16 Best Ways To Save Money On Groceries
Have you ever noticed how much of your overall budget goes to groceries? Grocery shopping is one of the biggest expenses for the average family. Plus, it’s important to feed our families healthy and nutritious food, which can also bite into our budget.
Often when we go to the grocery store to pick up just a few things we can still leave with an empty wallet.
Even if it is hard to cut grocery and food spending in half, there are many tricks to avoid overspending at the grocery store!
Here are 16 easy money-saving tricks you can use. Use them together to add up to big savings!
Make A List
No matter how good your memory is, don’t forget to make a grocery list. It is one of the best tips to save you from buying the things you don’t really need. If you are using coupons (see below), you might want to use our FREE Printable Grocery Shopping List. This list will help you plan your shopping trip and organize your coupons to maximize your savings.
Use Coupons
Coupons are a great way to save you some serious cash! Coupons can make you some great deals. You can also double up your savings by reading the weekly sales ads from your local stores and using coupons on what’s on sale! A great place to get store coupons is to sign up with different stores.
Take a Photo of Your Receipt
Taking photos of your receipts will give you money — with Ibotta! You don’t even need a free trial
With this and many other grocery apps, search the items on your shopping list in the Ibotta app before you head to your local store. Once you get home, take a photo of your receipt and scan the barcodes.
That’s it! You get your money back!
And the good news? Downloading Ibotta is free! You also get a $10 sign-up bonus after uploading your first receipt!
Check out the other free apps we recommend:
Avoid the Inner Aisles
You may not be aware of it, but, groceries and supermarkets strategically design their stores by placing the essential ingredients like dairy products or fresh produce on the opposite ends of the store.
This strategy forces shoppers to pass through all the aisles, which will often cause you to impulse buy and pick up food items you don’t need! For me, this always results in food waste.
Avoid the inner aisles of the stores and stick just to what you need. Plus, the healthier foods are on the outside edge – all of the processed and unhealthy foods are in the center of the store.
Look Up and Down
Eye-level shelves stock the priciest items. Since we tend to look at the items at our eye level, most grocery stores and supermarkets place their more expensive food and household items on these shelves first.
To get a better deal or for better prices, look at the higher and lower shelves first.
Don’t Be Tempted By Brand Names
Many of us are used to buying a particular brand of sugar, cereals, or even hand soap — but buying the generic options and store brands almost always means you’re getting the cheaper prices!
Often, these generic brands use name-brand products with their own labels on them and they are priced much lower. Next time compare the generic products ingredients against the name brand you normally buy and you might be surprised to see they are the same.
Earn Extra money and Bucks By Sharing Your Thoughts on Food
Packaged food companies will pay you for sharing your thoughts. These companies are gathering data on what shoppers think about their products.
These companies use sites like the Opinion Outpost or Swagbucks. These websites can help you earn an extra $20 or more every month just by answering surveys! Most of these surveys pay between $3 to $4 dollars and will take about 20 minutes of your time. You can answer them while lounging at the pool, or waiting in the school pickup line.
Don’t Add Razors To Your List
Did you know that razors are much more expensive at the store? Save more when you take the razors off your grocery list and subscribe to subscription boxes offering razors and other toiletries.
Dollar Shave Club has an affordable monthly subscription. It helps save you a lot of hassle comparing prices of different razors. You also get to try different toiletries every month. Their subscriptions range: $3, $6 or $9.
Don’t Shop Hungry
Many of us go to the grocery store after work or before eating dinner, the time when we feel hungry. If you buy your groceries when you are hungry, you are purchasing more than what you need (and probably more than you need to eat – like that candy bar or ice cream you didn’t have on your list).
Try to shop on the weekends and shop on a full stomach. You will be surprised at how much easier it is to stick to your list.
Say No to Prepared Foods
No matter how good they look, stop buying pre-made foods. You are at the store already so buy the ingredients and make a bunch that you and your family can enjoy at home.
Plus, home cooked meals taste much better, right?
Eat In Season
Eat the produce that is in season. Not only does the food taste a lot better, but you can also save a lot of money,. Out of season products are way more expensive since they are collected from other places.
Start Collecting Points For Free Gift Cards
Who says no to free gift cards without doing anything? This is why the Drop app is a must-have.
All you need to do is to link your credit card and debit cards. Once you make a qualified purchase, you will automatically earn points from it! These points will add up, and you can exchange them for Amazon and Starbucks gift cards.
Stop Buying Exotic Spices
Although it’s a good idea to experiment and explore your cooking potential, it is not always a wise choice to buy those exotic spices at your local grocery store. Head to the International market or Asian racks to save a ton on those specialty ingredients.
Leave The Kids At Home
While there are times when you cannot avoid leaving your children at home, try to buy your groceries when they are not around. Kids often want to buy food that they don’t need and it’s not easy to say no. Or you’ll get frustrated because they want to buy everything or leave and you’ll end up grabbing things you don’t need or leaving without everything on your list.
Pre-Cut Fruit is Going to Cost More
If someone is getting paid to do a job, like cutting watermelon, mango, or onions, you’re going to pay for it. Do it yourself. If you need the convenience of having it already cut, do it yourself on the weekend and store until you need it.
Get 1.5% Back On Your Grocery Store Purchases
If you are not using rewards cards or are not a part of the loyalty program when making grocery purchases, you’re losing so much money.
Try the Chase Freedom Unlimited Card. This card lets you earn an unlimited 1.5% cash back on all your purchases. Plus, if you get to spend at least $500 during your first three months from account opening, you will get a bonus of $150.
Plus, the Chase Freedom Unlimited Card doesn’t have an annual fee and the rewards don’t expire!
What tips do you have for saving on grocery shopping?
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