Grocery shopping.  Next to the home mortgage, it’s probably your family’s biggest monthly expense.  According to the USDA, the average family of four spends $239 a week on what they call a “moderate” cost food plan.  That’s almost $1,000 a month.  Wow, that’s a hefty sum.

Is there a way to save at the market?  Well, you could diligently cut out, sort, and try to use dozens of coupons each week, but that often results in deals on items or brands that you don’t normally buy (“I got 5 bottles of ‘Joe Namath’ conditioner for only a dollar – woo hoo!”) that are just going to take up valuable space in your home and never get used.

Is there a way to save without using coupons?

Of course there is.

Here are some basic tips I follow each week that save me anywhere from 10%-20% on my weekly grocery bill – without all of the coupon hassle.

 

Have a Plan

The absolute worst thing you can do is go to the grocery store without a plan (a close second is going to the store hungry – good Lord, don’t ever do that).  Sometime prior to your weekly visit, check your pantry, refrigerator, and freezer for things you already have on hand.  Sit down and create a menu for the upcoming week.   Sure it takes a little time, but it is well worth the effort.  Make note of activities that may interfere, delay, or completely screw up any home dinner plans.  What nights are you out of the house for a soccer game?  Who’s got music lessons?  Is there a church meeting you need to attend?  Once the schedule is sorted out, use your recently completed inventory of what’s on hand and start sketching out the evening meals.  Chicken thighs in the freezer?  Good.  Stuffing mix in the pantry?  OK.  Looks like there are some frozen green beans in the freezer as well.  Well what do you know?  There’s Monday’s meal – and you didn’t need a thing.  Complete the remaining days with your menu ideas and pencil in the things you’ll need to purchase to fill-in the blanks.

 

Make a List – and Stick to It

Once you’ve made your menu list, keep it on your fridge or somewhere handy that you can add to it during the week.  When you see that you’re low on cream cheese?  Mark it on the list.  Almost out of grape jam?  Add it to the list.  This helps keep you on track at the store, preventing that awful feeling of driving home later and realizing you forgot something (“damn it – the grape jam!”).  It also cuts down on spoilage and waste, as you are buying only the things that you know you are planning to use for the coming week.

 

Watch for Sales – Then Stock Up

I watch the paper all the time for sales, especially on proteins such as ground beef, chicken, pork, or fish (the highest priced items on my weekly list).  Once you start to do this on a regular basis, you’ll learn to identify – and take advantage of – “good buys” when you see them.  For example, Sunnyway Foods in Greencastle, PA recently had chicken quarters on sale.  A forty pound box (yes, forty pounds) for only $16.99.  That works out to about $0.43/lb – and that’s a good deal.  Now all it takes is some freezer space, some storage bags, and a little time and I can break that down into multiple portions, safely tucked away in my freezer for future use.  Now I don’t have to worry about chicken for a while (and my menu planning just got easier).  This works well for ground beef and pork as well (for example, you can get multiple center cut chops and even a nice roast from a whole boneless pork loin).  In addition to meats, the grocery store will often have some sort of buy-one-get-one-free sale on breads (which also freeze well) or other products.  Again, if you have the room, take advantage of these types of deals, as you’re filling your future grocery lists on a single run.

 

Convenience Costs – Be Aware

Grocery stores love to make life easier for you.  Look! They’ve already cut up all the peppers, onions, and broccoli for that beef stir-fry.  Now take a look at the price of that convenience.  Odds are you’ll do much better (price-wise) buying your own pepper, onion, and broccoli head and cutting it up yourself (and you can use the leftover veg in a salad or some other dish).  This happens all over the store.  Love cheese cubes?  Buy a block of cheese and cut it up at home.  Celery sticks for the kid’s lunches?  Buy the big celery stalk and do it yourself.  In addition, the center aisles of the grocery store are loaded with pre-packaged and processed foods.  Not only can you probably make whatever dinner item you were going to buy at a better price with fresh ingredients from the outer aisles, it’s probably also better for you (as you know what is in the completed dish – not a long list of chemicals and additives).  There’s a reason Twinkies last forever, and it’s not from the flour and sugar.

Check Out the Store Brands

People tend to shy away from the “store brand” in favor of a “name brand” of their favorite food product.  My advice is to give them a try.  Quite often, there is no difference in quality (some items are even made at the same factory and just packaged with a different label), but the store brand is always cheaper.  Sure, there will be some items that have taste differences, but for the most part, I’ll bet your family won’t even notice.

 

Try some of these tips on your upcoming shopping trips, then compare your itemized receipts and your overall food spending.  You may be surprised at how much better you fared, and it didn’t require chasing down the Sunday coupons in the newspaper at all.