Aside from your mortgage, your biggest monthly expense is likely groceries. And unlike your mortgage, your car payment, and most of the rest of your bills you actually have some control over how much you spend at the grocery store. I’m always on the hunt for tips to keep your grocery spending under control.
Top Ways to Keep Your Grocery Spending Under Control
Make A Grocery Budget
Start by tracking how much you’re spending on groceries for a few weeks. From there, come up with a weekly or monthly budget. Allot that money for groceries and whatever you do don’t go over.
Next, try cutting back your budget by $20 per month. Keep going and see how low you can go. The remaining tips will help you do that without feeling like you’re depriving yourself.
Keep A Price Book
Who doesn’t love a bargain or a good deal? They are all over the store, but do you know if what they advertise as a good deal is actually saving you money?
Keep a little notebook in your purse or keep a text document on your phone with the regular prices of the items you buy most often. Not only can you see if that “deal” really is a deal, but you can also determine what kitchen staple is cheapest where and adjust your shopping accordingly. Your price book will also come in handy when you browse through weekly grocery flyers. You can decide if a loss leader deal is worth driving to the store long before you ever set a foot out the door.
Come Up With A Few Frugal Dishes
You don’t have to make drastic changes and eat nothing but rice and beans all week. Instead, think of a few inexpensive dishes your family enjoys. They may be rice and beans. Or how about a big pot of soup or chili. Often meatless dishes will be your best frugal bet or use meat in small portions on frugal dish days.
Enjoying frugal meals even just a handful of days during the month combined with using up any and all leftovers will make a big difference in your grocery budget.
Cut Out The Extras
Make a list before you head to the store and stick to it. All those little extras like the fancy bread from the bakery or the candy you grabbed at checkout start to add up. Get in the habit of skipping those extras unless there’s a good reason to buy them. Stick to your list and you’ll cut your grocery bill by quite a bit each week. It’s amazing how all those little extras add up.
Give these tips a try and see if you don’t start to see big savings on a weekly basis. What you do with all the extra money each month is up to you. Save up for a fun summer vacation, pay off those credit cards or start building your financial safety net.
Take Advantage of Coupons and Rebate Apps
My final tip is to take full advantage of coupon sites like Smart Source, P&G, and Red Plum. Don’t miss out on earning money back from expenses you’ve already done with Ibotta and Shop Kicks to name a few.
What methods do you use to keep your grocery spending under control?
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I am really bad with my financials so I’m glad I’ve come across your post! I’m taking notes on how to keep my money in check
I hope that they help you. Be sure to check out the post on Putting Money Back in Your Pockets for even more ideas.
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Nice tips you got there! It’s more easy to shop and my budget is nicely managed.
Glad you liked these tips too.
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These are all great prices! I also use an app called Flipp, so that I can price match everything and make sure that I’m getting the best price available.
Flipp is definitely an amazing resource to use.
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some interesting and amazing tips and ideas you have mentioned here..well glad you shared them with us..this information is very useful indeed..
I never go to the supermarket without a shopping list. Very rare I buy items that are not on it. If I do, they are usually things on offer which will save money in the long run
That’s wise of you!
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I find sticking to what we need and having a list helps. Naturally, it’s best not to shop hungry too!
Yes, it’s definitely not ideal to shop when you’re hungry or even if you just have a sweet tooth.
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Oh these are so helpful especially since I’ve been noticing my grocery spend increasing with almost each grocery run!
I’m glad you found them to be helpful.
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Thanks for sharing this, I have been trying to keep my bill around 70$ for the week and been buying local as much as I can. I live buy the water so I always get fresh fish.
The fact that you get fresh fish it’s probably an amazing feature for your family. I’ve tried to do a similar budget with our family of five, but it hasn’t always worked out to well.
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I used to have to shop this way because the money just didn’t stretch far enough. Fortunately now, there is plenty for groceries. We eat healthy food and spend a good amount of money, but we definitely don’t overdo it..
I always do a budget for grocery. So we can save more money if ever we need it for an emergency.
That’s quite smart of you! I’m sure it will make a positive difference in your life in the long run.
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I also experience impulse buying when I’m going grocery shopping, so this was really an interesting and helpful read! Thank you so much for sharing these tips with us!
It really is important not to overspend.
Impulse buying is dangerous, so this is really helpful!
Impulse buying is still my downfall from time to time.
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I have come up with new ways to cut down on spending too much on groceries because I am so guilty of this.
I am getting smarter with my shopping. Have a consistent list and keep your budget intact.
Those are definitely things that will help you stay on budget.
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I need to be better about making a list. I tend to buy impulse purchases at the grocery store.