Here are some tips to help you save on your household grocery bills. A large proportion of your budget probably goes towards groceries, every little bit helps towards saving.
Keep a tally on your grocery expenses
To save money, you must know what you are spending, so keep a list of everything you buy. You won’t know if you are saving money if you don’t know how much you are spending.Once you know you, can begin to budget and work towards a goal.
Try to keep your grocery costs separate from other living expenses.
Here are some great tips on how to save on groceries:
- You could save up to 50% on groceries by planning your menu a week in advance.
This helps you to use what you already have on hand, and gives you an opportunity check what’s on sale at the store. Plan all 3 meals a day for a week and go shopping for just the stuff you need that week.
You’ll avoid spending money on expensive heat ‘n eat meals, take-ways or eating out. You’ll be able to plan healthier, balanced meals - There are recipe websites and recipe apps that let you search by ingredients, so it’s easy to use what’s in the cupboard. Avoid pre-packed meals, cook from scratch, there are countless recipes online. You can also watch the cooking channels, or buy a beginners recipe book to be creative.
- Buy fresh produce – buy fresh carrots and celery, cut them into carrot and celery sticks to snack on when you’re on the go, its much cheaper and healthier than buying snacks from shops and cafés.
- If you can invest in a deep freezer, it will be worth it in the long term, as you can buy in bulk and save.
- Freeze leftovers – don’t throw them away, when life is really busy, you can simply pop something into the microwave from the freezer.
- Meat doesn’t have to be your main portion of the meal. Asian and Mediterranean style cooking, for example, uses less meat. Besides saving money, its also a very healthy and delicious way to eat.
- Never do your grocery shopping when you are hungry, or tired, you will be tempted to buy items that you don’t really need.
- Keep a running Grocery List and always take your list when you shop. Only buy what’s on the list. When you run out of a grocery item put it on the list straight away. You’ll spend less if you take a shopping list and stick to it.
- Ask yourself “are these purchases useful and necessary?”, you might already have a substitute item that you could use, so make sure every item you buy is needed first.
- Keep a look out for bargains – you won’t always remember the price of everything, but you’ll have an idea of the price of regular grocery items. So when you see it at a much lower price, take advantage.
- Cook up large batches of your favourite foods and put them away in the freezer to save time and money. Freezing soup and stews is also a good idea.
- Freeze seasonal produce – fresh produce such as broccoli, green peppers, sweetcorn, blueberries are cheaper at certain times of year and can be frozen. These items can sometimes be cheaper when bulk purchased from the frozen aisle. Most frozen items still carry the same health benefits.
- Shop Less. The more often you go shopping, the more you are likely to spend. Try to make your shopping trip no more than once per week. If that works, try for every two weeks, even every month.
- Avoid items sold at the checkout counter – most are luxury items intended for impulse buying, they are packed individually and are a lot more expensive.
- Shop at several different stores – you will eventually find out if one is consistently better with prices on certain items. One store may have competitive prices on fresh meat, while another is cheaper for vegetables and fruit.
- Avoid buying bottled water – install a water filter at home and take your water out with you in a nice glass bottle. Bottled water is more expensive than petrol in Australia!
- Herbs – even if you live in the city, it’s not difficult to plant a few herbs and use them for cooking.
- If a store offers a loyalty card get one, even if you don’t shop there all the time.
- Try store brands – they are often just as good as big name brands.
- Shop Solo – if at all possible leave the children at home with your hubby. The less people shopping with you the less you will spend.
- Items like paper goods and cleaning products are often less expensive at a big supermarket discount store.
- Watch the cash register – especially if the item is on sale, as it doesn’t always register the discounted price, keep an eye on this.
By following some of the tips above, you will have the extra funds to spend on special occasions or a night out as a family treat.