If there’s one area of our personal expenses that deserves our time and attention it’s our food budgets. Groceries are often overlooked as an expense that you cover with the money left over in our budgets, but it’s often worth the effort to create a food budget and stick to it. Without a food budget and a plan when we head to the grocery store, expenses can add up quickly. We also can end up buying too much, resulting in food waste and thus money waste. Or we could buy too little and end up eating out, which is going to increase our cost to feed our families by a lot!
Grocery stores are increasing prices and healthy options like fruits and vegetables are costing more but it is possible to spend less on groceries. With a few small tweaks to grocery shopping habits alongside some simple and effective tips, we can eat healthy, rein in our impulse purchases, and feel confident in what our totals ring up to when we get to the checkout.
How to Spend Less on Groceries
It’s possible to spend less money on food! Check out these effective and practical tips to save money on groceries while sticking to your food budget.
Create a Meal Plan
While creating a meal plan might not seem like it has anything to do with your personal finances, it’s an important step in cutting down on impulse purchases. How I meal plan. By first shopping your fridge and pantry, you’ll know which items you have on hand, which ones you need to use up, and which ones you need to buy. This makes your shopping trip much more focused. Instead of rambling up and down the aisles aimlessly, you know exactly what you need to buy.
Meal plans also cut down on food waste, which benefits your grocery budget because you only buy the food items you know you’ll actually use, resulting in less food waste and less money waste.
Make Grocery List
Making a grocery list — and sticking to it — goes hand in hand with meal planning. Take an inventory of your pantry to see what processed foods you already have, and look in your fridge to see what fruits and vegetables you’ll need to buy. Then, when you get to the store, stick to your list! I know I’ve fallen guilty to impulse buys, but keeping them at a minimum or shopping online so you aren’t tempted, really helps keep your spending in check.
Tip: If you can, organize your shopping list by areas of the store grouping items together by what aisle you’ll find them in. This way, when you get to the store you won’t wander down the cookie aisle if it’s not on your list!
Shop the Sales
When it comes to saving money on groceries, it pays to shop around. Some stores offer coupons, while others will price match. As long as it’s not too far out of your way, you can save a lot of money by buying your food items at the store that’s selling them for the best price. Set aside a few minutes once a week when you’re coming up with your meal plan to make note of which stores are offering sales on the ingredients you need to make this week’s meals.
Conversely, if you have a favorite grocery store, look over their weekly sale flyer before you shop your pantry and fridge. You’ll have an idea of what is on sale and can plan your meals for the week around those items.
Try to Make One Trip a Week
When you only make one, focused grocery shopping trip a week that’s based off of your meal plan, what’s on sale, and the list you made, your grocery bill will reflect that. If you’re running out every day or two to Trader Joe’s to pick up forgotten food items you’re exposing yourself to frequent temptation at the store and opening yourself up to impulse purchases that end up on your credit card. Get your kids and family members to let you know what they need ahead of time, and stay firm on not running out to grab what they want in the moment. This will bring your whole family into the budgeting, meal planning, and grocery shopping conversations so you’re acting together as a team.
It also can be a fun challenge to make things stretch until the next grocery shopping day. I shop on Fridays, so Thursday night are often Eat The Fridge nights, where we make a buffet out of whatever happens to left in the fridge. It’s an easy night for mom and ensure we reduce food waste, as we eat up whatever needs to be eaten.
Tip: If the budget causes conflict, learn how to talk to your spouse about money without fighting so you can all get on the same page! Being able to talk openly about personal finances with your spouse is an important skill to have, both for your budget, and your marriage.
Buy In Bulk
Buying in bulk is a fantastic way to save money at the grocery store, and it doesn’t always have to be on processed foods. Rice, oats, pasta, coffee, cheese, spices, and more can be bought in bulk and last you long enough to work your way through it with proper storage. See how to store rice long term here.
Retailers often reward you for buying in bulk by dropping the prices of the foods they’re selling. It’s important to note that you’ll only save money on your food budget by buying in bulk if you purchase foods you know you’ll eat before they spoil! Buying food you won’t eat will cause you to spend more money on food, not less, if you’re buying groceries that will end up thrown in the trash.
Focus on In-Season Produce
When produce is in season, there are often sales and grocery stores drop prices. This is because in-season produce can be sourced locally, costing the stores less so they can pass on those savings to you. Not only will buying in-season produce help your food budget, but it’ll also keep your meal plan fresh since the produce you eat will change throughout the year.
Don’t Shop on an Empty Stomach
You’ve probably heard that it’s not good to go to the grocery store on an empty stomach and it’s true! When you’re hungry, your stomach tends to make the majority of the buying decisions, not your brain. If you want to make healthier choices and avoid having to put food items on your credit card, make sure you have a snack before you shop. I’ve learned this lesson the hard way!
Be Okay with Buying Generic
Brand items often cost a lot more than generic brands and there’s not always a difference in the quality. A lot of the time, we’re paying for the name on the label of brand items, not the food it contains. Experiment a little with a few of your favorite brands and put them up against generic by comparing ingredients and taste. Not for all, but for many it might be hard to see a difference. Being okay with buying generic a great way to save money on food and honor your food budget.
Shop Alone to Avoid Impulse Purchases
I don’t know about you, but when I take someone along to the grocery store, I always end up spending more. Whether it’s a new food a friend says I have to try or little fingers adding items I hadn’t noticed to the cart, buying groceries with another person can wreak havoc on making a list and sticking to it. Conversely, once kids are old enough, it’s helpful to bring them along so they can learn all the tips and tricks of navigating the grocery store and price comparison.
Best Apps to Save Money on Groceries
If you want to spend less when you’re buying food for your family, downloading a few simple apps can help you find discounts and deals, depending on the stores you shop and the brands you purchase, as well as put a little cash back in your pocket.
Checkout51
Checkout 51 is primarily a cashback app. You choose the store you want to shop at, add items to your list, and then use Checkout51’s built-in tool to upload a picture of your receipt. For every item that you added to your list that you actually purchased, you’ll earn points. Once you’ve reached $20 worth of points you can cash out using either Paypal or a mailed check.
Ibotta
Ibotta is an app that looks for rebates on name generic and name-brand items. You simply look up the item you’re planning on buying, and Ibotta will find the ones that have rebates. Once you’ve purchased the item, upload the receipt, and Ibotta will make sure you get your rebate!
Tip: It’s helpful to make your shopping list ahead of time so you don’t get enticed into buying something that Ibotta shows a rebate for if it wasn’t on your planned list!
Flipp
Flipp is an app that helps you find deals and sales when you’re buying groceries. You can use it to find the flyers of nearby stores, and you can even favorite the stores you shop at the most. If you don’t want to scan every individual flyer looking for the best deal, Flipp has a tool for that too! Simply type the item you’re buying into their search bar, and Flipp will show you all the stores nearest to you that have that item on sale that week. This is a great way to shop for sales and save money on groceries.
Receipt Hog
Receipt Hog is another cashback shopping app, but it’s not limited to grocery stores. You can upload receipts from other stores as well! Receipt hog comes with a scanner that uses the camera on your phone to upload an image of your receipt, which then turns into points. If you want to earn points even faster you can play their in-app games or complete surveys. Points can be redeemed with Amazon or VISA gift cards, or directly through PayPal.
Coming up with a food budget and saving money on groceries doesn’t have to be hard, but it does take a learning curve and some practice. Pick a few of tips and download one of these apps to see if it can help keep more money in your wallet and less on your credit card! Let me know in the comments which one of these tips you and your family found the most helpful and if you have any others I should include!