Even though I try and share money saving tips often here on One Hundred Dollars a Month I thought I would reiterate a couple of my top money-saving techniques when I hit the stores. Next to most people’s’ housing expenses, food is one of the highest overall monthly expenditures. If you are looking for ways to save this year, here’s how I do it:
- Convenience costs. Convenience foods, on average, costs way more than foods you have to prepare yourself. Even whole food convenience costs extra. A package of pre-cut carrots will cost you a lot more pound for pound than carrots you take home to peel and cut yourself. The same applies for pre-cut fruit and pre-bagged salad. The more you cook from unprocessed whole foods, the more you’ll save.
- Make your own spice mixes. If you keep your spice cupboard stocked with the basics {check out ways to save by purchasing these in bulk}, you can make pretty much any spice mix and save tons.
- Shop top and bottom shelves. Grocery stores put all of there most expensive items at eye level. Next time you’re shopping, compare prices on the top and bottom with those on the middle shelves.
- Shop weekly and look for discounts and markdowns on expensive items such as meat. If you can menu plan on the fly, this can be a really great option. Stores will mark down perfectly good food in order to ensure they get rid of it in a timely manner.
- Shop alone. I know this is easier said than done, but if at all possible, leave the kiddos at home. It’s easier to stick to a list and avoid junk and flashy packaging when their cute little faces aren’t staring up at you.
- I’m sure you’ve heard this, but don’t shop when you’re hungry or tired. You’re more likely load up on dense carbohydrates you wouldn’t have if you had been well-rested and full.
- While it is awesome to score a deal on an in-store markdown, make sure to have a list too. It will keep you from throwing items in the cart “just in case” you were out at home, only to find you had plenty.
- Look at unit price {price per ounce, etc.}. Sometimes the “family size” isn’t a better bargain.
- Don’t be afraid of generic or store brands. Brand names come at a cost–someone has to pay the bill for advertising and packaging, and that someone is usually you.
- Don’t buy what you want, buy what’s on sale. Our weekly produce purchases center entirely around what is on sale. I comb ads, and sometimes pick up good deals on the fly. If that means we are having the same thing all week, well then, that’s what it means.
- Eat seasonally. This is right in line with #10, but eating seasonally will likely get you the best deals and the best nutrition. Grapes in January? Probably not.
- Use what you have. This is the entire reason I can. There are periods during the year that are like a produce void. Those weeks, I skip the stores entirely and pull jars from my pantry instead. Canned pears, canned green beans and frozen Zaycon chicken end up on the menu a lot. Using what you have also minimizes waste–which is like tossing money into the garbage.
- Keep 10% of your monthly grocery budget for stock-up items. If a sale hits on a staple item, you’ll have money in the budget to stock up, without dipping into your weekly allotment. Buying staples when prices are low will save you tons too.
- Clip coupons. The days of extreme couponing are over, but that doesn’t mean every penny counts. Clip those coupons if it was something you planned on buying anyway!
- Menu plan. We all know that I suck at this, but really, I think I do it more planning than I give myself credit for…I just keep most of my standard go-to meals up in my head, and plan out our week of meals as I shop the deals. I only buy what I need to make the meal. For EXTREME savings, create a standard rotating menu that you don’t deviate from. This can be 3, 5, 10 meals–whatever works for you. Shop for those ingredients and nothing else. You may want to change up the plan seasonally to accommodate the produce savings.
Any that I missed?
~Mavis
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