I think we can all agree that life is expensive right now
Grocery prices are at an all time high and learning frugal habits can be life-changing
As I have learned to save money on food, I have started 13 frugal habits during my shopping trips:
- Reverse meal planning then making a list
- Find the clearance sections in your stores
- Use online shopping to help you stick to the list
- Keep up with weekly deals, rewards, and coupons then use cash back apps
- Stop shopping when you’re bored or hungry
- Be wise about what you buy in bulk
- Try generic brands and use them if they taste good
- Look at the unit cost of every item
- Make food from scratch whenever possible
- Buy produce in season
- Go shopping less often
- Deconstruct your meat
- Create a budget and stick to it
It took me about 6 months to start with cooking from scratch to implementing all 13 of these habits
It takes a little time to get good at them so give yourself grace
Choose one to practice and then add another when you feel confident!
You got this!
Reverse meal planning then make a list
You have probably heard about meal planning, but I prefer reverse meal planning
Reverse meal planning is creating a meal plan by shopping your pantry first, then shopping sales, and then finally making a grocery list at the end
This makes it so you actually use everything in your pantry and reduces how often you buy something that you already have
Then once you have planned as many meals or dishes using your pantry as you can, then look at the ads for the stores that you shop at
I usually look at the Safeway ad and the fred meyer ad
I also set up my shopping day for the day new sales come out
You can find amazing deals sometimes
if you find good deals, plan a few more meals with those sale items
If you find amazing deals, buy some extra to put in your freezer for another time
Once you have used what you can from your pantry and shopped the sales, then you need to make a list for anything you need to finish the meal plan
And follow the list!
Find the clearance sections in your stores
Most stores have a clearance section, or several sections
I shop at Fred Meyer and Safeway because they are closest to my tiny town
Fred meyer has three difference clearance sections
- Bakery
- Frozen
- Meat
And I check all three every time
I check for any fun treats or things I can freeze and use in the future
There are some great deals and sometimes you can get things like pizza for less than it takes to make one
But I always prefer to make as much as I can
Safeway has a large rack hidden next to their backer back room that has clearance from every section of the store mixed together
Use online shopping to help you stick to the list
I love using the app to shop instead of going in
It is easier to shop sales and it is easier to not overspend
The cart total is visible long before check out so sticking to the budget is easier
Then I use the pickup option to avoid needing to pick up most things when I go in
I do not use pickups for meat or fruit though
I prefer to see and choose what I like in those sections
Even with that, I save a lot of time using the app and pickups
I also spend a lot less money when I do it that way
Keep up with weekly deals, rewards, and coupons then use cash back apps
Moat stores have weekly deals, rewards, and coupons available on their app
Fred Meyer and Safeway usually have a great selection on deals
Walmart isn’t the best
When I start shopping online, I start at the weekly deals
It took some time, but I learned what good prices were
When those good prices appear, I buy a good amount
I get extra cheese and I freeze it when Fred Meyer puts it on sale for $6
Same thing when the 3 pound ground beef goes on sale for $8.50
I save a lot of money by watching those weekly deals and by using digital coupons
You can also look at Ibotta to see if anything is a good deal after their cashback offers
Then once the shopping is done, use cash back apps like Fetch to get gift cards by taking pictures of receipts
It’s not a lot but it is free money and it does add up
I also use Upside to pick where to get gas and get cashback after buying gas
Stop shopping when you’re bored or hungry
It never fails
If I go shopping when I am hungry or bored, I will overspend.
One way I avoid this is by doing my online shopping on day and then reviewing that cart the next day before ordering
There are often extra items that I take off once I had time to think about them
Shopping when you’re hungry can be devastating on the budget if you do it inside since you can’t review your cart easily before checking out
Be wise about what you buy in bulk
Buying in bulk can be a great option, but it is important to be wise about it
If you don’t use a lot of flour, don’t buy the big bag
Buying in bulk only saves money if you use that item fast enough to not waste any
Try generic brands and use them if they taste good
Generic brands are usually the same thing as the name brand
But way cheaper
Try the generic and see how it goes
Get the name brand if it is way better than the generic, but you never know until you try
Look at the unit cost of every item
I always look at the unit cost when I shop now
It helps me make the most informed decisions and know for sure that I am getting the better deal
This is extra important if there are multiple sizes
We think the larger box will be cheaper
And usually it is
But not always
So it is a good idea to check the unit cost, especially if the smaller package is on sale
Make food from scratch whenever possible
Cooking from scratch takes time but it is way healthier and way cheaper than buying premade food
I spend about an hour a day of the main meals and 5 hours a week making snacks and treats for my family
You would be surprised how much gets done in that time if you plan
If you are unsure about cooking from scratch, this article I wrote will help!
Buy produce in season
We do it every year and we get reminded every year to only buy produce when they are in season
My husband loves fruit and we will buy a lot of it all summer
Then fall comes and the fruit begins being poor quality
After a time or two of buying raspberries with mold in them, we stop buying fruit for the winter
By learning what produce is in season, you’ll save yourself from buying moldy raspberries and learn how to use produce that you would have if growing your own!
Go shopping less often
It happens every time, extra things end up in the cart when we go shopping
The less we go shopping, the less we spend that month
So our goal is to do main shopping trips twice a month and just essentials twice a month
Essentials include eggs and milk that we don’t buy enough of to last 2 weeks
This is only possible if you have gotten the meal planning down
Deconstruct your meat
If there is one major way we have saved money, it has been due to deconstructing our own meat
I get big pieces of beef, pork, and whole chickens
Then I deconstruct those large pieces into portions that we need for dinner
I get steaks and steak cubs from chuck eye roasts
I get breasts, wings, thighs, legs, and chicken stock from whole chicken
And I get pork chops and sausage from pork shoulders
The cost per pound of meat is drastically less if you buy large portions of meat when they are on sale
I get 8 chickens every time the buy 1 get 1 sale happens on whole chicken
That is about $5 per chicken and we get a lot of meals from 8 chickens
Those batches usually last 3 or 4 months
And I can, freeze, or freeze dry the chicken stock so I will definitely never run low on that
Create a budget and stick to it
My last tip is to create a budget and stick to it
The first step for that is figuring out what you typically spend right now
Once you know that, you can slowly decrease the monthly goal
Don’t try to change your budget from $1500 to $500 a month in one month unless you have no choice
You are way more likely to get overwhelmed
Just like always, take baby steps and you’ll be shocked where you are in a year
