Do you want to save money on your grocery bills but don’t know where or how to begin? If you answered yes, then this article will be a great resource for you and offer some valuable tips. This article will teach you the best ways to save on your grocery bill.
There are many different ways to cut down on the costs of your grocery shopping. Your grocery shopping costs can easily be 15% – 30% of what you make. This puts a strain on your budget if you don’t plan and shop wisely. A full month grocery bill can take a huge bite out of your household budget.
Grocery bills can be notoriously difficult to budget for and keep on track. Everyone knows that saving money is a wise thing to do. Purchasing groceries is one of the most significant expenses that can add up quickly. Many people talk about reducing their grocery bills. However, when they are asked what they do for it, they hardly come up with an answer. To save a little extra in your monthly budget, all you need is to plan and adopt money-saving ways.
Best 21 Tips to Save Money on Your Grocery Bill
If you want to save money on groceries without giving up on any food you love, we will tell you some tricks. You can keep your grocery expenses low with these 21 easy tips.
Decide How Often to Shop
The first step is to determine when to go shopping. Based on requirements, you can decide whether to opt for a monthly or weekly shopping practice.
Nuclear families find it convenient to go weekly grocery shopping, whereas extended families choose to buy the groceries for the whole month. It depends upon the size of the family and their comfort. However, to buy fresh fruits and vegetables, many people fractionalize their shopping list items into weekly and monthly purchases.
Check the Stock First
Before you decide what you are going to purchase from the supermarket, make sure you know what you already have. First, keep a note of all the things that you have at home and can be utilized till next grocery shopping.
It will help you avoid spending on products that are already available in your last month’s stock. Also, it will ensure that you do not end up buying things that will be more than sufficient for the month.
Prepare a Shopping List
Once you have checked your pantry, it’s time to write down the list of items that are necessary to purchase for the month. Prepare this list by considering your cooking and eating habits. If you have a list in your hand, you will not forget essential items and will not spend on unnecessary things.
The list may include shopping for eatables to have three meals a day, along with snacks. Also, you can add and record special items that are used occasionally and are not to be purchased in every month’s grocery shopping. This way, you can figure out extra expenses each month and avoid them whenever needed.
Finalize Grocery Budget
For efficient and money-saving grocery shopping, it is important to estimate the amount that you can spend on it. Here, grocery budgeting can be a daunting task. But depending upon income, preference, availability, you can finalize it.
Do keep this budget in mind while you head towards a supermarket and make sure you do not exceed it. The best approach is to first pick essential things and then go for purchasing extra stuff. If you do not follow the budget, you will not be saving money, and your grocery bill might surprise you.
Categorize Eatables & Household Stuff
Categorizing the list into things that you can purchase once a month and things that are to be purchased more frequently will help to save more.
For example, if you want to buy fresh fruits and vegetables or dairy products, you will have to revisit the store in 2-3 days. On the other hand, you can purchase condiments, beverages, snacks, etc., once a month.
Moreover, many mega-stores offer exclusive discounts on household products. For better savings, you can choose to buy laundry items from them.
Choose Where to Buy From
No doubts, supermarkets are equipped with all kinds of grocery stuff. But, shopping from there is not an affordable option always. You can go out shopping in the local market especially for buying fresh vegetables and fruits.
Here, the plus point is that local farmers will have freshly picked produce, and their prices will be comparatively low. Additionally, the fresh produce is more favorable for preserving it.
Switch to Other Grocery Store
You will find that not all the stores sell the same goods at the same price.
Sometimes grocery stores sell their products at an increased price because of their fame and popularity. Also, some stores add hidden costs to the final bill amount.
To avoid paying extra money on the bill, you can try some other stores. However, you should not do this at the cost of compromising the food quality.
Don’t Shop with an Empty Stomach
Whether you agree with the fact or not, but if you go out grocery shopping with an empty stomach, you will end up buying lots of unnecessary things.
Therefore, if you want to save your money, do not go shopping when you are hungry. Do have your meal before going to the market, otherwise, you are more likely to add items that will increase your total bill amount.
Try Online Shopping
Nowadays, many people prefer to shop online. The main reasons behind it are the ease of accessibility and ease of sticking to the budget. It becomes simple to compare the price of different products that vary in weight and quality and make decisions accordingly.
However, before placing the order, make sure that you go through the terms and conditions for the refund and exchange process.
Grab Cashback Offers
Many applications offer exclusive cashback to customers on grocery shopping. These grocery rebate apps help save the cost that incurs in purchasing monthly items.
Moreover, you can use these apps simply by creating an account. Later, choose the name of the store you want to purchase things from, go shopping and redeem the cashback.
Coupons can Help Savings
Coupons are advantageous if used wisely. However, you are mistaken if you think that coupons will help you purchase the items at half of their price every time.
These days supermarkets offer digital coupons to their customers to increase their sales and enhance user experience. These can help you in cost-cutting, however, for this, you might have to register for their loyalty card. They usually share the coupons via email. Thus before going to the supermarket, check if you can redeem any of it.
Avoid Bulk Buying
Another factor that you should take care of while doing grocery shopping is quantity. Ensure that you only purchase things that you are going to use and that are enough for you.
One of the common malpractice is to buy things in bulk because of exclusive deals. Just because you are getting the item at a lower price does not mean that you should buy them in extra quantity. If you do so, there are chances that you might end up wasting them or exceeding your budget.
Keep an Eye on Cart Value
Whenever you pick an item from the supermarket to put in your cart, have a look at its price. It will help you to have an idea of how much you are spending on any particular product. And, will help you avoid purchasing expensive things that you think will exceed your budget unnecessarily. Further, you can track the number of things you can add to your grocery budget.
Compare Rates Based on Weight
You will find a wide range of packaging of a single product in the store. They will vary in weight and price. The best practice to purchase goods is to compare them by their weight.
For example, if you want to purchase 1 Kg of rice, you might have two options. The first is to choose two packets of half Kg packaging. The second is to buy a single pack of 1 Kg. It is here that you should compare which one will cost you less.
Select Store Brands
It is not always true that products with brand names are high quality and better for use. In fact, many store brands sell products that are affordable and good in quality.
According to a recent statistic, you can save a large portion of your money spent on groceries if you stick to store brands. You can switch to store brands first by trying some of its products. If you find that they are fine, you can save money by buying more of their products.
Check Expiry Dates
While buying the goods, you must check the expiry date of the products. Look for the items that have a longer “best before” period. It will help you to prevent the wastage that might take place if you fail to consume the product for a longer time.
Preserve Seasonal Foods
In-season vegetables and fruits are affordable to purchase. You can preserve them to use them for a longer period. However, this does not mean that you start preserving anything available at cheaper rates.
Choose things to preserve that you are going to use in the future. You can buy fresh herbs or dry herbs to use later. And the best thing is you do not require any special equipment to do so. You simply put them right away into the refrigerator.
Always Check What’s on Sale
For gaining maximum benefits from the sale, you should know when the products you want go on sale. This way, you can schedule your visit to the store on the sale day.
Also, compare if the price is dropped or not, are there any hidden charges or ambiguity in the sales offer. However, while choosing a sales product, you have to be extra careful about its quality and quantity. Do not be duped by fake offers.
Opt for Cash Payments
It is surprising, but making bill payments in cash will help you spend a bit less on your groceries. As when you choose to pay with cash, you know how much you can pay, or we say how much cash you are carrying. You will not purchase anything extra that you cannot pay for from the amount that you have in your pocket.
Don’t forget to Bring a Carry Bag
You might not agree that taking your carry bag for shopping will help you save money. But it does! Paying for a carry bag in the supermarket is an extra expense that you can reduce from your grocery bill by carrying it yourself.
Cross Check Your Bill and Items
To make sure that you are not overcharged by the store, do check your receipt and item price individually. There are possibilities that by mistake the price of a product is added twice, or maybe the wrong value is added.
If you witness any discrepancy in the bill, make sure to report it to the customer helpdesk of the store. They will review it and will refund the amount if needed.
What Else to Keep in Mind for Saving Money on Grocery Bill?
Saving money on your grocery bill does not mean that you have to stop purchasing things you love. Preferably, it means to prioritize things before buying.
Another method to do so is to reduce food waste. You must cook food in the required quantity only. Cooking extra will lead to food wastage and running out of stock before time. The best way to cope with food wastage is to store it correctly. Be aware of the techniques to store fruits and vegetables separately to keep them fresh for longer. Many joint families prefer to buy food in bulk. However, they should take care of the fact to stock up things that can be used for a longer time.
Moreover, you should avoid purchasing ready-to-eat foods. These are comparatively expensive than homemade food. People wonder if their eating habits affect their grocery budget. Well, of course! Planning what you will be eating in the coming days will ensure that you purchase what you require.
Additionally, it is observed that families spend a lot in buying snacks at supermarkets. Not only they are expensive, but unhealthy as well. If you have kids in your family, prefer not to take them grocery shopping. As kids are more likely to purchase extra and unhealthy snacks.
So next time when you plan to buy groceries, do not forget these tips. Following these easy habits can help you to lower down your grocery expenses that can be used for a better purpose.
