6 Smart Habits that Will Lower Your Grocery Bill
As the prices of grocery items increase, many people face the challenge of sticking to a budget while ensuring that they can stock all their household essentials. Even staple foods like eggs, rice, and vegetables are becoming expensive. Some people choose to buy fewer of these items or substitute more affordable alternatives in order to stay within their budget. However, sometimes cheaper foods may not always be the healthiest option.
While it can be difficult to manage your grocery budget with prices going up, making some adjustments to your shopping habits and getting more creative in the kitchen can help you prepare nutritious and delicious meals at home. Try the following smart habits to keep your grocery bill down while keeping your household healthy and well-fed:
Purchase Staple Foods in Bulk
While it may seem like you’ll be buying more, purchasing foods in bulk will eventually help lower your grocery bill. That’s because bulk food items have lower per-unit prices compared to items sold in smaller portions. Family packs of certain foods usually cost less per serving compared to smaller packs that you may need to buy more frequently. That said, be sure to calculate a product’s unit price so you can compare which product size will give you the most savings.
Some of the foods that you can buy in bulk include poultry, meat, grain, and cooking oil. These staple items will allow you to cook simple and nutritious meals quickly.
Invest in a Chest Freezer
When buying in bulk, be sure you have space to store them. For example, you may need to buy chest freezer with a larger capacity than your refrigerator’s freezer so you can store frozen bulk food items like meat and poultry. Maximize this space by learning how to prolong the lifespan of certain foods by freezing them. For example, frozen fruits and vegetables are often cheaper and have a longer shelf life than fresh ones.
Although buying a new appliance requires you to make an initial investment, having a chest freezer can help reduce your expenses in the long run. You can buy and store more food when prices are lower and stretch the gap between food shopping trips.
Plan Your Meals
Planning out your weekly meals can lower your grocery bill in different ways. First, it helps you come up with a grocery list that you can stick to. This way, you can avoid making impulse purchases, which can quickly add up. Second, meal plans for the week encourage you to cook more at home and pass up on dining out or ordering takeout when you’re having a busy day. Additionally, planning your meals helps you make healthier food choices because you’re aware of the ingredients you put in every dish.
You don’t need to be a great cook to start planning your meals. Start with a few simple recipes and use them to master basic cooking techniques. Make sure to save your family’s favorites so you can keep them in rotation and learn more recipes as you build up your cooking skills. Pretty soon, you’ll see significant savings in your grocery bills and improvements in your well-being.
Check for the Lowest Prices
Don’t buy the first item you see—it’s best to browse the shelves first to find the best deal. Some groceries carry generic or in-house brands of pantry staples at a lower price than their branded counterparts. These may include staples like rice, herbs, meats, condiments, and canned goods. These items are usually of similar or comparable quality, so it’s best to check the prices of different brands and opt to get lower-priced items.
Check Your Food Inventory
Whether it’s your freezer or pantry, regularly checking your food stocks can help you save money. You may think you’re out of food when certain food items run out, but browsing your fridge and cupboards may lead to the discovery of forgotten foods and unused ingredients. So before you come up with a new shopping list, check out everything you have left and make sure to use them up first. While it may take some effort and creativity, try to use up the ingredients that you have before buying new ones.
Taking regular inventory of your food also helps you consume it before they spoil. Allowing food to go bad means you’ll be wasting money too.
Get Creative with Leftovers
Another smart habit that can lower your grocery bill is eating leftovers. It helps save you from making another meal and wasting food that may still be safe to consume.
Once a week, check your fridge and reheat leftovers from the week. If you have several dishes left, having all these for one meal might feel like you’re eating at a buffet without spending any money. Eating leftovers saves you from having to cook another meal from scratch, so you can use your time to do something else. And if you’re up to the challenge, you can repurpose a leftover dish and create something new. Doing this just might inspire you to create your family’s new favorite recipe.
While it may take some getting used to, practicing these smart habits can help lower your grocery bill. Having a tight budget doesn’t mean you have to give up eating nutritious and delicious foods. You just have to make a few adjustments to ensure you stay within your food budget.
