Food is important and unsurprisingly it is one of the biggest household expenses. Finding ways to save money on groceries is crucial to financial success. You are almost guaranteed to save hundreds of dollars when you find ways to save money on groceries.
Summary
Trust me it’s possible to save 20 to 50 percent off your grocery bill!
To lower your food bill, you need to be organised!
Create a shopping list and plan what you’re going to buy.
It’s almost always cheaper to buy less processed food. You don’t need to make everything from scratch – we’re not all Nara Smith. Just find the right balance that works for you.
Buy things in bulk, especially if its on sale! Remember only buy things in bulk that you need and are items that don’t go bad easily.
🛒 Create a shopping List
Its time to whip out your notebook or phone and create a shopping list.
Remember to double check your pantry and fridge BEFORE you start creating a shopping list. You don’t want to double up on things!
If you’re in a relationship, its better to use a tool that’ll let you sync what you’re both writing. The last thing you want to do is double up on food items. Not only is it annoying but can lead to wasting money.
There are so many tools out there that’ll make this process easy, especially if you’re in a relationship.
If you’re an iPhone user, the notes app is an easy and free tool to use. You can easily collaborate with other people. Another good tool is Any List. This is not sponsored by the way! Any List is more than just a shopping list tool. You can import recipes from your favourite food blogs and plan out what you’re going to eat for the week.
🏪 Shop at different stores
Yay, you’ve created a shopping list!
Now go through each ingredient on your shopping list and add which store you’d like to buy it from.
Don’t just shop at the big grocery chains. If it’s possible and not time-consuming shop at different stores.
Don’t pay the loyalty tax!
For essential items, look at going to a discount grocery store like ALDI. For fruits and vegetables, go to a fruit and vegetable stores. You’ll find items for much cheaper. These stores tend to also have wider varieties and ranges of fruits and vegetables. For cultural food, go to shops dedicated to them. For example, things like kimchi and miso paste are usually cheaper and better quality at Asian grocery stores.
🏬 Shop at a big supermarket
For everything else, shop at big supermarket chains like Woolworths or Coles.
If you’re not in Australia, Trader Joe’s, Kroger, Wholefoods, Target are some examples of big supermarket chains.
It’s totally understandable if you prefer to just buy everything at big supermarket chains. They are more convenient and less time consuming. Time is money after all!
If you do shop at the big supermarkets here are some ways you save money.
🌍 Shop in international aisles
Shopping in international aisles for things like spices will save you so much. You might even find items 2 times more cheaper in the international aisles!
🐝Consider shelf life
It’s important to consider the shelf life of items.
Here’s why.
Let’s use honey as an example.
Honey is a natural product that never goes bad if it’s stored properly. Buying a big container of honey will last you a long time and save you a lot of money.
📦Buy in bulk
Don’t just buy items in bulk. Buy items in bulk when items are on SALE. When supermarkets have sales on your frequent purchases, please buy them in bulk. You will save SO much!
I’m OBSSESSED with Tim Tams. Every single time there is a sale, I’m not ashamed to buy a few!
A good way to plan your bulk trip, is by using the app, the half price. The app is a life saver. It shows you items that are half priced at Coles and Woolworths. If you’re not Australian, consider using an app called flip basket or Amazon!
💻 Amazon
Not only does Amazon have many grocery items, but it also offer amazing deals.
If you find yourself buying an item frequently, you should consider checking out Amazon to see if you can get a better deal. You should also consider subscribing and purchasing bigger quantities of your frequent buys on Amazon.
🛍️ Cash rewards and shopbacks
If you purchase things online, look at getting cash rewards and Shopback. They are free websites that you can use to get free cash back on your online purchases. Yes, its really FREE.
💳 Buy bigger quantities
If you’re serious about saving money groceries, be prepared to buy bigger quantities. This is especially for items you frequently purchase. Trust me, you’ll get a lot of use out of them! Just so you know, bigger items are typically cheaper than smaller items per unit.
🥬 Consider price marketups
You need to consider price markups for processed food. Typically, the more processed, food is, the more expensive it is. And the less processed, food is, the cheaper it is e.g. fruit and veggies.
Processed food saves time. However, it’s so important to consider the cost and the health precautions of processed food.
Here’s why.
Packaged popcorn is eight times the price of popcorn kernels. Making popcorn with just popcorn kernels doesn’t require you to become Nara Smith 2.0. Although its not as simple as eating popcorn straight out of a bag, its super quick to make. If you’re obsessed with popcorn, you could also just buy a popcorn machine. Making your own popcorn means you can regulate the amount of butter, salt and sugar you have in your popcorn.
This is all to say, buying non-processed food for some items is healthy and cost effective.
To take it a step further, you should consider getting organic foods. This is a very personal decision. However, if you want to be more environmentally conscious and healthier, it’s a great choice. For some, the pros outweigh the extra costs associated with getting organic food.
🍎 Buy seasonal fruits and vegetables
Another easy way to save money on your grocery bill is to buy seasonal fruits and vegetables.
🫙 Store fruits and vegetables properly
If you want to keep your fruits and vegetables fresh, you need to store them properly! There is no one way to store fruits and vegetables. For example, carrots need to be stored in airtight containers in the fridge. Onions should be stored in a cool dark place away from the fridge.
🥶Freeze food
Please put your food in the freezer, especially if you live alone. Your food will last longer in the freezer.
Don’t believe me? Here’s an example.
The lifespan of putting bread in the fridge is typically a week. In the freezer it’s up to six months! You have ZERO excuse of throwing away food after a week!
🥫Buy home brand
Consider buying home or store food items instead of branded food items. Most of the time you honestly can’t tell the difference between the two. You can always find the similarities and differences by looking at the ingredients.
Handy tip: always look at the price per unit to find out which item is cheaper.
💳 Use a loyalty card
So many supermarkets, especially the big grocery chains offer loyalty cards.
Yes, they are worth the hype because you ACTUALLY save money.
🎁 Use Discounted Gift Cards
This just might be the biggest hack ever!
Did you know you can get discounted gift cards through your electricity and car insurance provider.
There are plenty of companies that have these discount centres and it’s not something that is common knowledge.
It’s definitely worth checking out to see if your insurance or your electricity provider give you these perks.
By using the Woolworths gift cards you could see yourself savings upwards $500 per year!
Econnex is a great tool to look for amazing electricity and broadband providers! Try it now!
To lower your food bill, you need to be organised! Create a shopping list and plan what you’re going to buy. It’s almost always cheaper to buy less processed food. You don’t need to make everything from scratch – we’re not all Nara Smith. Just find the right balance that works for you. Buy things in bulk, especially if it’s on sale! Remember only buy things in bulk that you need and are items that don’t go bad easily.
If you’re an iPhone user, the notes app is an easy and free tool to use. You can easily collaborate with other people. Another good tool is Any List.! Any List is more than just a shopping list tool. You can import recipes from your favourite food blogs and plan out what you’re going to eat for the week.
Consider using the app the half price. It’s a life saver. It shows you items that are half priced at Coles and Woolworths.
Don’t just buy items in bulk. Buy items in bulk when items are on SALE. When supermarkets have sales on your frequent purchases, please buy them in bulk. You will save SO much!
So many supermarkets, especially the big grocery chains offer loyalty cards. Yes, they are worth the hype because you ACTUALLY save money.
