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For most people, grocery shopping is one of the biggest expenses in their budget each month. On average, an American household spent around $4,942 on groceries each year, according to data from the 2020 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
This comes to around $412 a month, which for most people doesn’t leave a lot of extra cash for other expenses or luxuries. If you are looking for new ways to save money at the grocery store, you’re in the right place.
If you want to save more on groceries or stick to a budget, continue reading. Here are six helpful tips.
Get a Cash Back Credit Card
If your grocery bill is a huge part of your monthly spending, there is a way to get some of that money back. Some credit card companies offer cash back on certain purchases, including groceries. The percentage you earn back will depend on your credit card company. However, some credit cards offer up to 6% cash back on purchases.
However, this doesn’t apply to all groceries, and there are some restrictions regarding where you can shop to earn cash back. Certain big box stores like Target or Walmart will not earn you cash back, as with wholesale clubs like Costco and BJ’s. Despite these limits, you can still earn money back on your grocery purchases at grocery stores like Whole Foods, Shoprite, Trader Joe’s, and more.
Join a Wholesale Club
Wholesale clubs are a great way to buy discount items in bulk. If you have a family or like to be fully stocked with the products you use, this is a great place to shop. While wholesale clubs are a great way to save money, they do require an annual membership fee. Stores like Costco, Sam’s Club, and Bj’s can be found all over the country, so there is definitely one near you.
Food items like beans, nuts, seeds, canned goods, dried fruit, and meats can all be purchased for a better price than you’d get at a grocery store. You’ll obviously pay more because you are buying in larger quantities, but to get the same amount at a store that isn’t a wholesale club would cost you a lot more.
Wholesale clubs also have much more than food items. You can also pick up a lot of household goods here too. These stores have bulk amounts of toilet paper, toothpaste, shampoo, and cleaning supplies. While you might be unable to earn cash back on these items with a rewards credit card, the savings might be worth it.
Make a List
Your savings will come from what you do before you even step into a store. Having no plan when you arrive at the grocery store will make it very easy for you to buy things you don’t need and won’t use. Food waste is not only a waste of your money, but it is also a bad habit to get into in general.
Before going to the grocery store, you should sit down and plan out your meals for the upcoming week or month, depending on how often you do your grocery shopping. Once you know what you are going to make, you can work on an ingredients list. Check your pantry and cabinet to ensure you don’t already have anything so those items do not go to waste.
You can also save money by planning several meals using the same ingredient. For example, if you buy and cook a whole chicken, you can use this in several different recipes throughout the week. If you don’t want to eat that much chicken all week, freeze what you can’t use right away and then pull it out another week. When freezing food, doing so in easy-to-use portions will save you a lot of time and reduce the risk of that food going to waste.
Do-it-Yourself Meals
Picking up a premade meal may be easy, but it is certainly not the cost-effective way to eat. With a busy schedule and other responsibilities, we don’t always have time to cook a healthy, homemade meal each day.
This is the beauty of food prep. Instead of setting time aside each day to whip up an elaborate meal, you can take some time one day out of the week and premake lunch, dinner, breakfast, or all three for the upcoming week.
Meal prepping offers the same convenience as that premade meal you usually pick up, but it’s better for your body and your wallet. You can find meal prep inspiration on the internet or make your favorite long-lasting meals and portion them accordingly.
One thing to be mindful of when meal prepping is that you don’t want to make more than you can actually eat. This could take some getting used to, but a good rule is to leave some meals open, especially if you enjoy going out to eat or changing it up in the middle of the week.
Just like with ingredients, if you are unable to finish a meal that you prepared earlier that week, throw it in the freezer. Keep in mind, however, that not all food items freeze well, and you may really prefer the taste and texture of some of your meals before you freeze them.
Go Generic
You may feel really loyal to brand-named food items, but have you ever stopped to think why this is? In all likelihood, it has little to do with the quality or ingredients and is mostly about habit and marketing.
The truth is most generic brands have the same, if not nearly the same, ingredients as the name brand item for a fraction of the cost. If you try the generic brand and really taste a difference, stick to the brand name, but how will you ever know if you don’t try it?
When you go to the grocery store, take a look at the off-brand items for foods you love, and if there is a significant price difference, try them out. You may be surprised by how many switches you can make to save money.
Shop Around
Sometimes different stores will have different prices for the exact same items. So, it could be helpful for you to make trips to several stores while you are grocery shopping. For example, you might be able to get really cheap canned goods at a store like Walmart, but their produce is really expensive.
Instead of buying produce there, you head to a local market with good prices and quality fruits and vegetables. You may be making a trip to two different stores to get everything on your list, but you’ll get better-quality items for the best prices.