6: 7 Tips to Take Control of Your Grocery Budget
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Hello and welcome back to another episode. I'm so happy you’ve shown up today, because that means you’re taking another step toward creating a more positive relationship with your money and using it as a tool to live your greatest life.
Today, we are diving into one spending area that causes a lot of financial stress for the majority of my clients. And that is The Grocery Budget! We all have to eat, right? It’s not like this is a category you can just cut out of your budget. (cold turkey…pun intended!) Also, it doesn’t help that grocery prices have been skyrocketing recently, but there are a few ways you can help keep your costs down.
Today, I'm giving you my seven most actionable, grocery budget tips. This includes some smart shopping tips but also I’ll share what to do before you leave the house.
Because, the truth is, one of the biggest ways to save money on groceries doesn't happen in the store; it happens in your kitchen before you ever even head out the door! The number one reason we overspend usually isn't the price of organic kale; but rather, a lack of planning and awareness of what you already have on your shelves at home.
Tip 1: Plan Out Your Meals
I started doing this a few years ago and it has been such a gamechanger. Every Sunday, I take 20 minutes and plan out our meals for the week. This has become so incredibly helpful because it takes decision making out of the equation when you are already tired and hungry after a day of work. You make the decision on Sunday, now you just have to execute the plan.
The first thing I do is look at the week ahead. What do we have going on this week that will interfere or just limit our meal prep time? For example, if you are busy on Tuesday, then Tuesday’s meal should be something like leftovers or a 15-minute throw-together. There’s no reason to be cooking a complex meal that night! Again, by making the decision ahead of time, it removes the fatigue where you’d normally just order takeout.
The next thing I do is open up my fridge and take a look at what needs to be used up soon. The leftovers from the weekend? Put those on the menu for Monday or Tuesday night. The salad items that won’t last all week, make those your lunch for early in the week. Embrace leftovers and use up ingredients that you’ve already spent money on, before you buy something new to make.
Then my third step is to see what I have in the pantry that can go into meals for the rest of the week. Which leads me to the second tip…
Tip 2: Shop Your Pantry First
Now that you’ve added the leftovers to the menu, what do you have hiding in your pantry that can make your next meal? Do you have a forgotten piece of meat in the freezer? Use that in a crockpot meal! Have a bunch of canned beans and veggies? Those are also great for an easy chili or dump it in soup. That idea comes from one of my favorite crock pot recipe books. I’ll link to it in the show notes, but remember to check and see if your local library has a copy before you run out and buy it!
Another thing, don’t be afraid to experiment. Pretend you are on the tv show chopped and you have 5 random ingredients from your pantry and fridge. How can you combine them into a meal? I do this all the time and call it a Lindsey concoction! I look at it this way, either it creates something delicious and you enjoy the heck out of your frugal meal, or maybe isn’t not the best but you’ll never recreate it because you’ll likely never have that same combination of ingredients again!
Tip 3: Make Your List (and check it twice!)
Before heading to the store, make a list of the items you need. I like a physical list on a piece of paper but you can also use the notes app on your phone, if you prefer. Most weeks, I don’t need more than a few fresh staples like milk, bananas or salad fixings. Because I’ve already made the most of what I have in my house, I don’t tend to need all that much.
Tip 4: Check Your Grocery Store Add and App
One final tip before leaving home is to check and see what is on sale at your store that week. If there is something that you can stock up on, and it’s on sale, add it to your list. But remember, it’s only a good deal if it is something you will actually use. Maybe pasta or canned veggies are on sale or you can grab a frozen pizza to have on hand.
Also take a few minutes to scroll through your grocery store’s app, if they have one. There are usually digital coupons that you can clip. See if there are coupons for anything that is already on your list or anything that you could add to your pantry for next week or month!
Just make sure you clip the ones that are for products you would normally buy. It isn’t a great deal if you save $1 but then end up not eating the thing you bought. Also, make sure to combine this with checking the store brands and the unit price, which I’ll talk about in a second. I actually had a couple coupons clipped in my app this weekend that I ended up not using because the store brand was still a better deal. So don’t just assume that because there is a coupon, it is the better deal!
Okay, so you have your meal plan, your shopping list and you've checked the ad and the coupons on your app. Now let’s talk about a few in store tips.
Tip 5: Unit Price is Your New Best Friend
Forget the big yellow sale tag. It's designed to distract you! The real secret to saving money is the tiny little number: the Unit Price.
This breaks down the cost by ounce, pound, or item so that you can actually compare apples to apples…or one jar of pasta sauce to another. One item might be on sale but is still actually higher than the other when you compare the per unit price. Yes, this takes a bit of extra work to look at the smaller numbers, but it can add up. Just make sure that you are in fact comparing the same unit. For whatever reason, one tag might show you the per ounce and the other one is price per liter, just double check your numbers! The larger size of something is generally the better deal, but not always! It pays to take a few seconds to look.
Occasionally, you will have to pull out your calculator and figure out the price per unit. To do that, take the price of the item and divide it by the unit (so ounce, liter, pound, etc) to get the unit price.
Tip 6: Embrace Store Brands
Store brands (or private labels) are often made in the exact same factories as the big name brands—sometimes even with the same ingredients—just with a different label and a much lower price tag.
Try challenging yourself to buy one store-brand item per trip that you normally buy name-brand. Start with something simple like canned beans or spices. Most of the time, the difference is barely noticeable, especially with something like beans that are being mixed in with other ingredients!
While I buy the store brand for the majority of my grocery items, I will admit that there is one thing that I have yet to find an acceptable generic of…that one thing is Cheerios! Just original ones too, there are some decent Honey Nut generics but original Cheerios are one thing I do stick to the name brand on!
Tip 7: Stick to Your List
You came into the store with a plan. Now the hard part comes in, the discipline to ignore all the colorful displays. This is where your willpower muscle will be tested. Because those end caps, and those tempting displays, and the impulse buys near the register are designed to separate you from your money, and they can derail your plan, and your budget, if you let them. If you find yourself reaching for something extra, take a moment to pause, take a deep breath and remember your bigger goals. Then ask yourself if this is something you truly need or if it can wait until next time, or perhaps not at all.
Ok friends, we’ve covered a lot today: shopping your pantry, making and sticking to a list, comparing the unit price, checking the ads and app for coupons and embracing store brands. But let’s circle back to where all the magic truly starts: The Plan.
If you’re sitting there thinking, "Meal planning sounds like another chore that I will fail at!" I hear you! That's exactly why I created my Printable Meal Planners. This process does not have to be complicated or complex.
These planners are designed to take the stress out of the process and give you a clear, simple way to:
Map out your week intentionally so you can stop asking "What's for dinner?" at 5:00 PM.
Do a quick check of your pantry in order to make sure you are using up items you already paid for first.
And create an intentional shopping list that you can follow because it aligns with the plan you just set!
This is actually the exact same planner I use every single week! Plus, I share even more recipes and bonus tips inside.
You can grab the Printable Meal Planners for just $9 on my Everything Page. Of course that link will be in the show notes for you!
Ok friends, that’s all for today. Remember, every single penny you save today on a loaf of bread or a container of milk is a penny that you can send toward a bigger, wilder goal. Don’t discount it just because it seems like “only a penny.” Those pennies WILL add up over time! You have the power to negotiate for a better financial life, and it all starts with small, confident steps, just like the ones I’ve shared with you here today.
You’ve got this! And I'm here to cheer you on every step of the way.
Remember, your biggest, wildest dreams are within reach. Let’s make some money moves so that you too can start to experience financial freedom.
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