesn’t matter; cheapest is best. Others–it counts–even sometimes..in the same company, for instance–we get Campbell’s products at a discount (we shop LOTS of discount stores; I highly recommend it).… Read more »
Love, love, love the white board idea!