Affordable Living Guide to Grocery Shopping
Affordable living includes affordable shopping. Here are more than 10 grocery shopping tips that can help keep you and your family healthy and living affordably.
- Know what you have in the fridge and cupboard before you shop. Ever end up with three bottles of ketchup because you didn’t check the pantry before you made your list? A little preparation makes for more affordable shopping.
- Based on what you have at home, and a list of recipes, take the time to plan meals before you shop. Don’t buy more than you’ll cook before it spoils. Know the recipes you’ll be making and buy ingredients specific to those recipes to keep your shopping list to a minimum, with no waste.
- Make a grocery list before you go shopping. It will get you out of the store faster and prevent you from spending money on things you don’t need.
- Leave the kids at home, unless they’re old enough or disciplined enough to know that you’ll stick to your list and not give in to the extras they want thrown in to the cart.
- Compare per-weight cost. The cheapest box of cereal isn’t always the least expensive, if it’s smaller. Most grocery stores feature the per-ounce cost. This will tell you how much FOOD, not packaging, you’re getting for your money.
- Take advantage of sales! Check out weekly grocery store ads before you go shopping and stock up on items that can be stored. Canned goods, pasta and grains have long shelf lives; poultry and meat freeze well.
- If a convenience item significantly reduces your time and hassles in the kitchen, it may be worth the extra cost. But anything that can be done quickly and easily at home, such as bagging small portions of chips and slicing cheese, can save you money.
- Meat matters. It’s one of the items that can add cost to your grocery list, so shop carefully. Processed and pre-packaged or convenience foods cost more money than when you do a little extra work yourself. While pre-cubed, pre-pounded or pre-seasoned meats or poultry can save you preparation time, they cost a lot more than plain cuts of meat. If you can spare a few minutes to cut, pound or season your meat, you’ll find the savings are significant. The more work done to poultry, the more it will cost you. If you have the time to remove the skin from the poultry yourself, or if you will be cooking bone-in pieces instead of boneless, then the poultry you purchase will be less expensive. Look for family packs whenever possible, as the price per pound is much lower, and it’s very easy to repackage the poultry into cooking portions.
- Eat less meat. By incorporating a few meatless meals into your cooking each week, you can cut cost from your grocery bill, and will end up a little lighter and healthier.
- Coupons count! A few dollars per week adds up to real savings over the course of a year. File all your coupons in a convenient place where you will remember to bring them to the grocery store. They’ll do you no good stuck in a drawer at home.
- Stay out of the middle! Shopping the perimeter of the grocery store keeps your shopping cart healthier, with less packaging and processing, and less cost. We like to call this “donut shopping” although ironically, it means avoiding the donut aisle.
- Keep it colorful. More color in your diet means more fresh foods, more fruits and vegetables and less packaging, processing and cost for convenience.
- Eat what’s in season. Don’t buy strawberries in January, or winter squash in July. What’s in season usually tops the list of your grocery store’s most affordable grocery specials.
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