Feeding your family has never been more expensive than it is right now. In fact, since 2020, food and household essential items have doubled if not tripled in price. If you have been on social media lately, you may have seen some of the posts where people are picking a random grocery order from four years ago and reordering the exact same items today. In most cases the 2024 grocery cost jumped more than 100%. Saving money on your grocery bill is harder now for most people than it has been in the past.
Before the pandemic, before inflation and all the new social norms, I was an extreme couponer. No, not the TLC show version buying 80 bottles of barbeque sauce and breaking every couponing rule in existence — but I used paper coupons and sales to make my family’s grocery budget stretch much further than it could on its own. Now, in 2024, most of the tips you’ll find online for trying to stretch your grocery budget are simply no longer valid.
Thankfully, despite inflation and the disappearance of Sunday paper coupons, there are still ways for the average mom to save money on your grocery bill. Don’t worry, Mama. It doesn’t involve selling your firstborn or trying to manifest a money tree. In fact, these five easy tips for saving money on your grocery bill are so easy that your husband could probably use them… if you trusted him not to buy 80 boxes of cereal to feed your kids for a month.
So, how do we stretch your food budget? Let’s get into it.
Tip #1 My Secret Strategy for Saving Money at Walmart
For many moms, Walmart is their one-stop shop for everything from groceries to gardening tools. And yes, I will admit, because there is a Walmart in just about every town in America, it has become a staple in convenience. They advertise super-low everyday prices and their generics are typically a good substitution for more expensive name brands. If you are a Walmart loyalist, let me share with you my secret formula for saving money at Walmart.
Don’t.
Yep – you heard me. Don’t shop at Walmart if saving money on your grocery bill is your goal. Well, at least don’t shop there first. Why? because Walmart is a giant corporation that can afford to order in large quantities and, unless its stock is about to go out of date or the product is about to get pulled off shelves or discontinued, prices rarely vary more than a few cents in either direction. Walmart, unlike your local grocer, does NOT run sales. Which is why it needs to be the last stop on your shopping route.
Now, am I saying that Walmart is useless when it comes to saving money? No, absolutely not – but when attempting to get the most bang for your buck – Walmart is not the place to start.
Tip #2 Plan Before You Shop
So, now that we’ve established that your town’s local grocery store chains are where you need to begin your family’s shopping. Let’s go over what makes them much more budget-friendly than the big box stores.
Whether it’s a mom-and-pop grocery store, or a chain like Kroger or Food Lion, stores that strictly carry grocery and household items all have one thing in common—weekly sales and specials. Every week, these stores put out a sales flyer and this is where you need to start. Grab your local paper on Sundays and head straight to the Grocery ads for the week. Whether you have one store or several, doesn’t matter.
Pro Tip: If you are feeling overwhelmed, after looking at all the ads, pick the store whose sale works best for your purchasing habits. Once you get these methods down, you can easily expand to shopping in several stores per week.
Once you have your ads, start looking for a few key things. This is where you are going to find the biggest savings.
- BOGO deals – this includes variants like BOGO50%, etc.
- Bulk deals – This includes things like Buy two get one free
- Weekly specials – these will change from week to week but these are typically items they have too many of or well priced loss-leader items they are using to get you in the store. Take advantage.
- Items that with the sale are priced 30% or more less than their typical price.
Once you have scoped out the ad, start making a list of the sale items that your family uses. Start with meat and produce. The rule of thumb here is a lot of things in the sale aren’t really on sale they just put a sign on it or adjust the price a few cents in either direction. Do not add any item to your list that is not at least 30% off its regular shelf price.
Tip #3 Digital Store and Manufacturer Coupons
While Sunday paper inserts used to be the way us savvy shoppers got our savings, the pandemic killed couponing. Literally. Shoppers weren’t going out, many stores were closed and many people relied on grocery delivery to keep them distanced from others. Many manufacturers made the move to only releasing digital coupons because they could also be used online – which is where there customers were shopping.
No matter where you live, most of the chain grocery stores have an app and a customer loyalty program. Make sure you are signed up for both. Most of the time you will have to present a loyalty card the prices advertised in the ad. At any rate, log into the app and clip all of the digital coupons they give you. CLIP THEM ALL. Yes, all of them.
Then go back through your list and the ad, taking note of any sale items that match up to a digital coupon. If you find a digital coupon for something already on your sale list, woohoo! That’s the best way to maximize your in-store savings.
Additionally, items that weren’t cheap enough on your first look may get added to the list once a digital coupon comes into play.
Tip #4 – Stock Up On Rock Bottom Prices
As you are making your shopping list, take note of any items that are 50% off or more. These are the items that you are going to want to stock up on – if possible. Sales typically run on a three to four-week cycle. This means if an item is on sale this week, it will be on sale again in three to four weeks. So, as long as it is in your budget, stock up on these rock-bottom sale prices. You will want to get a minimum of three weeks’ worth. That sounds like a lot, but, it’s not.
So for example, If pasta goes on sale at your store for less than $1 a box, and you typically make some sort of pasta main corse or side dish twice a week, then if it’s in your budget, you’d want to grab 6 boxes. If it’s not in your budget, don’t stress – just grab enough for this week, or even one extra box if you can swing it. The strategy here is to buy extra at rock-bottom pricing, because these
items build-up your pantry staples and make next week’s shopping that much cheaper.
Tip #5- Stick to the List!
Yes, I know it’s hard – but if you are going to your local grocery store and you are trying to save money on your grocery bill, the most important tip I can give you is… STICK TO THE LIST. Remember, this shopping trip is all about buying the items being offered at the deepest discount. Your mission is to pick up the items you put on that list and nothing else. Yould know within a few dollars how much your total is going to be at the store buying only the things on your list. If you don’t think your willpower will be strong enough, pull out cash and only bring the amount you intend to spend on your items with you. This will effectively prevent you from making impulse purchases.
Bonus Tip! – Make a Meal Plan!
Meal planning can make a huge difference in your food budget. Take a few minutes at the beginning of each week to plan dinner for each night.
Start by looking in your freezer and cabinets to see what you have and plan meals around what you already have and what you can pair with the sale items that you intend to buy. This strategy saves money by forcing you to utilize items you already have while also utilizing sale items to round out and complete your meals.
What does this look like?
Well, if when I look through the cabinets I see that I have four pounds of hamburger meat, Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday dinner meal plan might look like this:
- Monday – Meatloaf with Mash Potatoes and Gravy
- Tuesday – Spaghetti and Garlic Bread
- Wednesday – Hamburger Helper
As you can see, each of these meals utilize the meat we already have in the freezer. You likely have some of the other ingredients for the other meals on the list. If for example, you already have pasta sauce, a gravy packet and a box of Hamburger Helper, then plan to only buy things you don’t have. If you have a hard time pairing ingredients together – there are plenty of online websites that allow you to type in the things you have and it makes suggestions that require few additional ingredients.
By stocking up on 3 weeks’ worth of items at a time when they are on sale, it will prevent you from having to buy items at full price during weeks when they are not on sale. Being able to pull things from your cabinet rather than having to buy ever single ingredient really helps make your monthly budget.
Mastering a new way of shopping might seem overwhelming at first but, I promise, you will see a definite difference in your wallet. These strategies for saving money on your grocery bill have been keeping my family fed on a strict budget for years. I guarantee they can help your family too.
Do you have any tips for saving money on your grocery bill? Tell us in the comments!
