After we had our son Brody, we went from a 2 income family of 3 people, to a 1 income family of 4 people (now 5!). (Plus we have Izak every other weekend). This meant that I had to buy more things, on less income. I had to really think about how I was shopping, and what I was buying.
These are a couple things I have learned that have made my grocery bill decrease significantly!! I will be adding to this post as I think of, or learn new tips!
(Some tips I have covered in their own post - click on the link to read more!)
1. Shop Smart! - See my post about How I Shop Smart.
2. STOCKPILE!! - Buy pantry staples or things you know you'll use when they are their cheapest. Watch for really good sales, and wait to buy (and use your coupons!) until then. And buy as much as your grocery budget that week will allow. Buying it when it is cheapest versus buying it when you need it will help you save significantly!
3. Plan your meals around what is on sale - Look at the meats that are on sale, find meals that you can make with them, keeping in mind what other ingredients are on sale, or in your pantry. (Read more on Meal Planning here)
3. Drop brand loyalty - I buy which ever brand of an item I can get the cheapest, through sales or coupons. Most of the time, there is little or no difference. (There are exceptions to this rule. Like Oreos. I can't buy generic Oreos!)
4. Make a price book - I made a list of items I use regularly, and then priced them at the stores I shop weekly, and made note of what is cheaper where, and buy that item at that store. This also lets me know if a sale at another store is a good price, and when and where to use my coupons. It took me a few weeks of pricing out products at stores, but it is totally worth it!
5. Buy in bulk, when it's cheaper - I am super lucky to have a free membership to Costco, so I also priced out my regular purchases and there and compared prices per unit (ounce, pound, etc) to other stores on my list. Things that are cheaper there, I try and buy there. Somethings may be priced cheaper there, but I can actually get them cheaper at another store with a coupon (since Costco doesn't accept manufacturer coupons). This is why it is good to have a price book!
6. Stop paying for convenience - Instead of buying bagged salad, buy a head of lettuce. Instead of individual cups of applesauce, buy a big bottle and put into reusable containers. Buy frozen juice concentrate, instead of bottles of ready to drink juice. It doesn't take that much time to do the work yourself, and you can save a lot!
7. Stop throwing away food - I plan our weekly menu so that I make meals that require fresh ingredients, that may go bad quickly, soon after the grocery trip. Meals that use more hearty or frozen veggies, I plan to make later in the week. (This also saves me from running to the local store for these items during the week, and paying more for them then I usually would.) I go thorough the fridge each week when I'm putting away groceries, and inventory what I have in there and make note to try and use it up. We eat dinner leftovers for lunch. And I try not to buy more fruits and veggies then I know we can eat before they go bad.
8. Don't waste - think of ways to use everything. Save butter wrappers to use to grease baking dishes. Use the butts from bread loaves to make homemade bread crumbs or croutons. Be creative!
9. Eat what is in season - When fresh foods are in season, they are extremely cheaper!! Take advantage of this! Learn when different things are in season, and think of ways to use them. It is coming to the end of the season for pears, so this week I was able to get 14 lbs for $5.88!! (that's 42 cents a pound!!). So I will being making my own canned pears this week. Sadly, this also means sometimes we don't get our favorites when they aren't in season. Poor Brody LOVES blueberries, but when they aren't in season, they can be like $6.00/pint (versus about $2.00/pint - or sometimes less - when they are in season) and I can't always justify that cost. So he still gets them occasionally, but not as often as when they are cheaper.
10. Grow a Garden - You will have fresh foods right in your yard
