Inflation, busy schedules, unpredictable events. Who can actually afford groceries these days? While nearly everyone has been feeling a little pinched this year, we have been able to navigate rising grocery costs by implementing these 16 tips!
- Buy less
Okay this one seems a little bit obvious but hear me out, buying less will ultimately lead to you saving money on groceries. Take an inventory of what you already have and prioritize only the things you truly need.
- Make and use a grocery list- no deviations
Piggybacking off of the first point, make a list! This is the best way to prioritize your needs for the week, next few weeks, or month. Stick to what you’ve identified as your needs and avoid deviations and exceptions, no matter how tempting they may be!
- Avoid quick trips in between normal grocery runs
As much as you can help it- Stay away from the grocery store when you do not need to make a full restock trip. Of course there will be times where you run out of something and need to make a quick stop, but stick to the one thing and put on blinders to the rest of the store! The less stops you make, the less money you spend.
- Buy more economic snacks
This one might be tricky for some, but it has really saved us money in the long run.
Rather than buying multiple kinds of chips, crackers, cookies, and whatever else is in the aisle of shame, we are prioritizing snacks that last us far longer! One bag of doritos can run around $5.50, that’s enough snacks for two, mayyyyybe three days, while one standard size bag of popcorn kernels will provide us with snacks for months! Some of our economic snacks are popcorn, pretzels, peanut butter, peanuts, tortilla chips & salsa, and guacamole. They are way healthier and more filling allowing you to stretch them much further.
- Buy bulk packaging (when it makes sense)
A lot of the time buying bulk will save you significant money over time. At our local grocery store a 2lb bag of rice is around $2-$3, and a 20lb bag of rice is about $8-$9. With that amount of savings there is absolutely no reason for me to buy anything but the bigger quantity!
- Calculate the best deal
The formula that I like to follow to calculate the best deal is to divide the price of the product by the total ounces of the product. This way you can easily compare the price per ounce from brand to brand or product to product ensuring you get the best deal possible! Jumping back to our popcorn vs doritos.
A 9.25oz bag of Doritos is $5.49 – you are paying $0.59 per ounce while a 32oz bag of popcorn kernels is $2.99- you are paying $0.09 per ounce. Math stinks but in this case it can really help you stretch your dollar!
- Store your food properly
Proper food storage is essential to making sure you get the most out of your groceries!
Keeping your dry goods in airtight containers, learning about the different drawers in your fridge, and reading up on how to keep produce fresher for longer prevents food waste and keeps you from having to run back to the store to replenish before you are ready.
- Utilize your freezer
Leftovers, batch cooking, or even if something is close to going bad! We severely underestimate how our freezers can work for us. A lot of the time we are scared to use the freezer because we don’t know how to properly freeze something. In my experience it is as simple as just putting it in the freezer and closing the door. If you are totally unsure though- just do a quick google search!
- Purchase versatile ingredients
This may go against what some bloggers suggest; What can I say, I’m a rebel. We don’t pre plan our meals before shopping- we plan what ingredients we can use for multiple meals. Prioritizing ingredients allows us to implement buying less, bulk buying, calculating the best deal, and proper storage! That is nearly all the tips in one fell swoop. When we create our list we look at what ingredients we are low on or completely out of and replenish rather than looking at different full meals to then piece together in the store.
- Invest in spices
Spices will change your life. You can easily take a bland dish like beans and rice to a delicious taco bowl with just a few spices thrown in! Add some salsa and tortilla chips from your snack stash and that is a meal for just pennies rather than running out to a restaurant for the same dish at a much higher price tag.
Some of our staples are: Garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, paprika, dill, chili flakes, cumin, cinnamon, nutritional yeast, and basil.
- Cut back on (or cut out) meat, eggs, and dairy
You may be thinking, “That’s easy for you, you’re vegan”.
Here’s the thing: I’ve only been vegan for two years. Prior to this lifestyle change I was a meat loving, cheese hungry, cows milk guzzling fool! I constantly ate beef jerky as a snack, every meal I had was smothered in some kind of cheese, and every morning I would have half and half in my coffee. Contrary to popular belief, vegan diets are significantly cheaper so long as you avoid mock meats & processed junk. Cutting back on meats and finding whole food plant based proteins will save you a lot of money and I guarantee you will feel so much better, too.
- Utilize canned and freezer produce items
I know. I can save even more if I bought dry beans. That is on the horizon. In the meantime I have been heavily utilizing canned beans, tomatoes, tomato paste and sauces! If produce is looking a little bit expensive, or if you are someone who doesn’t finish your fresh veggies before they go bad in the fridge, buying bulk frozen bags will be a total game changer for you. I generally will buy 2+ lb bags of frozen veggies as reserves for when we run out of the fresh stuff to stretch our groceries out until the next planned trip.
- Eat everything before going to the store again
We always wait until there is not one single meal we can make without needing to get ingredients at the store. Until that point we get creative with what we do have on hand!
Again, less trips = more $ in your pocket.
- Plan out what you are getting on the store’s app if they have one
This has been life changing for me. Being able to see the wide variety of products on my phone screen allows me to calculate the price per oz, shows me the total dollar amount in real time, and allows me to stick to the list while avoiding all of the temptations the store has to offer. We mostly shop at Aldi, but when I need to go to Meijer or another store you bet I will be using the app + curbside pick up.
- Stay Organized
How many times have you bought something because you didn’t know you already had it? This would happen to us countless times before we really buckled down and organized our food storage spaces. This would happen so often that it is now lovingly called “onion buying” in our house. (whoops, we onion bought so and so this time!)
- Drink more water
We still keep soda in the house, my husband is somewhat of a root beer connoisseur, but throughout the day we stick to water exclusively. Not only is it, you know, our lifeforce as humans, but it’s also virtually free! Breaking the habit of drinking fizzy drinks all the time may be hard at first, but once it’s broken you will not miss it! We really only buy his root beers once a month and I just bought a case of sprite on sale for the first time in probably the better half of this year.
I hope you found these tips valuable! Make sure to take it easy on yourself, it has taken us a long time to build up and consistently use these frugal grocery habits and even so, we still slip up from time to time. The main goal is savings for you; Shave some $ off of your grocery bills to provide some financial relief! Thanks for your time & I will be sure to share more soon.
-Sophia
The Working Homemaker 