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10 Ways to Lower Your Grocery Bill (without using coupons)

How often do you get groceries? We are a once-a-week family, usually, that seems to work best for our schedule. I plan the next week’s meals every Thursday and make a list and then go to the stores on Friday evening or Saturday morning.

I cook most nights, and I love to bake, so our grocery bill could easily get out of hand. I do my best to keep it under control by shopping smart with these strategies.

10 Ways to save money at the grocery store without cutting coupons.
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{one} Shop at Aldi FIRST. When we do our weekly shopping, Aldi is always my first stop. I try to get as much as I can there before going to another store. I have to make a second stop, but it’s a small and quick one.

{two} Check the weekly ad before I make the list. When I’m planning my meals, I like to know what’s on sale. I try to incorporate meat, produce, and other items that are on sale into my menu.

{three} Assess what we already have before I make the list. This is still something I could be better about, but I try to do a quick check of our freezer, fridge, and pantry before I make a list. I often have meat in the freezer that I can thaw, or leftover (dry) pasta from another dish that I can cook.

{four} Plan meals and grocery shop once a week.  For us, this is essential. I know this doesn’t work for everyone, but it really saves us money by planning out all of our meals and buying everything at once. If we have meals planned, we are less likely to be tempted to pick something up.

{five} Buy on sale and freeze. I especially do this for meat, which I rarely buy full price. Instead, I wait for things like ground beef and chicken breasts to go on sale, and then buy extra to keep in our freezer. We have a deep freeze that is very handy for this purpose.

{six} Know general prices for items so you know if a sale is actually a good deal.  You don’t have to have exact numbers memorized, but if you know in general what you spend on certain items, you’ll know whether it’s worth picking up something that’s marked down but not on your list. Sometimes stores will trick you with a sale sign but it’s only marked down by a few cents. If it’s not something I need I’ll wait for a better markdown.

{seven} Shop from your list, but be flexible.  I try not to make very many purchases that aren’t on my list (so I don’t send my husband go to the store hungry or that derails quickly!). However, I also often make swaps once I’m at the store. For example, I may have strawberries on my list, but if they don’t look good that week I’ll buy another fruit. Also, if I have a specialty ingredient (an Asian sauce or spice for example) on my list, I might skip it and substitute with something I already have if it’s too expensive.

{eight} Try to stick to sale/low cost items, but allow a splurge item or two.  Buying everything on the cheap can get boring, especially for someone who loves to eat as much as I do. So if I can keep the cost of everything else low, I make room for a couple of “splurge” items, like ice cream, good chocolate, or specialty cheese.

{nine} Look at the calendar. When I’m planning our meals, I try to think about what we have going on that week and whether we’ll need leftovers to have for lunch. If I make something like a pasta casserole, I’ll go ahead and make the full recipe that serves 6-8 and freeze half for an easy dinner later. I love having a stash of easy freezer meals!

{ten} Go alone, or bring snacks. If we go to the store as a family instead of me just going myself, we always spend more money. I try to go on my own whenever possible. If that’s not an option for you, bring snacks or make sure everyone has full bellies before you shop–hungry kids + grocery shopping = bad decisions.

It can be difficult to stay on budget at the grocery store, but I try to make it fun and challenge myself to save as much as I can each week, while still making healthy choices for my family.

I would love to hear how you save money on groceries. Do you have any tips I should add to my list?

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