Food is necessary and (in my opinion) so is a budget. It doesn’t matter if you’re a single person, couple, or family, according to Dave Ramsey, your food budget percentage should be between 10 to 15 percent. That’s for your grocery budget AND eating out.
With a food percentage of 10-15%, knowing tips and tricks for getting the most out of the grocery budget is important. Here are suggestions for keeping your grocery budget on track so some of your food budget can go towards a lunch or dinner out.
Grocery Budget Tips Before Before Shopping
Start with a Grocery Shopping Plan
The first tip to sticking with your grocery budget is having a plan. If you don’t have any idea of what’s for dinner, what groceries you’re buying, grocery prices, or even what store to shop at how are you going to stick with your budget?
How to Plan Your Grocery Shopping Trip
Make a Meal Plan for the Week
A meal plan is my kryptonite. I am constantly on myself about making a meal plan. It’s a work in progress and I’m improving on it. I continue to work on making a meal plan because it saves stress and time during the week.
Put some meal ideas together of what you want for meals during the week. Write those ideas down. You can read more about meal plans HERE. I also have a printable available at the bottom of the post that you can download.
Make a Grocery List
After making a meal plan, go through your pantry, cabinets, refrigerator and freezer. Figure out what ingredients you have on hand and what is needed for your meal plan. Look and see what shelf stable items need replenishing. What fresh ingredients are you out of? Write the list down. The meal planner below also has a grocery list on it.
Decide Which Store to Shop
Even when you are not on a grocery budget you probably have stores you like shopping at more than others. Why do you shop there? Is it better prices? Is the produce and fresh meat awesome? Does the store have AMAZING customer service? Maybe the store is closest to your house. Whatever your reason is, make the decision of where you are shopping.
Use the Grocery Sales Flyers
Now that you’ve decided what groceries are needed and where you are shopping, look at the current sales flyer for that store. Are some of the items from your list also on sale? Maybe spaghetti sauce is on your list and there’s a current favorite or new brand on sale that you want. Make notes on your list in regards to those items. Knowing some of the groceries that you are definitely buying saves time in the store.
Use Coupons Effectively
Grocery coupons save you money when used properly. Buying something simply because you have a coupon is not the way to think.
When your favorite mayonnaise is 3.50 a jar and there is a coupon for 1.00 off, use the coupon. The dollar is better in your wallet than being profit for the store. I’m not telling you to buy the mayonnaise on sale that you don’t like because it’s cheaper. That wouldn’t be effective. I’m saying the must have item is cheaper than retail because you used a coupon. If your favorite brand is also on sale and you also have a coupon, that’s an even greater savings. Have your coupons ready with your list.
Learn more about easy places to find coupons HERE.
Now that plan is made there are a few more things that need addressing before shopping. You’ve made a great plan and you want the plan to be successful.
How Often Should You Grocery Shop?
Grocery Shopping once or twice a month saves money and time but is not realistic. Most people need fresh produce, milk, and other items in between. A better plan is going grocery shopping once a week. Get everything you need in the one weekly trip will help you stay within your grocery budget. You’ll save money as well as time not running in and out of the store during the week for one or two items.
Grocery Shop Alone
Minimize your distractions when grocery shopping. Have you ever been shopping with children and bought 2 or 3 items more than what was planned? Maybe you go shopping on Saturday afternoon when the stores are packed. Plan your shopping trips by yourself and during times when other people are most likely not shopping. For me, Saturday mornings around 7AM or 8AM work great. The stores are quiet, stocked and lineless. It makes my shopping trips shorter and less stressful than when the stores are busy.
Don’t Grocery Shop Hungry
How many of us go to the store on the way home from work only to walk out with 2 bags of chips and a carton of ice cream. Were those items the reason you went into the store? Probably not. Grocery Budget Fail. Plan your grocery shopping trip after you have had a meal or at a time when you know you won’t be starving. Everything sounds good when we’re hungry. Stick to the list if you’re grabbing a couple items for the dinner and stay on budget.
Grocery Budget Tips While Shopping
Ok, you’re at the store. Here’s how you stay on budget now that you’re shopping.
Grab a Flyer
If you brought the sales flyer with you from home great! If you don’t have it, get one on your way through the door. It’s good to have on hand for referencing products and pricing. You can always return it to the store entrance at the end of your trip
Grab the Proper Sized Shopping Cart
Some stores have handbaskets, small shopping carts and large shopping carts. Look at your list and decide which sized shopping cart is right for your trip through the store. You want a shopping cart that allows room for everything on your list without extra room. Extra space in a cart means space for putting tempting products that will break the budget. If your only picking up milk and produce a handbasket may be the best choice. For a large family of 6, a large shopping cart is most likely your go-to.
Avoid Prepared Ingredients When Possible
Prepared food costs more than preparing it yourself. Someone else has done the work. I’m sure you’ve noticed containers of chopped onion and bags of kale. You’re paying for the convenience of not chopping that onion or kale.
There’s always an exception right? Your planned dinner may include both items on a busy weeknight evening. You may save some much needed time in buying that chopped kale. A better option here might be buying the onion and chopping it yourself while buying the bagged kale because it’s recipe ready. Onions only take a minute to chop but kale is more time consuming. Do a quick price and time comparison and find the best options for you.
Learn Grocery Store Pricing Tricks
Grocery Stores create ways to get our attention with pricing. They want us spending more money. Here are a few pricing tricks.
Prices ending in .99. – This is a mind game. Our brains tell us the the product is cheaper even though it’s a penny off of the next dollar up.
Buy one get one free – This sale doesn’t always mean you must purchase two. Most grocery stores in my area allow you to buy one product at 50% off. Check the rules for your store.
A 10 for 10 sale – This makes us think we have to purchase all 10 items. Usually this is not the case. If soup is 10 for 10 and you only need 3 cans, get 3 cans. Why spend 7 more dollars than your budget called for?
Learning and being aware of these tricks will keep you on budget.
Understand Grocery Store Product Placement
It’s not a mistake that big food brands like Kraft, Kelloggs, and Campbell’s are some of the first brands you notice on store shelves. They’ve paid for placing their products at eye level right in front of you. Smaller companies don’t have the amount of advertising money larger brands have. For smaller brands and less common ingredients, check shelves higher or lower on the aisle. You’ll not only find other brands and products, prices are often less expensive.
Understand Unit Price
The unit price is the cost of the product for a single unit of measure the product is sold in.
For example, the olive oil in the photos below is measured in ounces. The 16.9 oz bottle of olive oil sells for 4.99. The unit price is 29.6 cents per ounce. The 33.8 oz bottle of olive oil sells for 8.99 or 26.6 cents per ounce.
Even though the 33.8 of Olive Oil costs more for the bottle at 8.99, it is actually 3 cents less per ounce than the 16.9 ounce bottle. That’s over 1.00 in savings. It is more cost effective for you to buy the larger bottle. This trick works if you are within your grocery budget and you will use the product before it expires.
Be observant. While a larger quantity of product is often less expensive it is not 100%. Sometimes the smaller sized containers are better priced. Learning unit prices saves you money.
Grocery Store Sales Cycles
Stores run sales ads in cycles. You’ve probably noticed large watermelons are affordable during the summer. That’s because they are plentiful and in season. While produce is cheapest when it is in season, other foods have seasons as well. Baking items are on sale in November and December for the holidays. Eggs go on sale near Easter. Frozen foods have their own month are are on sale everywhere in March. Stock up, if needed, when groceries are at their lowest cost.
Pay Attention at Checkout
Checking out at the grocery store is not the time to scroll through your phone. Watch the register and make sure your groceries are ringing up correctly. Did the cashier key in the correct produce? Did your sale items scan properly? Be aware of the checkout process to make sure you transaction is correct.
Rain Checks for Out of Stock Items
What is a Rain Check
A raincheck is a voucher given to a customer because an item on sale is out of stock. Once the product is available again the store will sell the product to you for the sales price on the raincheck.
If the store is out of a sales item you intended to buy, ask the customer service desk if they offer rainchecks. You can then return with the raincheck on your next visit and purchase the item needed and receive the discounted price.
A grocery budget is work but it’s worth the effort. Here are the main points from all of these tips.
- Start with a plan
- Learn about grocery store pricing – sales, pricing tricks, convenience, etc.
- Follow Through – Think about your budget throughout the grocery shopping process from making a plan through the checkout process to stay on budget.
If you find these tips helpful please pin this post to Pinterest or share with others so they can also get tips for sticking to their grocery budget.
