4 Ways to Save Big When Buying Groceries

If you’re like us, or millions of other American families for that matter, a huge portion of your monthly budget goes toward groceries. That can’t be avoided, (nor should it be) but when you decide to buckle down and get intense about improving your financial situation without starving! The number one way I overspend at the grocery store is by going more often than I should and making impulse purchases. Throughout this past year, however, I’ve discovered some ways to cut down on expenses by either going less frequently or changing the way I shop. Give them a try and let us know what you think!

Plan ahead and make fewer trips to the grocery store. If I am able to make as few as two or three trips per month, I save a LOT of money! It seems extreme, but if you take the time to write out the meals you want to have, (I print out a monthly calendar and assign dinners to each day when I’m feeling really on top of things) you can make a list of the things you know you’ll need and get them all at once. For more perishable things like veggies and bread, I try to buy those week to week. Frozen vegetables have become a lifesaver for me because they keep much longer but are still fresh, unlike canned ones.

Do your own packaging. While in a two-person household, it might seem sensible to purchase things like chicken breast in smaller packages to save money and avoid waste, but I’ve found that I can purchase a much larger package of say 10 chicken breasts, then separate them into serving sizes and freeze them in freezer-proof bags. Not only does this save money, but it’s convenient to grab a bag out of the freezer and know it’s exactly enough to feed both of us. I do this with pork chops and other meat items as well. I can also make this purchase at the beginning of the month, rather than returning to the store each time I want to make chicken.

Shop around. When I make time to get my groceries for the next few weeks, I go to more than one place. I know where I can stock up on things like pasta, flour, sugar and canned foods . . . and I do stock up! I like Walmart or Sam’s Club and we also have Winco out in the Pacific Northwest that is great for things we buy a lot of. Costco is fun, but it hasn’t saved me ANY money! I find that most of the things I’d buy there are either overpriced, or in too large of quantities for us to use before they spoil. Next I go to a local organic grocery store to get my fresh fruits and veggies, things I get week to week. The prices are comparable, and the quality is such to where we eat healthier for the money we spend. Items that are in between these two categories like bread or milk I usually get somewhere like Safeway or Albertson’s. It seems like a lot of trouble to go to, but we live in a relatively small city and it does save money.

If you really want to get intense, you can do it my mom’s way. When I was growing up, my mom did what she called PMS cooking. Once a month . . . she would spend an entire Saturday in the kitchen cooking and preparing entrees for the entire month, which she would package and freeze. Those meals were ready to pull out of the freezer and place in the oven, and all she had to do when she got home from work was steam some broccoli or boil pasta to go with the made-ahead main course. This provided her family with homecooked meals every night, with practically the convenience of fast food!! I haven’t been able to get that organized yet, but it’s a goal I have.

Hopefully you’ve found a nugget of wisdom in this article you can use in your own life! I’m always looking for more ideas on this topic, so if you have any of your own please leave a comment!

Courtney