Being healthy starts with food, which means that you have to buy higher quality food. It does not mean that you have to buy everything organic, and spend all your money on groceries. They are several ways to save money on groceries, and I am about to share with you what I have been doing for the past few years.
1. Look at the weekly ads & sale items
You are probably receiving the weekly ads from your local store in your mailbox every week. Before throwing them away, you should take a look at them. They are pretty useful to find items on sale, and it could help you decide what to cook for the week. You can plan your meals based on the sale, and produce in season.
All grocery stores have places when they keep their sale items. You might have one in the meat aisle where they put meat that is about to expire. I always check them out as they might have some grass-fed beef that is 50% off. It really helps because high-quality meat is expensive, so when they have some on sale, I buy everything.
2. buy healthy and cheaper products
You do not have to buy organic and fresh produce. You can buy frozen vegetables which is cheaper, and you will most likely get more nutrients than if you would buy fresh vegetables that have been picked when they were still green. Also, if you want to know which vegetables to buy organic vs. conventional, you can look at the dirty dozen list. It will tell you which fruits and vegetables are the most sprayed with pesticides, so you can buy those organic.
Another thing you can do to save money is to buy in season as the produce will be cheaper. You do not have to buy fresh strawberries in winter because it will be more expensive, and if you really want strawberries, you can buy them frozen.
3. online shopping
To be honest, I do not shop online because I like going to stores, but I am sure I would save some money if I would shop online. You will have to pay for delivery fees, but think about it, you are not spending time at the store and buying things you may not need. You can just look for things you do need, add them to your cart, and checkout. So many times I spend so much time at the store and end up buying things I did not plan on buying just because I was just craving them or because it is a new product that I want to try. I imagine that it would be easier to avoid that when shopping online since you are not physically in the store. Also, you can see how much you are about to pay before checking out and can take things off if it is too expensive.
You can also shop at online stores such as Thrive Market which will save you some money on healthy products. They sale pretty much everything from foods to cleaning products. You can have a free membership if you are a low-income family, student, teacher, veteran, or first responder. Thrive Market has lots of healthy products that are cheaper or that you may not find at your local store. They also have sale, and they are giving you free products when you spend a certain amount of money. It is really worth it.
4. use cash back apps and store memberships
I love Ibotta as it helps me get cash back from things that I was already going to buy. You know that dairy-free yogurt that you are buying every week, well, you could get $.25 back per yogurt. It does not seem like much, but it adds up! I got almost $500 back since I joined it, and I could have made more if I would pay more attention to it.
You might have other cash back program that help you save money. You can also get the member’s card from your local store to pay less on regular items. Some stores even offer free items on specific days, so you will always win by joining their programs, especially since it is free to join.
5. make a list and stick to it
How many times have you been going to the store without a list and you ended up buying things you did not need? Not planning will most likely end up in extra spending, and you might not even have what you need to make your meals for the week. Make a list, and stick to it. If you want to buy something that is not on your list, and you tend to do that every week then plan ahead of time for “extras.”
Hopefully this article gave you some ideas to save money at the grocery store. Eating healthy does not have to be hard, and you can find some ways to spend less money while making better choices.
