How to Take Control of Your Grocery Budget -

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Today I want to share a few tips that have helped us stay on track with our grocery budget. This category of our budget is one of the easiest for me to control. Unlike the cost of electricity, gasoline, or health insurance, I am able to decide exactly how much I am willing to pay for a certain food and if that food is worth purchasing. We strive to be good stewards of each dollar. Our monthly grocery budget is $250 for our family of 5. I understand that the cost of living varies in each area, but maybe, with a few changes, you will be able to spend less on groceries too!

Grocery store hop~ Have you been shopping at the same store for the past 5 years and just don’t feel like learning to navigate a new store? I totally understand. I don’t have time to check out every store in town either. Have you at least checked out online fliers for different stores? Sometimes, we get in a grocery store rut and don’t even pay attention to how much we could be saving if we shopped elsewhere. One of the ways a store keeps you coming back is by showing how much you saved at the bottom of your receipt. My reaction is usually utter shock when I see these numbers! But remember, that is how much you saved from THAT store’s normal price. You quite possibly could have gone to another store and paid that “sale” price everyday. My absolute favorite store is Aldi. I consistently compare prices on a variety of foods and they are cheapest by far. The quality is unbeatable also. If you don’t like something, they will give you double your money back. Many stores nowadays are allowing you to order online and they will bring it to your car! This means I can quickly choose only sale items and not be tempted to buy more expensive and unnecessary options. It also saves some time if I am buying groceries at multiple stores to get the best deal.
Plan meals by sales~ In our house, if it isn’t on sale and it isn’t a necessity, then we don’t buy it. Sounds over-the-top, huh? Let me explain. If you pay attention to advertisements for sales at stores near you, it is easy to purchase items when they go on sale so you have enough to get through until they go on sale again. This takes planning. I plan meals based on what is left in our pantry (from buying when ingredients were on sale) and looking at what is currently on sale. There are plenty of ways to plug in ingredients that are on sale to come up with delicious recipes. A warning to all Pinterest recipe lovers: planning meals around what you have recently discovered on Pinterest will not save you money! Many of these recipes require ingredients you don’t already have on hand and you might never use again. I am not saying to never try anything new, but if cabbage is on sale and you want a recipe using that, then try searching for something new using the ingredients you know you already have or will be inexpensive.
Get back to the basics~ Convenience is convenient. It’s also expensive and not always healthy. If you are trying to watch what you eat, the best way to do so is by cooking from scratch. This is cheaper and you can easily adjust ingredients for different food allergies or diet restrictions. It does seem cheaper to buy a bag of instant mashed potatoes for $1 compared to a 10 lb. bag of potatoes for $2.49. The difference is found when you consider how many meals you get out of each one. I only get one meal out of the instant potatoes, but a 10lb bag of potatoes can provide enough for 4 separate dinners! I am gluten intolerant, so we focus on staples such as fruits, veggies, rice, potatoes and meat. I avoid packaged gluten free foods due to their cost and because they aren’t necessities.
Don’t be a brand snob~ There is only 1 thing I brand snob…Dawn. I have tried all the other blue off brand dish soaps, but I am never satisfied. That being said, I still only buy Dawn when it is on sale! I just purchase enough to last until the next time it will be on sale. I know, Dawn isn’t food, so we’ll get back to that topic. I am not particular about brands most of the time. I do want quality food, but let me tell you a little secret: the same company that produces your favorite name brand food may also package the off brand food on the same shelf. All that means to me is that I can pay less for an item with a more plain label which doesn’t affect the food itself. Maybe it’s a mental issue that we have connecting a certain logo to better taste? Whatever the reason, give other, cheaper brands a try. Your wallet will thank you and your taste buds may not even notice.
Use coupons wisely~ It is tempting to use coupons that can save you 50 cents or even up to 3 dollars. Let’s investigate the proper way to use coupons with a hypothetical situation. A box of name brand cereal is $3.49 and you have a coupon for 75 cents off. Right beside that box of cereal is the exact same thing in the store brand for $1.99. Using the coupon makes you feel like you saved money, but you could have saved even more money without the coupon! You just don’t get that warm fuzzy feeling because the savings don’t show up on your receipt. But they will show up in your budget. I do like to use coupons for things that are already on sale to add even more savings. Often stores will send out coupons for their name brand items, which is a great deal. I also look for coupons for things that have recently been released. Often companies will offer higher coupons in the beginning and stores will place these items on sale so I am able to get it for next to nothing. Usually that is the only time I buy that particular item, though. Smartphone apps are a great way to save money on groceries also. Consider using Ibotta. If you sign up, you can use my referral code: mghxnqr
Don’t buy it if you won’t eat it~ I am guilty of this. I have good intentions. It is on sale, so why not? And then it spoils before we eat it. On the same token, we can say “Don’t buy it if you don’t want to eat it.” I often hear people say that they cannot eat healthy because it is too expensive. But, I would argue that we try to eat healthy AND unhealthy at the same time. We buy both types of food (which is costing us more) and we end up choosing to eat the unhealthy food, leaving the healthy food to spoil. This is where good planning comes to the rescue. I know exactly what we will eat for each meal of the week so I know exactly what to purchase. Each item is accounted for in my meal plan. This meal and grocery planner can help you stay on track! I will then buy a few snacks to supplement my growing children. Using up perishables for meals and snacks is my top priority.
Eat or freeze leftovers~ You know your family better than I know them. Some people refuse to eat leftovers. This means you are purchasing food, making a meal and then wasting half of it because no one will eat it the next day. You are literally throwing money in the trash. If you cannot get anyone to eat leftovers, then start cutting recipes down to an appropriate amount for your family. Another option is to freeze leftovers and bring them out again a couple weeks later. Maybe your family just likes variety! You could also make a meal and prior to baking it, freeze a portion for a second meal. This saves time later, but doesn’t waste any food. Our family thrives on leftovers. Most Saturday lunches are a buffet of whatever is leftover from the week’s dinners. We also eat on them throughout the week for lunch if needed. I am a huge fan of using up all of the food in our fridge before it spoils. To do this, I have to get creative with making a new meal out of what’s hanging out in there. Casseroles, soups, and salads are all great ways to throw together bits of this and that to create a magic “leftover dish”.