How To Save Money On Groceries! A Simple 4 Step Plan

Wouldn’t you love more savings to add to your high yield savings accounts?

If you are like me, you really do not realize how much you spend at the grocery store until you start tallying up everything you are spending each month. As I glanced over all the receipts I had for one month, I realized that my food expenses added up to a hefty $400 for just one person. Wow! I had no idea I was spending this much. However, this tends to happen when you shop with a debit card and pick up whatever you want at the grocery store and the local fast food restaurants. So, I decided to challenge myself, and see if I could maintain a budget of $80 a month for groceries and toiletries. This seemed like an impossible feat, but I was up for the challenge, especially since I’ve been eager to fatten up my online savings account. And here’s how I did it!

How To Save Money On Groceries! A Simple 4 Step Plan

1. Join The Grocery Game.

Start saving money! The first step for me was to join an online web site called The Grocery Game. This site takes all of the work out of using coupons and makes it a simple weekly process to manage. For me, this takes less than 10 minutes. You cut all the coupons out of the paper, log in on Sundays, and make your grocery list. The cool thing about this site is that I can place a check mark next to every item I want, and print up the handy list. Then, I can tally exactly how much I will spend before I even step foot into the store. On one of my initial trips using this service, I purchased shave gel, toothpaste, a toothbrush, and shampoo for 37 cents. Yes, you read that correctly, 37 cents! That was the first time my eyes were really opened to the savings I could receive from coupons. I never had the motivation to sit for hours and figure out what was a deal or not. Thank goodness someone out there is willing to do it for me. This service offers a new member trial offer of $1 for 4 weeks if you would like to try it out for yourself.

2. Buy generics.

My second line of defense in reducing my grocery budget is to buy generics. Now, I am a high quality coffee kind of girl, but I can sacrifice in other areas. I am not sure if you know this, but many of the generics that you find in the grocery store are made by the exact same production companies that make the name brands. I recommend trying to switch to a couple of generics each week. Be sure to take a look at the upper and lower shelves of the supermarket. This is typically where you’ll find the cheaper versions of your name brand products. Try starting with paper products, tomato sauce, and basic staples such as flour and sugar. Just switching to a few generics can radically change your final tally at the register.

3. Plan your meals the right way.

Now, many financial gurus will tell you to plan your meals in advance and then create your list. I do recommend planning your meals, but plan them with coupons and around the deals you can get through The Grocery Game. Typically, there is always some type of meat, veggies, and fruit on sale each week. So, I simply plan my meals around the deals I have on hand.

4. Eat everything you have! Spare no leftovers.

My last tip for making it the entire month on $20 a week is this: eat everything in your pantry. We often buy things at the grocery store and never eat them. How many of you have 5 boxes of cereal in the pantry, yet you continue to buy more cereal at the store each week? Try this for one month: clean out the pantry. See what meals you can plan around what’s already in there. You may have to add a couple of things here and there to make a square meal. However, eating everything in your pantry can save you a load of money. For some people, this may take between 2 to 3 months to fulfill. Try these tips, and you’ll be on your way to cutting your grocery bill by half!