Grocery shopping has become a pain in many Americans’ wallets with prices that remain about 21 percent higher than they were three years ago when inflation started to surge.
Inflation that reached a four-decade high has slowed in other sectors of the economy, but the recovery hasn’t been reflected in grocery store aisles. An average American household spends about $475 a month, or $5,703 a year, on groceries, according to the most recent data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics from 2022.
Grocery prices have stabilized after some of the volatile increases of the pandemic, but remain stubbornly high. According to the latest Consumer Price Index report, grocery costs inched up 0.1 percent from June to July.
While these tips won’t make grocery shopping a completely painless experience, they can take out some of the sting of high prices.
Know Where To Find Coupons
Coupons were born in the late 1880s in the form of vouchers for Coca-Cola products, came into the mainstream at the height of the Great Depression and are still central to many retailers’ strategies. Coupons are still clipped from newspapers, magazines and fliers that come in the mail, but are increasingly available through apps for stores like Target and Walmart.
Also, Flipp and similar apps allow users to browse for coupons from all major grocery stores. Another app, Ibotta, gives users cash back for using coupons.
All you have to do is scan an item in a store, the coupons pop up on your app and then they automatically apply in the register. It’s become much more streamlined.
One key to actually saving money with coupons: Make sure you use them on items you’d normally buy. Don’t buy anything just because the price is deeply discounted with a coupon.
Keep Track Of Spending
Making a budget is a key to keeping grocery spending under control, and the first step is to track how much you're already spending. Start by reviewing how much you have spent on the last few times you've gone grocery shopping.
If you don't keep receipts from past grocery runs, try looking at your bank account statement and adding up the grocery charges. Once you know how much you spend on groceries, set a goal, for example, staying within a specific budget or reducing your spending.
Use either your smartphone or a handheld calculator to add up the cost of your groceries as you go through the aisles. This can be especially helpful if you’re sticking to a strict budget.
Keeping track of your ongoing tally can help when trying to decide whether to buy something that wasn’t originally on your list.
Think About How You Pay
Credit cards that offer rewards points often give extra points for grocery purchases, some up to five times the points of other card companies. You’d be spending the money anyway, and the points can add up enough to provide significant savings on other items.
One important caveat: Make sure you don’t eat up the cash you’re earning by using your card with high interest costs and late fees. For this to be an effective strategy, pay off the balance monthly.
Take Stock Of What’s On Hand
Before you make a grocery list, take stock of what you already have on hand in your refrigerator and pantry. Don’t just make a quick scan. Take everything out and making an inventory so you don’t buy duplicates of things you already have on hand.
Develop A Weekly Meal Plan
Meal planning for a week, or even a month, can be a good way to sty on top of spending. Also, Bridley recommends, plan on making multiple meals with similar ingredients, which not only saves money, but also cuts down on food waste.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture offers healthy meal plans ranging from thrift plans for families living with food insecurity to more flexible plans for people with more generous food allowances.
Or, you can use apps that specifically help you with meal planning such as AnyList or Mealtime.
Buy In Bulk, Share The Discount
Buying in bulk can save money, as long as you’re sure you’ll use the larger quantities. Brindley also recommends that you team up with a friend or a family member to buy specific items in bulk and share the discount.
Also consider food sharing apps such as Olio, which connects people around their community to share extra grocery items, and Too Good to Go, where you can buy surplus food at a discount.
Stock Up And Freeze
Buying in bulk can be especially cost effective with items that freeze well.
For example, if the store has a great deal on fresh blueberries, raspberries or strawberries, go ahead and buy the larger size and freeze the berries. They should stay good for six or eight months, according to the University of Maryland Extension Service. There’s no need to add sugar or syrup, although either are options.
Stocking up on meat when it’s on sale is a good way to save money. When freezing meat, divide it into usable portions and then toss it into freezer bags. Don’t sacrifice quality for cost. Buy bags with thicker plastic and tested zipper seals. Don’t forget to label the packages and the date they were put in the freezer. You may want to jot down a “use by” note that reflects the refrigerated shelf life before the meat was frozen.
When you freeze meat, you’re basically hitting the pause button on the expiration date. Then it resumes once it’s thawed. So, if you guy meat that’s going to hit its ‘best by’ date in three days, you’ll probably have three days from the time you thaw it again to use it.
Shop What’s In Season
Plan meals around seasonably available produce to take advantage of the lower prices and better quality. Locally grown produce, whether sold at a grocery store or farmers market, can be picked up cheaper than fruits and vegetables shipped in from another part of the country.
During peak harvest season, consider buying more than you need and freezing, canning or drying the excess. Acorn and butternut squash last up to two and three months, respectively, if stored correctly. Late-season potatoes, if stored in a cool, dark place, can last up to eight months.
State extension services have a wealth of information about food storage, preservation and other budget-stretching tips.
Avoid Impulse Buys
Going up and down the aisles can sometimes make you crave things that you haven’t planned for, like a snack or a new dish. If you foresee that it’ll be hard for you to stick to your list, include some flexibility in your plan, such as allotting a specific amount to buy snacks or a random item you see at the checkout line.
If you tend to wander off your grocery list because every time you go to the store you buy things you don't need, shopping online and picking up curbside is a good workaround.
Try Something New
None of that means you shouldn’t try new foods, though if you do, test your family’s appetite by buying small quantities at first. Early into the pandemic, Americans discovered they liked tofu, a soy-based protein used as an alternative to meat in many vegetarian dishes.
When supply chain issues drove up the price of meat and made it harder to find, tofu sales skyrocketed 40 percent in the first half of 2020. Sales have remained strong since, especially with renewed emphasis on healthy eating.
A pound of water-packed tofu clocks in around $3, compared to an average of $3.95 a pound for a chicken breast or $11.70 for a pound of sirloin steak.
Shop At Dollar Stores
Dollar stores often have a grocery aisle, and some have refrigerated units. They’re a good place to find savings on pantry staples such as canned goods, coffee and tea, spices and vegetable oil.
Check these stores for non-grocery items, such as paper and storage products, that you might ordinarily pick up at the grocery store.
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