Cutting grocery costs takes dedication, discipline and a few tips here and there. There have been times that I go grocery shopping without a list. I instantly regret it. Why? I regret it because I spent more than I wanted to. My budget was blown by carelessness. Taking the time each month to budget is important, and it takes away time I spend with my family. To throw it away on a whim means that time was wasted.
Right now grocery prices are high. Last week I was purchasing ingredients for a homemade cake. Homemade is supposed to be cheaper, and I imagine it was, but the cost was still close to $30.00. My son wanted this special Macadamian Chocolate cake, so I made it. The one thing I strayed apart from on the list was one of the more expensive items. Of course when I bought it, the regret kicked in, then I justified it with the “one time” birthday deal. But, the bottom line is that I really didn’t need to purchase that flavor of ice cream for that price. There were cheaper ice cream. We pay a price for novelty, and this novelty cost me more than I needed to spend.
Here are a few ways that I have come up with to help me the next time I want to cut my grocery costs:
Grocery Shop After Dinner
Grocery shop after dinner. When I purchased the ice cream I was hungry. It was hot outside and this ice cream sounded good. If I would have shopped after dinner then it would have helped me to pick another ice cream. Initially, I wasn’t going to buy any ice cream, and that was the route I should have stayed on.
Going to the store when you are hungry is one of the quickest ways to spend more money. Everything sounds good. Try very hard if you do go before dinner to stick to the grocery list. Opting to go off of the list and buy a bunch of random stuff will lead to the regret I experienced. Be guilt free and shop on the list.
Cut Grocery Costs With Meatless Meals
Meatless meals are possible. We eat chicken once a week, beef once a week and seafood once a week. Other nights are meatless. Find different ways to feed your family to overcome high grocery costs. Try spaghetti without meat, salads, chips and dip, or spinach dip with bread. Any meal can be made without meat.
We eat a lot of peanut butter and jelly for lunch, especially in the summer. Since bread gets moldy quickly it is easier and more cost efficient to use fajitas. This was another way the we went meatless and innovated our lunch.
Learn Old Fashioned Food Preservation Skills
After you have grocery shopped and created meals without meat try food preservation. Several year’s ago when my kids were little I learned to can food. I can follow a recipe book and the basics of canning were in there. Now, my garden is planned by what I plan to eat in the winter. Lots of tomato sauce for chili’s, spaghetti and pizza. I also can pickles, and hot peppers.
Another way to preserve food is to freeze it. Zucchini, beans and corn are frozen from our garden. I use it in breads, soups and casseroles. Canning and freezing are my main go to ways to preserve food.
Buy Generic Brands
From my lesson with the ice cream I have learned to not buy the name brand. Ice cream, canned food, bread or whatever is just as good if it is the grocery store brand. Generic brand means that it is still the same product but different label. The store is able to sell it cheaper because it is their brand and the money going into the product isn’t outsourced. Financial freedom comes from being frugal. There are steps to being more frugal and learning when to buy off brand is one of them. My casserole doesn’t care what type of corn I add to it, and to be frugal paying for a label is silly.
Start by identifying what you are want to buy from grocery costs. To make more drastic changes in our grocery budget implement one or all of these methods. Combined they will help you to save more each month.
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