We’ve all felt the pain of emptying our grocery cart onto the conveyer belt only to see the total creep way past our planned budget. With a little planning you can lower your grocery cost without sacrificing quality. Below are 11 smart ways to lower your grocery bill.
1) Check the Price Per Ounce
I can’t count the number of times I was almost tricked into buying a more expensive product because it appeared cheaper on the shelf. Once I actually looked at the price per ounce I was shocked that marketing had once again fooled me. Often times product A might have a lower overall price than product B next to it.
When you check the price per ounce you see that you’re actually paying more per ounce for product A because product B is a larger amount. Always check the price per ounce. Usually the larger amount you buy the cheaper it will be but be aware of this caveat…
2) Buy in Bulk Only for What You Can Consume
I know buy in bulk is a tried and true strategy. One aspect that often gets overlooked is the caveat that you should only buy what you can actually consume before it goes bad. Costco is the undisputed king of bulk groceries. It seems like a no brainer to buy in bulk and always go for the cheapest price per ounce.
With this strategy you need to be honest with yourself about how much of a product you’ll actually consume. A 1 LB bag of kale for $3.99 isn’t as good of a deal as a 3 LB bag for $6.99 but if you’re only going to consume 1 LB of kale in the next two weeks you’re still wasting $3 and 2 LB of kale by buying the larger amount.
On nonperishable goods buy in bulk all day. We buy rice by the 25 LB sack. It’s way cheaper than buying each pound individually. On food that will go bad in a week or two be conscious that you aren’t buying more than you can eat.
In this kale example if you know your family will really eat about 2 pounds of the 3 LB bag it becomes more of a question as to whether the monetary savings is worth the food waste to you. You’re saving $1 by buying one 3 LB bag over buying two 1 LB bags but you’re wasting a pound of kale. That’s a choice only you can make.
3) 10/$10 Means 1/$1
Another common grocery store trick is to advertise sales by saying a particular product is 10 for $10. This makes people assume they need to buy all 10 in order to receive the sale price. This is untrue. 10/$10 means you can buy 1 for $1 and any number in between. The sale price of the item is $1, it doesn’t matter how many you buy. I am an ashamed sucker for this marketing ploy. Don’t get tricked into buying more than you need simply because the sign says 10/$10.
A similar sign might say “buy one get one free.” In this case you need to actually get two because you’re paying full price for the first item. If you choose not to pick up the free item that’s your loss.
4) Don’t Shop Hungry
I think we’ve probably all heard it’s not a good idea to grocery shop when you’re hungry. It seems like an obvious rule but it deserves a mention. When you shop hungry your body is craving simply carbs and sugars. This means you’re going to be tempted to buy all those delicious looking packaged foods.
No matter how strong your willpower is you’ll eventually give in and buy unhealthy options that don’t give your body the nutrients it needs. A good one-two combo is to eat before you go shopping and make sure to…
5) Have a List and Meal Plan
When you have a list you’re less likely to impulse buy. If you can’t stomach the idea of only buying what’s on your list make a rule for yourself that you’re only allowed one impulse buy per trip. Make a list when you’re not too full but not hungry. Having a list will save you money by keeping you from throwing junk into your cart. This will keep your waste slimmer and your wallet fatter.
Having meals planned out before you go to the grocery store goes hand in hand with having a list. Plan out what meals you want to make for the week and get the ingredients to make them. Think about how to make delicious but healthy meals that you’ll not only want to eat initially but you’ll want to eat as leftovers.
It does no good to make a great meal that could feed your family for several meals if you’re not going to eat the leftovers. Make meals that are good initially and when you reheat them.
Making a list and a meal plan will also limit the number of empty calorie snacks you buy which will save you even more money.
6) Buy Healthy, Calorie Dense Snacks
In a perfect world we would be able to eat our meals and not be tempted to snack in between. For most of us, this just isn’t realistic. You’re going to end up eating snacks so you may as well plan ahead and buy healthy ones.
Buying healthy, calorie dense snacks has the combination benefit keeping you away from unhealthy food and keeping you satiated in between meals. You can tell yourself that you’ll just eat a handful of lettuce as your snack but this is setting yourself up for failure. Even if you do find the willpower to eat lettuce at 3pm, in 10 minutes you’ll be hungry again and looking for something sweet.
Healthy, calorie dense snacks like cashews, peanut butter, dates, walnuts, cottage cheese will keep you satisfied and help fight off that craving. This will keep you healthier and save you money over prepackaged foods that cause your glucose to spike and leave you wanting more.
7) Fat Doesn’t Make you Fat, Sugar Does
A common mistake people make is to avoid healthy foods because they have a high fat content. Eating calorie dense foods like cashews, avocados and peanut butter won’t make you fat. Eating foods full of sugar will make you fat. Eating high protein and high fat will keep your body satisfied for longer.
You might see a low-fat candy bar is only a 100 calories but a handful of nuts is 200 calories and has more fat. It’s a mistake to think the candy bar is the healthier choice.
Check out this article by NPR about how the sugar industry quietly paid off Harvard scientists in the 1950s to shift the blame to fat and away from sugar. Even though sugar is widely known as the main culprit for obesity, the general public still fills their grocery carts with low-fat high sugar foods in the name of health.
8) Try Intermittent Fasting
This one might not be for everyone but I recommend trying intermittent fasting. Intermittent fasting essentially means you’re limiting your eating window to 8 hours per day. The idea is you still eat as many calories as you need but you just eat them in a smaller window.
This will save you money by limiting your snacking. When you’re trying to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner in an 8 hour window you won’t be hungry enough to snack in between. For more on intermittent fasting see this article:
Intermittent Fasting for Beginners – The Basics
9) Stay Away From the Middle Aisles
Grocery stores tend to place their healthier foods on the parameter and their unhealthy, prepackaged foods in the middle aisles. If you’re someone who easily gives in to temptation just stay away from those parts of the grocery store. All the good stuff you need is on the edge of the store. If you’re one of those people who has to walk down every isle you’re sabotaging yourself by leaving money in the store and pounds on your waste.
10) Don’t Bring Your Cart into the Middle Aisles
You don’t NEED anything from the chip aisle. If you WANT to get something from there leave your cart on the edge and go get your chips. Leaving your cart on the edge will force you to limit your impulse buys because you simply can’t carry anything extra.
Leaving your cart will also cause you to not dilly-dally in the junk food section. If you’ve got a cart full of groceries you’re going to be in a hurry to make sure nobody helps themselves to it.
Ideally you’ll stay on the outside edge of the store but if your list forces you to the interior just leave your cart somewhere that’s not in the way and go get whatever it is you wanted.
11) Be Conscious
This is an overarching way to save money on your grocery bill. Just be conscious. Conscious of what you’re putting into your cart. Think about what you’re buying and whether or not it will help you get to where you want to be.
Be conscious of different sale prices. Maybe a particular brand is usually less but a more expensive brand is having a sale. Take the time to widen your scope and see what’s around you. Don’t just throw something into your cart with no real idea how or when you’re going to consume it.
Recap:
Those are 11 smart ways to lower your grocery bill.
- Check the price
- Don’t get fooled by marketing
- Buy only what you can consume
- Don’t shop hungry
- Make a list
- Meal plan
- Buy healthy, calorie dense snacks
- Try Intermittent Fasting
- Stay away from the middle aisles
- Don’t bring your cart into the middle aisles
- Be conscious
I hope this list will help you save some money and make healthier decisions next time you’re out grocery shopping.
Here’s a few more articles about being healthy in general that you are excited to click on:
A Bunch of Weird Things We’re Doing to Be Healthy
How to Make Your Own Kombucha…Wait, Come Back
How I Lost 11 Pounds Drinking Kirkland Light
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