7 Tips To Help You Cut Your Grocery Bill Down By $100s
The prices at the grocery store are going up, and your pockets are not getting deeper; that’s why we’re telling you seven tips on how to cut grocery bill down.
Many of us are not successful business owners, so we don’t have the option of rolling our eyes when the price of bread at the grocery store goes up by $2.
You can figure it out by knowing these seven tips for reducing food costs at home.
This way, you can do more with your money without the stress of couponing (which is not bad, by the way) or the problem of having to turn to eating cabbage soup every day.
Here are the 7 tips, and then we’ll give you all the essential things you need to remember to make them work.
7 Tips For How To Cut Grocery Bills Down
Know and write down everything you have already
Meal plan and figure out what you need to stockpile
Keep track of your grocery price list
Create shopping habits that help you save money
Learn the tips and tricks of how to turn leftovers into meals
Remember, simplifying is how you’ll get there; stay away from perfection
Don’t fall into the trap of thinking you’re trying to save money because you don’t have enough; money comes and goes
1. Know And Write Down Everything You Have Already
People waste more than 40% of food in their homes, and one reason is that we need to remember the food we already have in our pantries, freezers, and fridges.
Just like us, we’re sure you’ve been there.
You go shopping, buy what you need, and then when you’re home putting the groceries away, you realize you already have 5 of the things you just bought.
The worst is when you find out weeks later that food is already going bad.
That’s how the waste happens.
Going out shopping without knowing the food you already have is like giving your fridge a “buy one, pay for extra” deal.
Before shopping, make it your #1 goal to always know what food you have in your house before buying more. You’ll see how much you can save with just this tip!
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2. Meal Plan And Stockpile
The second big way to save yourself $100s of dollars on groceries is to know about your food stockpile and meal planning.
Your food stockpile is the stash of different types of food you always keep in your fridge, pantry, and freezer to ensure you never run out of them (like tomato paste, pasta, and rice, the food you’re always using).
Meal planning involves deciding what to make with the stockpile for the next week, month, or day.
Make a list of your food stockpile.
When you know what your food stockpile is, you can save by paying attention to your local grocery store’s flyers when shopping.
That way, you can see when these foods are on sale, so you can stock up on them then instead of when they’re at regular price.
An extra way to save here is by making your stockpile seasonal.
When you buy food that’s in season, it costs less than when you buy it when it’s not in season.
For meal planning, set a time in the week or month to write down the meals you’ll make using your food stockpile and the food in your fridge.
When you don’t meal plan, you use food as you feel like, and you leave too much food in your fridge, freezer, and pantry for too long until it goes bad because you don’t know what to make with it.
If you get stuck with some ingredients while meal planning and don’t know what to make with them, use websites like allrecipes.com and fridgetotable.com, where you can search for recipes based on the ingredients you have.
When you’re meal planning, plan out time and a budget for eating out because saving money on food doesn’t mean you never get takeout or eat out.
You can save money on takeout by checking for the restaurant’s specials and any loyalty programs they may have, for example.
THIS IS IMPORTANT: Don’t plan on buying cheap, chemical-filled foods to try and save money. The savings would be now, but the hospital bills catch up with you after a couple of years, if not months.
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Want to choose fresh ingredients, store them correctly, and use top cooking tips as a beginner but like a pro? The Food Book is perfect for anyone looking to simplify their home cooking.
3. Keep Track Of Grocery Price Lists
Saving money means keeping track of how much you’re spending.
Make a grocery price list like the free downloadable version we have for you below. 👇
You’ll know how much you’re spending on all the food you buy, and you’ll be able to recognize whether or not you’re getting a good deal if you shop somewhere different than your local place.
To see this in action, imagine you never pay attention to the cost of the gallon of milk you buy every week, and one day, you stop by a different store to buy milk.
You might end up paying $3 extra without even realizing it because you don’t know the price you usually get it at.
It may seem small, but these things make a difference.
4. Create Shopping Habits To Help Save
These are some habits you should have to save yourself hundreds every month on groceries:
NEVER GO GROCERY SHOPPING WITHOUT A LIST (you’ll spend more time at the store, won’t know what to buy, and you’ll most likely spend a lot more than the guy with the list)
Go for the produce that you bag yourself because sometimes the fruits and vegetables that are already bagged cost two times more than buying the same amount in singles, but bagging them yourself
Cut up fruits and vegetables after you get home so they’re always ready to eat (but don’t wash them because bacteria can build up from the water on them).
When you do this, they don’t sit around for too long and go rotten because many of us avoid eating fruits, for example, because we don’t feel like washing, peeling, and cutting to have an apple.
RELATED POST: 35 Fruits and Vegetables That Should Not Be Refrigerated
5. Learn Leftover Tips And Tricks
When it comes to this one (leftovers), some people like it, and some can’t take it. These are the two things for you to remember:
If you like leftovers, you can save money by turning them into meals.
You can find different and creative ways online and on YouTube to do this, like combining different leftovers to make a new dish, adding a new sauce, or dressing to change the flavor of the leftovers, using leftovers in burritos and wraps, adding them to salads, or turning or putting them into soups and stews.
If you don’t like leftovers, you can save money by making sure that every time you make meals, you make less food than you think you could finish.
For some dishes like pasta and sauce or rice and sauce, you should try not combining the sauce with the rice or pasta except what you will eat at that moment so that when you eat it again, it won’t feel like leftovers.
6. Simplify Everything
Many people say perfection stunts progress; let’s face it: no human has ever been perfect, is perfect, or will ever be perfect.
Don’t try to make a gourmet meal every day even if you want it when you know you have a 9-5 and other things you like to do throughout the day (unless your job pays you to make gourmet meals at home).
When you want to save money on groceries, your most significant takeaway is to simplify.
Overcomplicating things like making fancy dinners at home so you don’t get takeout or trying to make everything from scratch will only frustrate you and make you want to stop following your savings tips.
Remember that things are already made at the grocery store to save you the time, money, and energy it would take you to make it yourself.
Imagine planting wheat, dealing with it yourself when it grows, and eventually baking bread.
You wouldn’t even have time to think about trying to save anything unless it’s your life because all the other food you want to eat is waiting for you to plant and make them and then milk the cow.
Someone else does everything for you, and you pay a little extra to get what they made instead of doing it yourself.
Also, remember that EVERYTHING in life is a trade-off; if you choose to do most things from scratch, yes, you would save a lot of money, but you would have no time to spend it.
If you choose to get everything done for you, you would need a ton and a gallon of money, but you would have all the time in the world to do what you like (which might also cost you money).
Finding the right balance between these 2 for your specific life is how you would win a piece from both pies.
Here are a few tips for you when you’re trying to save on food and simplify:
Cook in batches
Know what types of foods can freeze for a long time so you make them, freeze them, and always have them ready to use (things like soup, some chopped-up vegetables or fruits are a good example)
7. Understand The Money Mindset
DO NOT FALL INTO THE TRAP OF THINKING YOU HAVE TO SAVE MONEY BECAUSE YOU DON’T HAVE ENOUGH.
Your mindset should be to stop spending money on the things that don’t matter in your life now or shortly (like upgrading your phone when the one you have is working fine).
When you do this, you save that money for the things that matter specifically for your life (like maybe going on a family vacation or investing in property).
It’s just about you being honest with yourself and your life.
Be honest about what you need vs what you want.
If you want a simple life of owning a home, car, family, job, and savings, then be honest about what you need to cut out to reach this goal.
If your goal is to start a venture for yourself (like a business) that will make you so much money in the future that you don’t even have to think about whether you want something or whether you need it, then be honest with yourself about the wants you have right now that you need to cut out until you reach that goal.
NEVER THINK YOU WON’T MAKE IT BECAUSE EVERYTHING YOU SEE AND KNOW, EVEN YOUR OWN BODY, STARTED WITH A SMALL, TINY THING THAT HAD ANOTHER SMALL THING ADDED TO IT FOR MONTHS OR YEARS BEFORE IT TURNED INTO WHAT YOU SEE NOW.
It always looks like nothing is happening until you turn around and everything is different.
Bonus Tip
The expiration dates on your food usually tell you when it stops being fresh, not when you should throw it out.
Sometimes, you buy milk that lasts longer than the expiration date by 3 to 5 days; sometimes, a couple of days or so before the expiration date, it starts to have a foul odor.
If your food is expired, check whether it's gone wrong or is still OK before tossing it.
FAQ
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1. Flipp: Aggregates weekly ads and coupons from various stores.
2. Ibotta: Offers cash back on grocery purchases at participating stores.
3. Coupons.com: Provides digital and printable coupons for groceries.
4. Grocery Pal: Helps compare prices and find deals at local stores.
5. Checkout 51: Offers cash back on selected grocery items.
6. RetailMeNot: Features grocery coupons and deals.
7. Honey: Finds and applies coupon codes automatically at checkout.
8. Rakuten: Provides cash back for online grocery purchases at partnered stores.
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Produce is cheaper and more abundant in its peak season (and it tastes better!). Off-season produce is often higher priced because of import costs. Also, seasonal sales events, like back-to-school or holiday promotions, offer savings opportunities.
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You want to buy the ones you can't live without for bulk items. Buying things you use occasionally in bulk is like taking a 50/50 bet on the extra money you're spending to see whether you'll use it.
Focus on non-perishable items, freeze perishable goods, and plan meals to use what you bought efficiently. Also, regularly check and organize your pantry to ensure your older items get used first.
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Conclusion
Couponing is one way, but it’s the extra nitty-gritty steps, like learning the tricks of leftovers and building shopping habits like bagging fruits and vegetables for yourself instead of buying them already bagged, that really take cutting your grocery bill down to another level.
Take the Next Step: Find out which fruits and vegetables can be frozen to extend their shelf life.
Let Us Know: What other grocery tips do you use to help lower your grocery bill?
Stay Connected: To know more about how changing your food can change your life, sign up for the M2oo Newsletter, which delivers Real Food and Real Health information straight to your inbox.
GET THE FOOD BOOK!
Want to choose fresh ingredients, store them correctly, and use top cooking tips as a beginner but like a pro? The Food Book is perfect for anyone looking to simplify their home cooking.
…simplifying REAL FOOD & REAL LIVING for 21st-century adults. Real Solutions to Real Problems.
