Groceries are expensive! Everyone feels it. If you find yourself wondering how to save money on groceries for a family, then let’s discuss a few quick tips that are sure to help the grocery bill!
Set a budget and stick to it.
Setting a budget for groceries can be really tricky. Do we include consumables like toilet paper? What about party food?
If you are starting from scratch, I’d recommend just keeping track of what you spend for a month and be enlightened there first.
We don’t include toilet paper or shampoo in our grocery budget. It’s hard enough to keep the grocery budget on track.
Some families do include all consumables in their grocery budget. This is something you will have to decide for your own family.
You will also have to decide on your family’s priorities in this area. If you’re trying to strap down really lean and save as much money as possible, you will have a much lower budget for groceries.
But, if you choose to prioritize more healthy choices then you will have to adjust your budget to allow some of those healthier options. All this will need to be factored in as you decide on your family’s grocery budget.
This article discusses how to create a grocery budget.
Meal planning to save money on groceries
There are plenty of ways to save money on the grocery budget, but the absolute number one top tip is…. Meal Plan.
If you do nothing else to save money on groceries, meal planning will still save you a notable amount of money!
Meal planning is a wonderful way to be the boss of your own grocery shopping list. Otherwise you may wander around the store and spend a few hundred dollars and come out with nothing that goes together as a meal.
Having a plan is a must.
Meal planning is also a great way to reduce your food waste. And when you’re working so hard to save money on groceries you’re going to appreciate consuming all of that food!
For more discussion on how to plan meals please see this post.
Go it alone
When at all possible, go to the grocery store by yourself.
Bringing the family along is just going to muddy the grocery list, and you will end up with a cart full of impulse buys.
Going to the store by yourself (or sending your husband by himself if he can be trusted to stick to the list) will help you adhere to your carefully crafted plan.
Impulse purchases are bound to happen at times, but be sure to be intentional and have a plan for it.
Also, try to only go to the grocery store once a week (or biweekly) to reduce temptation for impulse purchases!
Generic brands are usually just as good
At our local grocery store it’s not unusual to see that bright sale sticker on a brand name item and even the discounted sale price is higher than the same item in generic.
Most items are the exact same for the store brands as they are for the more expensive name brand! (Some name brands are unbeatable in quality though.)
But if you are cruising through your grocery store and you see an item on your list happens to be on sale, you’re going to be tempted to just grab the big sale sticker without reading the prices on the generic brand.
Slow down and consider the unit price for each item. Your food budget is sure to thank you!
Another quick note on buying food items on sale. Be sure to check the expiration date on sale items, because although it’s illegal for stores to sell expired foods it does still happen.
Know your grocery prices
Knowing what a normal price is for items you frequently buy is going to be an immense help.
We used to buy a certain item that was sold for $8. The price suddenly jumped to $12. That’s a HUGE percentage increase!
We chose to stop buying that item until it was on sale or just do without it.
You may think… That’s only $4, it’s not a big deal. But I assure you, every dollar counts!
When you’re at the end of your month and see you only have $14 left in the grocery budget and you need milk and eggs, you are going to with you had saved that $4.
If you’re really trying to crack down on your grocery spending, you could even take a notebook to the store with you and jot down the prices of all your pantry staples.
This may seem extreme, but it is such an eye-opening experience!
Knowing which prices are “normal” is going to be so helpful…..because there’s never an announcement when the price increases. Those bright stickers are only to inform you of lower prices.
Avoid convenience items or multiples
Anything we buy from the grocery store that is pre-mixed, pre-sliced, or pre-cooked is going to be sold at a higher cost.
Take a step back from your frequently purchased food items and consider if there are any that you could do in whole instead.
For instance, in the fresh produce department it’s much more expensive to purchase a salad kit (everything chopped and ready to go) than it is to chop your own greens.
What about taco seasoning? When we buy pre-mixed taco seasoning, but we already have all those spices in our cupboard we are losing money!
What about multiple varieties of certain food items?
How many flavors of chips do we need to have at one time? Perhaps, if you’re really trying to get a grip on the grocery budget, you could decide for a time to only buy one flavor of snack item.
Or maybe it’s the time to forego junk food entirely.
Try to not be too hard on yourself in this area. We want to reduce our food costs without reducing our sanity too much!
We could certainly drive ourselves bonkers trying to bake our own bread from scratch and only serve homemade snacks made from time-intensive recipes.
Please know what season of life you are in and adjust accordingly. Sometimes our time is more valuable than a few dollars.
Affording groceries for a large family can be a daunting task.
It can be tempting to just put everything on credit cards and worry about it later, but that always will catch up to us.
Don’t fear. Have a plan. You can do this.
Just do your best to pay attention at your local store for the lowest price on the things you buy most.
Food prices fluctuate so much, but once you have a good idea of what things normally cost you can make better financial decisions.
Stock up when you see the better deals on your long shelf life items.
Shop the outside of the grocery stores, focusing on the fresh fruits, dairy products, and whole foods.
Sticking to in-season produce will always be the best deal and best quality for fresh items.
This may take some time to get accustomed to, but it will get easier and easier.
Keep trying, keep learning, and remember…
Homemaking matters!
God bless you.
Hi, I’m Stephanie! I’m a Christian wife, mom of 4, homeschooler, and a technically trained chef. I love creating a simple, beautiful life with our sweet family.
I’m so glad you’re here!
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