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So, you’re looking for 10 ways how to save money on groceries, eh?
Groceries are one of the biggest budget categories you might have. It’s food. You need it, there’s no escaping it.
So how can you really whittle down your grocery budget?
I can SHOW YOU!
I did this in the last year.
We were spending an EXORBITANT amount of money on food.
Not just groceries..I lump fast food into this too. And, what would get us was that we didn’t indulge in Taco Bell or Burger King (not very often at least), we splurged on restaurant food.
So while, the typical family might spend $20 at a drive-thru to feed the family, we were spending double that, yes $40 every time we’d go out to eat.
Keep reading to learn how I nixed my budget down by OVER 50%!
10 Ways How to Save Money on Groceries
Groceries
Ok, so I will be dividing this up into two sections. First up is groceries. This is all my grocery purchases. The next section will be all other food. Here we go..
1. Get Ibotta
Ibotta is an app that you can use in a bunch of different ways.
- Scan your receipt for cashback
- Scope out deals
- Refer friends and get paid
Scanning Your Receipt
There are a ton of apps that actually let you scan your receipt for cash back.
IT’s super easy. You just shop and keep your receipt. Then download the app and scan your receipt. The app will find opportunities to score you cash back and put that money on your Ibotta account. Then, you just cash out.
There are definitely things you can do to score more cash back with Ibotta.
You gotta scope out the deals first.
Scoping Out The Deals
Ok, so scoping out the deals.
The Ibotta app shows you local deals and sales in your area.
You will get a list of grocery stores and items eligible for cash back.
Craft your grocery list AROUND these items.
This is how you get THE MOST CASH BACK.
If you want to save the most money on groceries, you will learn that you may not be menu planning based on what you want to eat, but more so, based on what’s on sale. More on this down below.
That’s Ibotta in a nutshell.
It’s a free app, like all the resources shared here in this post.
Refer Friends
They pay you for referrals.
Refer friends and family with your unique code and make money. Easy!
Learn more and join Ibotta for FREE.
2. Make a List
Duh.
I used to shop WITHOUT a list in my college days.
Big mistake!
What happens when you shop listless?
You spend more time in the store than you need to then, you overbuy, spend more money, and don’t buy what you really need, which usually results to a trip BACK to the store, where you gotta spend more money.
Be organized and prepare a list in advanced.
Take your time with this and prepare a full list that will avoid you having to make those “extra inbetween” trips.
3. Don’t Shop Hungry
This has disaster spelled all over it.
I also used to do this when I was a college kid.
When you shop hungry you are gonna overbuy, guaranteed.
Avoid this by eating before you shop or take a snack.
4. Shop Multiple Stores
You gotta try shopping multiple stores.
Why?
Because all grocery stores are not created equal.
Here is how I do it:
I have Aldi and I have HEB. These are the stores I shop. I’m in Texas, by the way.
If you do not know about Aldi, they are a grocery chain with CHEAP prices.
They have a lot of off brand stuff, like Thin Mint Girl Scout-type cookies that ARE BETTER than the actual Girl Scout thin mint cookies. By the way, they have other knock off Girl Scout cookies too. All delish!
They also have some of the same items you’d find in Walmart and other stores. Like some of their cakes and breads are legit, exactly the same as Walmart, but they are Aldi brand or off brand.
You can find Almond Breeze-like almond milk for over a $1 cheaper and I can literally go on and on about all the awesome finds at Aldi.
The kicker?
You can’t find everything there.
So, I do 90% of my shopping at Aldi first.
Then, I supplement with HEB for those things that I can’t find at Aldi.
Give this a try to save some money.
Shop at a cheap grocery store, even The Dollar Tree for basics then supplement with another store.
5. Coupon
Clip coupons and use them.
Physical coupons and digital coupons.
Places to find digital coupons:
- Apps from your favorite stores
- Coupons.com
- Krazy Coupon Lady
Places to find physical coupons:
- Your grocery store
- Newspaper
All Other Food
Okie doke, this section is how to save on other food in your life.
6. Get the Starbucks App
If you are a Starbucks fanatic, get their app. It’s free and you can collect rewards, and a free drink or food item on your birthday, score!
They also notify you when they have deals, like BOGO any drink that happened this week!
7. Limit How Much You Eat Out
This is something my family did. We set a specific max number of times we’d eat out during the month, and that number is 4.
So, ideally, once a week we can enjoy a splurge of eating out.
This might sound like a lot, but it’s a big change from the 2-4 times/week we were eating out before.
8. Meal Prep
If you meal prep, that means you won’t ever get to a point where you are so hungry that you run out the house to grab fast food instead of preparing a meal at home.
You can also bring your lunches to work, pack cold lunch for your kids, and have easy food in the fridge for grab and go.
These meal prep containers are my favorite on Amazon.
9. Make coffee at home
If you really wanna save on your Starbucks indulgence, make coffee at home.
Brew your Keurig and take it to go in your pretty coffee tumbler. The end.
10. Buy Restaurant Gift Cards
You can go to these places and buy gift cards on discount:
- Giftcard Granny
- Raise
- Cardpool
You can get like a $20 gift card for $15, just an example.
So you get $5 off a gift card for the full value. Not bad, eh?
Final Word
Boom!
What do you think?
Share your thoughts down below.
