Saving on Groceries

[LilyWDW]

Ugh... so with some things that have happened in the US, the cost of groceries continues to increase and will do so even more coming up. I need to cut back my budget and I am sure a lot of other people are in the same boat.

So how do YOU save on your grocery bill? Any tips and tricks?

Things I do:
"Clip" digital coupons
Buy based off of sales
Stock up when I can with good deals
Meal plan

Things I can't do but are often mentioned:
I don't shop multiple stores constantly because I don't have a vehicle so it is either walking or public transportation
"Clip" regular coupons as we don't get many in the mail and I don't have a printer to print them out

 

[Travel60]

Don't buy packaged goods (chips, crackers, boxed meals, etc).

Prepare fresh meals that stretch meats. Make a day or two each week vegetarian. Fill in with rice, potatoes, beans which are usually cheap.

Watch sales and plan meals around what's on sale - they may not be gourmet but filling. Don't waste anything you buy - use it in a soup or casserole.

When the weather breaks, plant a small garden if you can (even in containers) - one or two tomato plants, one cucumber plant, one zucchini plant, etc. This is how my grandparents fed 13 people during the depression and in turn how my mother fed us

 

[tvguy]

We shop two stores, Walmart and a local chain. Shop once a week.
Knowing prices is the most important thing. Digital coupons are only offered and accepted by the local chain grocery store, and often the coupon price is still more than Walmart. One product that is not the case with is Bubly Sparkling Water, that digital coupon is one we use often when it comes up.
We have found meal planning to be counter productive, IF it is done at home before going to the store. It works once you are in the store and meal plan based on what is on sale. And don't rely on the online prices. We find our local store has managers specials on items that are overstocked or near their sell by dates and are unique to that individual store. $1, $2 or $3 off meat near the sell by date. Day old bakery items from the in store bakery.

Our daughter has gone thru culture shock when it comes to shopping since she moved to Germany. Here, she went to Costco once every two months, and loaded up her car, with a few trips to a local grocery store in between for perishable items.
In Germany, she has no car, so is limited to what she can carry. The norm there is people tend to go to the store almost every day for food for that days meal. She was shocked at how little food most Germans keep at home. Refrigerators are tiny, what most of us would consider a small dorm or office fridge. And grocery stores open late and close early compared to the U.S. and are closed on Sundays. None of the grocery stores near her open before 10 am, and all close at 8 pm. She was used to being at the store at 6 am.

 

[#1hoosierfan]

What you are already doing is great. I won't buy meat unless it is on sale, so when Chuck roast go on sale I buy 2 or 3. I use one that week and then freeze the other for a future meal. I don't really care for steak that has been frozen, so it is only on the menu when it is on sale. Same thing with salmon.

I make soup or stew once or twice a week during cooler weather. It is usually pretty cost friendly and much healthier and tastier than canned.

In the summer we eat a lot of grilled chicken and pair it with whatever veggies and fruits are in season. We eat a lot more salad in the summer too.

Almost everything is store brand... some exceptions... mayo and ketchup are the first things that come to mind that I only buy name brand.

I try to do at least one or two vegetarian meals a week.... both for health and cost.

Dh and I very rarely drink sodas. I have two teenage boys that would drink a ton. I limit them to one a day both for health and the fact that they are so dang expensive.

I do buy chips for the boys, but absolutely only store brand or when they are on sale. They are crazy expensive if you don't get them on sale.

I do shop at Aldi and Sams Club in addition to my regular grocery store (Kroger) so that helps too.

 

[tvguy]

Don't buy packaged goods (chips, crackers, boxed meals, etc).

Prepare fresh meals that stretch meats. Make a day or two each week vegetarian. Fill in with rice, potatoes, beans which are usually cheap.

Watch sales and plan meals around what's on sale - they may not be gourmet but filling. Don't waste anything you buy - use it in a soup or casserole.

When the weather breaks, plant a small garden if you can (even in containers) - one or two tomato plants, one cucumber plant, one zucchini plant, etc. This is how my grandparents fed 13 people during the depression and in turn how my mother fed us

Your mention the depression, my mom grew up in the depression, and another thing she carried with her all her life is, wasting nothing. Need inexpensive protein? Buy beef liver, chicken liver, and gizzards. I remember visiting her cousin on the farm and having headcheese sandwiches for lunch. For those who don't know, headcheese is made from every part of the pig "but the oink" as her cousin put it.

 

[NYCgrrl]

Off the top of my head:

I shop multiple stores (reading all the sales fliers beforehand online) but have them deliver when possible, preferably for free ( Amazon Prime is a fantastic money saver!). I also know by now when certain items go on sale. For instance, meat sales are big in January, which allows me to refill my freezer. It’s only a little freezer (8 cu. ft) but can feed 1 to 4 people readily. Green peppers on sale in September, tomatoes in August. Just flash freeze and it allows me to stock up and use these staples until at least the spring.

Buy rotisserie chicken? Save the carcass to make stock and freeze or make soup immediately with it.

Vegetable scraps are great for making veggie stock if you use it.

Need a tablespoon of tomato paste and left with the rest of the can? Freeze the remainder in small amts (tsp or tb) on a piece of wax or parchment paper. When hard place the chunks in a Ziplock bag to use, pre measured when needed.

Freeze hard cheese when it goes on sale. If you cook with it grate or shred in advance thereby saving money and time.

When corn is fresh and the price right, cut the kernels off the cob and freeze and do not throw the cobs away. Simmering them in water makes a beautiful corn stock for any kind of chowder as well as corn dishes.

Freeze unused chopped herbs in ice cube trays.

 

[glencoe]

The most important things I can think of:

• Shop in season-those fruits and veggies will be cheaper.
• Buy in bulk and separate by portion and freeze. I try to make only enough with not too much left overs. Only enough for lunches. If it sits in the fridge too long it gets tossed out. Most important: meal plan. I make a plan two weeks in advance.
• Write down the protein, starch and veggie being cooked for each meal, purchase it and make it. This way I don't end up with extra in my refrigerator that goes bad and has to be thrown out. Even with all of this the bill is still daunting though.
• I also shop online which avoids impulse purchases too.

 

[TippyThomas]

I buy in bulk and use my vacuum sealer to keep things for longer in the freezer.

 

[NannyBeBe]

I do not walk up and down all the aisles of the grocery store. I plan my meals ahead, shop only in the aisles where the necessary items are located, and do not stop and look. If I did, I would buy a lot of things I do not need.

 

[barkley]

Stock up when I can with good deals

compare deals between stores you can get to and those that offer free delivery. I'm to a point where I compare non perishables at one local store, Walmart and Amazon. if it's something i'm going to stock up on I often find Amazon will have multi packs that runs less per unit (and occasionally Walmart-i just snagged a 12 pack of hunts 30 oz. catsup that ran me $1.68 each vs. the $2.28 per bottle normaly charged-it has a long shelf life so i'm good for awhile ).

"Clip" digital coupons

if you shop Walmart for shipping or order pickup (which you can do without a car via pickup inside the store) look for 'walmart cash' offers. these are amounts offered back on products which Walmart credits to your account and you can apply to a future purchase (those 50 cents and a dollar here and there add up).

Don't buy packaged goods (chips, crackers, boxed meals, etc).

I agree to some extent but there are a few items I still get but wait till it's on sale*, and with chips/crackers/cookies I get them in small bags so that we don't over eat/waste them going stale and I can take advantage of less expensive per unit prices (Costco and Amazon have the best prices i've found per ounce).

*even when it's on sale I still price compare like right now a local store has Kraft Mac and cheese for $1.28 per box but Amazon has it 4/$3.90 and Walmart has it for 5/$4.88 (so about 97 cents each).

Dh and I very rarely drink sodas. I have two teenage boys that would drink a ton. I limit them to one a day both for health and the fact that they are so dang expensive

I just ordered a supply today b/c i'm concerned that the tarrifs on aluminum are going to cause the prices to go even higher than the stupid crazy prices lately. I miss the $3 per 12 pack but I got them for less than $6 per 12 pack which is better than the shelf price i've been seeing

Your mention the depression, my mom grew up in the depression, and another thing she carried with her all her life is, wasting nothing. Need inexpensive protein? Buy beef liver, chicken liver, and gizzards.

my mom did the same but the issue these days is so many of the old school 'cheap' meats have become popular and gone up psychotically in price-brisket used to be a low-end cut and cost next to nothing but then it became popular to bbq, chicken wings were dirt cheap until they became the go-to game day snack. the butcher used to routinely give away bags of bones and trim to my mom and other shoppers. he said they were good to feed to dogs but they ended up in pots of water to make gallons of stock-now with 'bone broth' all the rage you will pay a pretty penny per pound for entirely stripped bones.

I think the advent of in-store prepared foods has cut into finding cheap meat deals-all the places around use every bit to make prepared items at quadruple the already per pound price of the base protein.

 

[ak517]

Over the last few years I found that meal boxes like HelloFresh and Blue Apron (even full price) were comparable to groceries where we live (NYC) and I don't have to take time to meal plan. The best way to save money on these is by cycling through their sign up promos or signup when they offer a free item for life etc. Usually they'll send you a "come back" offer after you cancel which is how you can cycle through them. I like to save our favorite recipes and plan from those when we cancel, assuming they don't have proprietary spices or weird ingredients. Just don't forget to skip or unsubscribe before it gets to be full price if that is out of budget!

 

[PaDisneyCouple]

I buy in bulk and use my vacuum sealer to keep things for longer in the freezer.

The Food Saver was a great purchase for us several years ago.
We even use it to package dog treats from bulk into week sized packages.

 

[PaDisneyCouple]

We also meal plan for the upcoming business week on Sunday.
And we keep a calendar in the kitchen with the entree on it.
Helps with using our leftover's as well as our variety.

 

[barkley]

The Food Saver was a great purchase for us several years ago.
We even use it to package dog treats from bulk into week sized packages.

food saver is awesome! I'll grab a rotisserie chicken at costco and make packets of boneless meat for future meals/put the bones and scraps in another bag for stock.

 

[disneydreamer1980]

We do the bulk of our shopping at Lidl. They have great prices and their store brand stuff is really good. Better than name brand in most cases. I also agree with making a list and sticking to it. I find that sometimes my impulse purchases can add up to more than the cost of what was on my list.

 

[disykat]

My biggest one is less trips to the store. I used to shop once weekly rotating stores for best prices on different things. Now I shop approximately every 10 days. I spend less overall. We have a new grocery store where I can get everything I need at a good price at one place. I am not generally an impulse buyer, but being in the store less often definitely helps.

 

[greeneyedchick]

Ugh... so with some things that have happened in the US, the cost of groceries continues to increase and will do so even more coming up. I need to cut back my budget and I am sure a lot of other people are in the same boat.

So how do YOU save on your grocery bill? Any tips and tricks?

Things I do:
"Clip" digital coupons
Buy based off of sales
Stock up when I can with good deals
Meal plan

Things I can't do but are often mentioned:
I don't shop multiple stores constantly because I don't have a vehicle so it is either walking or public transportation
"Clip" regular coupons as we don't get many in the mail and I don't have a printer to print them out

I shop as much as possibe at Aldis

 

[longboard55]

Two things we do, first where we shop has electronic coupons, so you just click off on the website and they register automatically when you check out, Second we do not over buy, everything we buy we use or eat. No going to costco, we plan meals and buy what we will consume in a week. The only thing we buy in bulk is the package of 32 waters

 

[Imzadi]

my mom did the same but the issue these days is so many of the old school 'cheap' meats have become popular and gone up psychotically in price-brisket used to be a low-end cut and cost next to nothing but then it became popular to bbq, chicken wings were dirt cheap until they became the go-to game day snack. the butcher used to routinely give away bags of bones and trim to my mom and other shoppers. he said they were good to feed to dogs but they ended up in pots of water to make gallons of stock-now with 'bone broth' all the rage you will pay a pretty penny per pound for entirely stripped bones.

That's due to social media teaching people how to use the Instant Pot and airfryer more effectively. I remember when I first got mine, I made a couple soups that my parents used to simmer for hours, that I haven't had in decades. I think it took me 1 hour 40 minutes(?) total. And that might have accidentally been too long and one doesn't want to overcook the bone too much and it starts disintegrating.

 

[kdonnel]

I do 99% of my shopping at Aldi. The two of us eat for an average of $45 a week according to Quicken.

That is for 2 people, 5 breakfast, 5 lunches, and 5 dinners.