Kate
When I help clients create budgets, you know what the No. 1 variable expense usually is? Food.
Whether it’s grocery shopping or eating out, Americans spend a LOT of their income on food. We all need those yum-yums so we can keep on living, but with a little planning you can slash your grocery bills and place that spare cash firmly in your pocket.
Learn to Meal Plan
Or can I call it “Decide What You Want For Dinner?” I don’t know why but the term “Meal Plan” stresses me out. Probably because when you search for meal plans online or on Pinterest, the titles are “Meal Plan for a Whole Month!!!” and “50 New Fabulous Meal Plans!!!” Those are big numbers and a plan like that requires a lot of organizational skill that I don’t think exists inside my body.
If those large meal plans works for you, that’s great! Please share with me your awesome meal planning secrets. I admittedly haven’t tried to plan that far ahead.
My current preference is to choose 5 meals for dinner each week, write my list (on paper because I’m old school), and then clip my dinner options onto our family calendar so I don’t forget what I wanted to prepare. The other nights we call “Must-Go Nights” where we eat up our leftovers.
Having a plan for meals is essential to cutting your grocery bills. 1) You are shopping from an actual list so you are less likely to succumb to impulse purchases and accidental duplicates (like Oh man, those cookies look good! Come to me, my pretties! or Oh crud. Do I have already have soy sauce at home?) and 2) You are less likely to spend extra eating out. I know that a long day can make you feel like you’ve morphed into a starving zombie from The Walking Dead, but if you already have your ingredients at home and already know what’s on the dinner schedule, you’ll be less likely to hit up the Wendy’s Drive Thru.
Shop At Discount Grocery Stores
The number one way I ninja’d (ninja-d? ninja-ed? Not a real word, I know.) our grocery budget was to start shopping at our local Aldi.
When I worked full time, I wasted a ton of extra money simply by shopping at the store nearest our house. Since I am a savvier shopper now, I know that particular store is just crazy expensive compared to all the others! I cringe at how much I was paying for just 2 people to eat. Insane.
But Aldi saved me.
I walked in and thought What is this strange place? No way the food can be as good. But I was wrong. So very wrong. Aldi’s set up may be a little unusual but I realized I was in love when I saved $40 on that first trip alone. I’ve never looked back.
Every time I throw a staple item in my cart, I mentally calculate my savings and give myself an air-high-five (if you ever see a lady clapping to herself, you’ll know it’s me. Totally kidding…sort of).
Seriously try it out. You will be amazed. And if you truly hate an item or there is something wrong with it, they refund your money and replace the item. How awesome is that!
There are other discount grocers around if you do not have an Aldi (Payless Foods, Save-A-Lot). Don’t be afraid to look around and step outside of your shopping comfort zone.
Shop the Sales
I admit it, sometimes planning meals and grocery runs can be difficult. My little boys hate EVERYTHING I cook and it’s so frustrating that it can make me feel defeated before I even begin. What on Earth should I make this week? Does my family really need to be fed? Can’t they just forage in the wild? Ugh, I guess I’ll cook.
To get over that slump, and the best way to save money with very little extra effort, is to shop the sales and plan your menu around them. Almost all grocery stores list their ads and fliers online now so just go to your store’s website or google “Wal-Mart (or Target, or Aldi, or whichever) Ads” and a link will pop up. Enter in your zip code and you’ll be able to see their sales ads instantly.
If Aldi is having a $0.99 sale on strawberries, you can make your own strawberry jam (here’s my favorite recipe) and offer toast with jam for breakfast. Or if Hy-Vee is having a sale for $1.50 per lb on Pork Loin, you can make barbecue pulled pork sandwiches for dinner one night.
Sometimes all you need to get over that indecision slump is a good sale price.
Install Cash Back Apps
I am not a big coupon clipper but cash back apps like Wal-Mart Savings Catcher, Ibotta, and Checkout 51 help me feel like I’m not just leaving money on the table.
For Ibotta and Checkout 51, you just install the app on your device, choose your store and the items that you purchased, and then scan your purchase receipt. After a few days, they will add the amount to your account which you can then cash out when you reach $20.
For the Savings Catcher, you simply scan your receipt; if another store in the area had a better sale price on any of your purchased items, Wal-Mart will credit your account with the difference. Easy!
So there are my top 4 picks for slashing your grocery bill this week.
Do you have any tips that help you keep your grocery trips under control?