Today’s post is from our regular Tuesday contributor, Shannon.
I have a confession to make: I used to waste hundreds of dollars a year grocery shopping.
As a working mom with a working husband, I just always rationalized that our lives were too busy to think much about grocery shopping. And as a result of this mentality, I did what a lot of people do, I mindlessly grocery shopped.
Now, my day job is helping people manage their day-to-day finances better, and I can assure you that grocery shopping is a top saving area for most people. We all have many costs in our budgets that are difficult to change like rent or mortgage or student loan payments, but grocery bills are usually the first area to easily cut without cutting out happiness in your life.
Here are 5 steps you can take to manage your grocery spending better.
1) Have a Budget
I like to call this my grocery shopping challenge number. It is so much more fun when you think of it as a challenge rather than something you have to do. For those of you who don’t know what your grocery budget should be, I would look at your average weekly grocery spend and see if you can challenge yourself to spend less. For my family, we were spending around $200 a week, so I challenged myself to cut it back to $100 a week. And I have been successful.
When you know you only have a set amount of money, you make different choices or stop yourself from buying things you don’t need because they fall out of your budget range. For my clients who have a habit of constantly breaking the budget they know they should keep, I suggest shopping only with cash.
2) Do Your Inventory
Before I come up with my meal plan for the week, I look at what I already have on hand in my refrigerator and cabinets. Before I became a mindful shopper, it was amazing how much I stocked up on things I didn’t need, and I went through phases of buying the same thing over and over again. My hubby threatened divorce if I came home with another box of oatmeal one time, and the crazy thing is that I don’t even eat oatmeal, but if it was on sale, I would buy it. So, make sure you know what you have and how you can incorporate it in your meals for the week.
3) Create a Plan
Take an hour or less of your week and think about what you are going to eat for the week. Think about your inventory that you can utilize. Whatever you use from your inventory will save you on your budget for the week. I typically will scroll through Pinterest for foods I want to make or think about foods I have not made in a while. Once I know what I am going to make, then I look online for any coupons or deals for the foods that I know I am going to buy before I head out to the store. Once you have your plan and possible coupon savings, create your shopping list.
4) Stick to the Plan
Your shopping list is the representation of your plan, and it is your key to success in the grocery store. Think of your shopping list as the blinders on a horse, it does not matter what else is going on in the store, you have to stick to your plan and not be swayed by flashy “deals” for items not on your list. If you did not need it to begin with, then it is not 50% cheaper; it is 50% more expensive.
5) Be Prepared to Ditch the Plan
The only time I would tell you to sway from your list and plan is if you get to the grocery store and they have a meat or a vegetable on special and it is less than something you have on your list. If that is the case, then you should swap out the more expensive item on your list for this sale item.
As an example, for part of my plan, I may have decided we were going to have grilled pork chops; however, the chicken is on sale for less than the pork chops and we can grill chicken as easily as pork chops, so now instead of the pork chop dinner, we will have chicken. It is good to always have swap ideas in your head if an opportunity arises, and this is where your inventory will really help you out because you will know if you can swap or not based on what you have on hand at home.
How do you save money grocery shopping?
Image Source: Matt MacGillivray
Check out some of our favorite personal finance resources:
Are you getting the best credit card rewards? Check out the top cash back credit card offers (updated daily)
Make extra money: 15 ways to make money from your computer
Get the First Chapter Free!
Join our online community and get the first chapter of the book Student Loan Solution absolutely FREE!
I’m glad you included “be prepared to ditch the plan.” You have to be flexible just in case you find a better / less expensive option at the store. I like to have my list, a pen, and a calculator with me when I’m going through the isles. I know how much my bill should ring up at (without tax), and if somehow I’ve strayed over budget, I start looking for things to toss overboard. :)
The biggest savings comes for us when we force ourselves to eat the food we have when our monthly grocery budget runs dry. Sure, we have to come up with some creative meals sometimes, but it helps us cut down on waste!
We’re like Holly in that we force ourselves to eat what we have in the house. We combine that with shopping less frequently which has allowed us to cut out a huge percentage of our food waste. We’re at about $475 per month for our family, but joke we’re going to need a cow and a few chickens in the backyard once our boys get older. ;)
I usually check the weekly circular and buy the things that are on sale. Plus we go to certain markets that we know have the best prices and I have a credit card that gives 5% cash back at supermarkets.
DebtChronicles Absolutely!! The plan is important, but it is also important to go with a better plan should one present itself. I live in NY and shop at Stop and Shop and they have the self scanners that you can use. When I get close to my budget number, I know I have to stop.
Holly at ClubThrifty Yes! We have done a few of those “clean the pantry” nights and even though the meals are “unorthodox” everyone still eats and is healthy and fine.
FrugalRules Ha!! A cow definitely would have helped my mom with 5 kids in the house who all drank milk at every meal. Yes, it is amazing how much you can save when you force yourself to eat what is on hand first.
Having a budget to follow is really vital for you to save more money. Great tips!
I usually sit down and go through the circulars to see who has what on sale. Normally I already know what we need as food in the freezer decreases. I buy only what is on sale, so if something is cheaper I am very open to swapping that with something I originally had in mind. I make a list with the prices and stick with it; it also helps in case the prices are wrong in the store. And of course, I try and stick to my budget as much as possible.
I’ve never considered taking an inventory…that’s something new I’m going to have to add to my strategy. I think what’s saved me most on shopping so far is buying fresh. Prepackaged foods may seem to be cheaper, but truth is, they’re not! Now, I eat healthier and save a ton!
JourneytoSaving Going through the circulars is a great strategy! It is always best to do as much comparing and research as possible before you actually start shopping.
Joshua Rodriguez Buying fresh can definitely save you money as long as you eat it before it goes bad. I had an awful habit (probably because I didn’t do inventory) of having fresh food go bad because I would buy it and not have a plan for it.
I don’t buy any meat or processed food which is great for my budget and my health.
I think the biggest thing that helped me reduce my grocery budget was to have a plan of what I was going to eat for the week. I also started shopping at a lower cost supermarket. Lucky for me they opened a new one very close to my house.
Planning in all walks of life (or at least thoughtfulness)! I definitely agree with these steps. Also, shopping for foods along the outside aisles as opposed to the more processed foods in the center can be healthier AND cheaper!
I always try to create a meal plan and grocery list before I go shopping. I used to just walk into the grocery store with no plan, and that’s a disaster! I would almost always forget to buy something, which meant that the other items would go to waste because I couldn’t cook a full meal.
brokeandbeau That is awesome! You will love the recipe I am sharing on Friday, it’s a quinoa chili that is super yummy, good for you and cheap!
The New York Budget SO true Dave! Planning is half the battle in all areas of our finances, grocery shopping included.
SenseofCents I used to do the same thing! Or end up with too much of something else. It is a nuisance to create a plan, but it really does save so much time and energy in the long run.
I tend to do much better when I cook in bulk on the weekends or if I’m off. I’m much more likely to go to convenience foods if I know I have to go home from work and cook. I also like the idea of changing the plan to coincide with store specials. We certainly don’t restrict ourselves much about what we buy. It’s just much more cost effective to plan around what’s on sale. I wasn’t planning on buying meat this week, but we love buffalo meat and it was on sale for $2 off a pound and I had two coupons for another $2 off a pound, so it was half price, and I stocked up. Now I won’t have to buy meat next week!
Or, just eat at McDonalds or BK. Taco Bell is great too. Saves on groceries, but is hard on the wallet just the same…
I am more of a fast food guy…
Eyesonthedollar That’s awesome Kim! I have done something similar where I wasn’t expecting to get chicken but then it has been on sale and then we have chicken for weeks which gives us flexibility to get other supplies in other weeks.
No Nonsense Landlord We have found that the fast food can definitely add up. For 3 of us, McDonalds could run $15-20 (we live in NY) and for that amount we could make 2-3 meals. But as long as you don’t load up on fast food and groceries, then I guess it could even out for you.
We try really hard to meal plan each week and make sure we have most of our meals covered. It isn’t always fun to meal plan, but it’s worth it. When we get home from work we know exactly what we are making and guess what, we always have all the ingredients we need. That means no emergency trips to the gas station to pick up milk, butter etc. where they charge a premium. The meal planning helps us save money for sure. Great tips Shannon!
I have found that shopping with a list (and sticking to it) has saved me a ton of money on groceries. My problem is actually wanting to cook the food when I get it home! I never have the motivation to do so after work, and I would usually prefer something easy so I always find myself trying to figure out what to do with the stuff to avoid food waste.
BudgetforMore Yes, the emergency trips definitely add up and your plan keeps you from too many of those.
PrairieEcoThrifter I hear you! I am always exhausted too and cooking is not one of those things that invigorates me. I try to plan for “complicated” meals on the weekends when I have more energy and simple meals during the week.
These are all great tips and definitely what I’ve lived by for a while when I was away at school. Now that I’m back at home with my parents a lot of my purchase are really calculated since I’m only buying particular items. But in doing so I think I’ve been a little less price sensitive. Even for these purchases I need to shop around a bit more and get back to my old ways. Also I’ve used a few different apps to avoid the hassle’s of couponing.
Interesting how you set yourself a challenge amount, I can see that working for sure. I am amazed you set the bar at half though! My new system is that we try to pick our proteins out of what we have in the pantry and the freezer, so that we can pick up whatever is on sale and add it to the stock pile. I try to include a lot of salads in our menu, so that I can pick up whichever vegetables are a good price at the time.
Great article! Sticking to your list is so important. At least most of the impulse buys are eliminated that way. Like you said, it’s great to be able to ditch the plan if sales come up.
Ditch the plan is important. Sometimes I go to the store with a list and a plan and then I find out the spices I need to make the dish are insanely expensive. That’s when I substitute ingredients or make another dish.
No Nonsense Landlord to that I would say “yeah it MAY be cheaper in the short run, but think about what you’re putting in your body and how much harder your body has to work to cleanse itself, leading to potentially fatal health conditions later on”. Diet is highly correlated to overall health and well-being, and spending a little more upfront is worth it to me than feeling ill or getting cancer, blood-clots, diabetes, etc later on in life!!!