How to Save Money on Groceries

If you and your family have been looking for ways to save money lately, you’ve probably been tracking your expenses for some time and notice that your monthly grocery bills are one of your largest. We all want our families to be healthy and have plenty to eat, but this doesn’t need to require a royal budget to be accomplished. Here, we’ll discuss how to save money on groceries and lower your family’s food costs.

First, take a look at where you’re shopping. Are you frequenting a known discount store and purchasing generic items, or are you continuing to shop at the higher-priced grocery stores? Shopping at well-known discount stores can save you up to 20% on your bills immediately.

Next, examine what you actually buy at the grocery. Do you purchase unnecessary snacks, soda and other sugary foods? Is your grocery bill always including alcoholic purchases? If so, you can immediately cut these out and start saving money on your groceries.

Always remember that moderation is best; limit yourself to only half of the amount of unnecessary purchases, and you’ll notice the savings start to add up. You can also start researching the Internet to find creative ways to satisfy these cravings without having to buy a bag of fat-laden potato chips.

Examine how many times you eat out each week or month, including delivery pizza, and total this amount. Typically, if you reduced this amount by half you could save thousands over the course of a year. Start buying bread, meat and cheese for your lunch at work everyday, and treat yourselves to a dinner out once a week instead.

When grocery shopping, make sure you’re not hungry; it’s hard to save money when you want to eat everything you see! Also, make a list and stick to it; plan your weekly meals, and this will lead to less wasteful spending with every trip.

Consider scouring the Internet for low-cost recipes that you can make in bulk. For example, you can easily make an entire stock pot of chili for under $10 that will last a family of four for 4 to 5 meals. This not only reduces your time in the kitchen and lowers your stress, but allows for easily accessible meals available for the kids’ after school snack.

When you’re trying to save money on groceries, you need to examine the prices and value contained in every item you buy. Select produce is always on sale, as well as meat, cheese and other dairy essentials. Compare and contrast prices and volume, and try the generic brands when only regular-priced items are available.

Don’t forget that you can always start clipping coupons, too. This habit doesn’t have to be as time-consuming as you probably think. There’s no reason to spend the time cutting coupons for items you never buy normally, so just give the weekly booklets a quick flip and pick out one or two you may use this week to save money on your groceries.