If you go searching for ways to save money on food, inevitably you’ll first find suggestions like drink coffee at home instead of buying it from a coffee shop or stop eating out. Those tips are good for people who are just beginning to save money, but what if you already have the basics downs and need to increase your money saving game? There are plenty of more unusual ways to save money on food.
For most people, food takes up a large portion of their budget. Depending on family size, this may be your next largest expense after your mortgage. Luckily, there are many, many ways to save on groceries.
Cut Your Meat Consumption
Never fear, if you’re a meat lover, I’m not going to tell you to go vegetarian. Rather try this simple trick. Buy your meat, let’s say ground beef, in bulk, and rather than portion it into 16 oz servings, portion it into 12 oz. servings. This works particularly well if you’re making a meal like chili. You won’t notice 4 oz. of meat is missing, but you’ll be saving about $1 on the cost of the meal. Do this for every meat meal, and the savings add up.
Make Party Platters
The next time it’s 6 p.m. and you realize you have no food ready to make a meal, don’t go to a fast food restaurant. Instead, make a party platter. Grab any lunch meat you have in the refrigerator, cut up some cheese, add crackers, nuts, fruit, and some veggies, and you have a quick and easy party platter meal.
Have a Just-In-Case Meal
In the pantry, always have all the ingredients you need for a just-in-case meal. For instance, a jar of spaghetti sauce and spaghetti. Or a bag of rice, canned beans, and salsa so you can make a simple meal of beans and rice. A just-in-case meal is perfect if you don’t have time to cook or you run out of grocery money for the week but still have to feed your family.
Only Buy Clearance Meat
Some people save money by only buying meat at the grocery store when it’s within one to two days of its use by date. This meat is usually on sale for 25 to 50% off retail, saving you a bundle of money. Just make sure you look the meat over closely to check that it doesn’t show signs of going bad. Also, check the plastic film covering the top of the meat. If the plastic is inflated with air, that usually means the meat is already turning bad and releasing gas. Look for packages where the plastic wrap lies flat on the meat.
Utilize Reverse Meal Planning
Some people take buying clearance to a whole new level. They look for not only clearance meat sales but whatever else they can find on clearance at the grocery store such as dented boxes, bread from the store’s bakery department that is going stale and produce that may be slightly soft, bruised, or wrinkled.
They buy whatever they can find on clearance, and then they reverse meal plan. What this means is that instead of making a meal plan and grocery list and then shopping, they instead buy all the clearance items, go home, and decide what to eat for the week based on what they found.
For instance, if they find steak, apples, yogurt, bacon, and lettuce on clearance, they may make one meal that is steak, rice (that they already had at home), and an apple crisp. Their next meal might be BLT sandwiches (without the tomato if they don’t have it), and a fruit smoothie made with the yogurt.
Their meals might not go together as much as they might if they made a menu plan and then shopped, but they are happy to eat a mixture of foods if it means they are saving money.
Shop at Discount Stores
If you’re lucky enough to have a discount store nearby, do at least some of your shopping there. Our local discount store is small, but I can still find granola bars for five to 10 cents each as well as some boxed food steeply discounted. Our discount store does not sell fresh produce, though I know that some stores do. One vlogger utilizes a discount store almost exclusively and feeds her family for $50 to $70 a week.
Drink Water 80% of the Time
Water is great for your figure, your health, and your wallet. If you’re not already doing so, make the switch to drinking water the majority of the time, and you’ll save serious money on beverages. Depending on how large your family is, how much soda you buy, as well as where you buy it, you could save a few hundred dollars to over a thousand dollars per year by drinking mainly water.
Keep a Price Book
Keeping a price book sounds old fashioned, but it truly can save you money. Keep track of the prices of your favorite items at a variety of stores, and also keep track of when the items go on sale and for what price. You’ll learn how many weeks the sales cycle is, and you’ll know how much to buy to last you until the next great sale on the items you love.
Check Your Receipts for Overcharges Before You Leave the Store
Ideally, watch the cashier as she rings up your items and make sure that the right prices are being charged. However, if you’re busy watching your kids and can’t keep an eye on it, make sure before you leave the store that you check your receipt. I can’t tell you how many times I have been overcharged! You don’t want to lose your hard-earned money this way.
In some states, if the store overcharges you, they need to pay you back not only the difference in what they overcharged but also the full price of the item. Make sure you check your receipts.
Buy Groceries Online
All of the above unusual ways to save money at the grocery store will not help if you don’t have impulse control. Some people walk into a grocery store, and they want to buy new food products that they see or they’re enticed to buy food they don’t need.
If this is you, shopping online may be your best bet. Many people say they save more money shopping online than in the grocery store because they aren’t tempted to buy foods that aren’t on their list, and they aren’t going to the grocery store several times a week. They put in their order online weekly and pick it up from the parking lot so they never have to enter the store, or they have it delivered to their homes.
Conclusion
We all need to buy food, but some of us, especially those who utilize these tips, spend a lot less on groceries than others. If you want to lower the cost of your groceries, these tips are an excellent place to start.
