American families spend hundreds of dollars a month at the grocery store. Oftentimes an American family spends as much money eating out as they do on groceries for the month. An average family can spend over $1000 a month on food alone. Do you think that you don’t do that? Add it all up and take a look. Imagine what you could do if you didn’t spend all of that money on food.
It is possible to cut your grocery bill by a third or even half with minimal effort. I am not talking extreme couponing – those people save hundreds a week, but they also spend a 40 hour work week cutting coupons, or spend a lot of money buying newspapers. What a waste! Another caution against coupons is that it may encourage you to buy more expensive items that you don’t need or won’t use.
I have spent years studying how to cut down on grocery bills and I have found very simple solutions that really work. Follow these simple steps and you will be well fed for less!
Add up last month’s food bill
Take five minutes to calculate what you spent last month on groceries and eating out. Just add it up. Did you spend $600? $700? Don’t forget to include the soda and candy you got at the convenience store. Adding it all up gives you a realistic view of what you are actually spending. If you are spending more than $140-$160 for a family of four, then you may be spending too much.
Take inventory of what you have
Clean your fridge and cupboards out before leaving for the store. That way you can see what is in there such as the onion that only has a few more days to live. Do you have peanut butter and jelly? If so, you don’t need them even if there is a dollar sale. Do you have eggs? Don’t get more.
Plan your meals around what is on sale
Instead of recycling your weekly grocery store ads, take a look at them. See what is for sale and plan your meals around it. Is there a five-pound bag of frozen chicken breasts on sale? Add rice and veggies and it becomes a meal. Use the remaining chicken for chicken sandwiches. Try to plan all of your meals ahead of time. If you are focused on what you need, then you will not overspend. Also, if you know what to cook, you are less likely to say, “I don’t know what to cook – let’s just go out.”
Shop once a week for one week only
Everyone loves their warehouse membership, but for this month only you are going to the regular grocery store and only shop for the week. Buy the single roll of paper towel. Buy the small jar of mayo – you never use it before it goes out anyway. You must come up with meals – not just buy food.
Raid the cupboard = see the savings
Act like you are snowed in a cabin for a week. For one week, plan on using what you have buried deep in the freezer or deep in the cupboard. This helps in two ways! First it circulates food so it doesn’t get freezer burn, and secondly you can pocket all the money you save on groceries this week!
“Eating out” vs. “Eating in”
Lastly, separate what you spent eating out versus what you spent at the grocery store. What if you didn’t go out, and instead took the “eating out” money and apply it to your grocery bill? You could buy the expensive steaks and desserts and you would still have four times more food. When you eat out you don’t always know how many calories you consume. Save some money on the gym and skip the drive-thru!
Saving money on groceries is a huge step to getting control of your life and finances.
Add up the grocery savings up and consider investing it into a money market account where it will earn you interest!
