First of all, in full disclosure, I have to say that I totally fell of of my own grocery savings plan and lost track of some of my own best habits over past two weeks. I picked up a respiratory virus that has caused my asthma to flare up and I've been a bit of a wreck as a result, not to mention allergies on top of all that! So, my end of January grocery recap is going to be pretty dismal for me. Sigh...but, I think that's an important reminder that everyone makes mistakes, has slip ups, or runs into detours. We ALL have our ups and downs, so when you are feeling down, just remember the rest of us have been there, done that and we're there rooting for you!
Anyhow, today I wanted to recap some of my favorite grocery tips. In THIS post, I mentioned taking part in the #moneylovechallenge hosted by Kate Northrup, author of Money: A Love Story. Well, today someone posted in the private Facebook group associated with the challenge about how she is struggling to get her grocery costs down. I brainstormed some of my favorite tips and thought I would share them here as well. Some are obvious, but others might not be. Some are also similar to the tips in THIS post, but there are a few that I didn't list previously.
Cook from scratch 80% of the time
As long as you are careful with your ingredients, your utilities, and so on, cooking from scratch can save you a lot of money. It is also almost always healthier. To make cooking from scratch economical, I do the following:
- Only buy ingredients in quantities that I need.
- Only cook in quantities we can and will eat.
- Do most of my cooking on non-peak hours for our utilities (before noon or after 7pm on weekdays or anytime on weekends) to save on the cost of electricity.
- Make double batches of our favorite recipes and portion out and freeze the second half before serving dinner.
- Realize that cooking from scratch reduces sodium, additives, and other unhealthy junk so I am also protecting our health and potentially saving on the cost of future healthcare.
- Keep a list of easy, go-to recipes that are inexpensive but filling and make them regularly.
We are lucky enough to live in very close proximity to a wide variety of grocery stores. I know that one store always has the best produce, another the best meats, and another the most variety overall. One has the best bulk foods sections. However, I still compare the sales fliers each week to determine who has the best overall sales prices and if it would be worth it or not to go to only one store versus multiple stores. Some weeks the savings are worth going to multiple stores and other weeks the savings are not. One weeks when it is worth going to multiple stores, I space the grocery trips out and combine them with other errands or stop at a different store each day on my way home from work.
Inventory my fridge and pantry BEFORE going to the store
This includes organizing my fridge, freezer, and cupboards regularly. If you can see what you have, you are less likely to over or under buy. When my son and I lived with my mom, I discovered that my mom had five full sized, unopened bottles of ketchup. Did she find a great deal? Nope. Did she have a habit of buying in bulk? Nope. What she did was put them in the cupboard and just shove more and more into the cupboard so that she couldn't see everything clearly. She would end up forgetting she already had ketchup and buy more. It was a waste of money for something that was rarely used in our house. Inventorying also allows you to meal plan before you even think of going to the store. Can you get another few days of filling meals out of what is on hand?
Make my list and meal plan AFTER comparing sales fliers and doing my inventory
If you are trying to save on groceries, there is no point in meal planning without first seeing what you have on hand and then seeing what's on sale. How many meals can you get out of what you already have and how many more can you make with what's on sale?
Use SavingStar and Ibotta or other grocery rebate apps
I talked about SavingStar HERE, but also just found out that you can actually use multiple grocery saving apps at the same time and on the same products! I haven't using multiple apps on the same purchases yet, but so far this month, I've got more $8.90 in rebates from SavingStar and just qualified for a 25-cent rebate through Ibotta. SavingStar only has $5 threshold to cash out via PayPal, but Ibotta has a $20 threshold. These apps do require some time as you have to select offers, input product codes (scan the bar codes or manually input the UPC or product code numbers), scan your receipts, and then wait for the rebates to be processed. SavingStar also periodically has free-after-rebate items, and if you take advantage of enough offers, you qualify for additional freebies and offers.
SavingStar is pretty straightforward, but Ibotta takes a little figuring out...I'm not totally there yet!
Selectively use coupons
I don't use a lot of coupons, but when I do, I try to match them with SavingStar offers or grocery sales, ideally with BOTH. It's really cool when you can match a sale price + a SavingStar rebate + a coupon! I get most of my coupons through the mail by being signed up for my local favorite grocery store's savings card program, but I also use printable coupons from Swagbucks (found under the Shop link). I get coupons via Swagbucks because you can sometimes earn points through Swagbucks if you redeem enough coupons and then you can use those points to get giftcards once you've accumulated enough (I paid for my son's entire Christmas last year and the year before with Amazon credit accumulated through Swagbucks!). Keep in mind though that it's not a deal if you are using a coupon to buy something you wouldn't normally purchase or eat, hence the use of "selectively."
Eat BEFORE grocery shopping
I eat a filling snack before going to the grocery store and I take a drink from home--usually coffee--to help me avoid temptations and impulse purchases. Over time, I've realized that grocery shopping hungry usually means buying things that I think I want instead of what I really want or need. Pretty basic trick, but it works!
Review my cart before checkout
Before I get in line, I review the items in my care and compare them to my grocery list. If I see anything not on my list or that I really didn't need, I remove it before I get in line. I usually just set it in a different part of the cart and then give it to the cashier and tell them I changed my mind about that item. It's not a big deal--they have it happen all the time and most stores are set up to have a runner or a store clerk whose job is to make a sweep of the checkout area for unwanted items and to to return them to the shelves.
Track food I THROW OUT
Almost all of us are guilty of wasting money on groceries simply by letting food rot. We then throw it out. I keep a list of the food I throw out, always striving for less and less food waste. Throwing out food is like throwing away money. If I notice that I am consistently throwing away the same foods over and over, I try to either buy that food in smaller quantities or I simply stop buying it.
Review produce on hand
Every few days I review the produce in our fridge and pantry. I look for things that are going to go bad if not eaten in the next few days and make sure I incorporate those into our meal plan. Soups and stews are a great way to use up a lot of vegetables and pies, crumbles, crisps, and smoothies are great for using up fruit.
Selectively shop for specialty items
My son and I have food allergies so we use specialty items like sunflower seed butter instead of peanut butter and rice milk instead of cow's milk. Both are quite expensive at the regular grocery store and also at the discount grocery store. Instead, I buy them at Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, or Costco. They cost significantly less at these stores since Trader Joe's and Whole Foods cater to specialty markets and Costco deals in bulk. I save enough on specialty items like these that it is worth the extra drive or trip.
What are your favorite grocery savings tips?
No comments:
Post a Comment