How To Cut Your Grocery Bill

Are you looking for the best way to save money on groceries? Check out these simple tips below to cut your grocery bill and save money every week at the store.

Did you know the average family of four spends anywhere from $7,500 to $15,000 a year on groceries? That's a lot of money just to be eating it!

So how can you cut your grocery bill and keep it low without all those coupons? These simple steps can help you save money.

Check out my favorite tips below on the best ways to save money on groceries.

How To Cut Your Grocery Bill

Saving money on groceries doesn't have to take a lot of time. You can easily save money and skip using the coupons if you want too!

I have tips below on saving money on the grocery bill whether you use coupons or not, even tips on saving with grocery pick-up and delivery!

Meal Planning

If you are just getting started on lowering the grocery bill meal planning is the first place to start. It's one of the easiest ways to save.

By planning meals each week you can plan for what you are buying and not just pick up whatever you find at the store. You can also plan around what you have going on that week, so you have simple meals for busy nights.

Meal planning doesn't have to take a long time or require you to search through recipe books. I love using pinterest to pin ideas of foods I want to try and meals my family loves.

If you are new to meal planning make sure you grab my meal planning printable to use. It's completely free and easy to use.

Buy In Season Fruits & Vegetables

Buying in-season fruits and vegetables can save you so much money. Strawberries are often $.99 during the summer, but buy them in December and you could pay $3 or more.

It is only a few dollars, but each week can save you $5-10 dollars by buying in season.

Want a few more ways to save on fruits & vegetables?

• Check for marked-down produce (most stores have a small section)
• Buy Organic (they tend to have coupons or deals)
• Don't buy more than you will use
• Make it last longer (check out these great tips to help it last)

Check Out The Discounts

Does your store have a discount area at the store? You can often find discount fruit and vegetables, dry goods, meat and seafood, dairy, and a frozen section. I always take a few minutes to check each of them out.

Often, I find food that will be expiring soon but are fantastic deals. If I see a wonderful deal I pick it up and make sure we eat it before it expires. Don't forget, there are lots of foods that freeze well too.

Skip The Meat

Steak tastes great but tends to be very expensive. Even the price of ground beef is high anymore. You can save a large amount of money if you eat meat-free one day a week.

Instead of a steak, try a vegetarian soup or bean burritos. I like to use a can of beans to make bean burgers. At around $.50-$.60 a can, beans are a huge money savings over a pound of ground beef.

Still want to buy the meat? Check out these ways to save on meat.

• Buy in bulk (Costco or Sam's Club is great for this)
• Timing is everything (Buy Turkey after Thanksgiving, Ham after Easter)
• Look for soon-to-expire meats on sale

Don't Go To The Store Hungry

This is a silly one but can make a big difference in the amount of snack foods you buy.

I am way more likely to throw in something that I don't need if I am hungry. Suddenly, everything in the store looks so good and I make bad impulse buys. If I go to the store full, I will stick to what is on my list.

Use Mobile Apps

I love all the money-saving mobile apps. Most grocery stores have their own mobile apps where you can clip store coupons or discounts. Plus, there are lots of apps that offer you a refund for buying certain products.

Want to save more? You can check out a few of my favorites here. I usually save around 100 dollars a year or more with the money-saving apps.

Shop Multiple Stores

I don't spend my whole week running from store to store, but I do usually shop at two stores. I shop at either Kroger or Meijer to buy the sale items that week. Then I head over to Aldi to buy what I couldn't find good deals on at Kroger or Meijer. This allows me to save without running all over town during the week. Just shopping at one more store can help save you money.

Use Cash

I love using cash to do the grocery shopping. It's a great way to save money on groceries. If you are going to use cash at the store then you are limited to how much you bring to the store. Make sure you have enough cash with you to buy everything you need, but not a lot extra so you aren't tempted to throw in a bunch of extras.

I recommend you have a little extra just in case you see a really good unexpected deal or find something you regularly use on clearance. You can see how we use the cash envelope here.

Save With Online Shopping

If you are often busy and don't have time to do the grocery shopping in the store you can still save money.

I sometimes think it is cheaper to do the shopping when I order it all online.

I like to do Kroger Clicklist and pick up my order. You can also have it delivered to your home for around $5 dollars.

If you are doing online shopping there are a few ways to save.

• You can see the best deals with the flyers
• You often buy less (no more impulse buys)
• Can save you time

Skip The Store Brands

Growing up I don't ever remember buying store brands. We pretty much bought name-brand everything. Which was awesome when my mom & dad were footing the bill.

To save money I started buying more and more store brand foods. Not only do I save money, but most things taste the same to me. There are a few things we avoid generic of like pop tarts and Oreos, but we don't buy those things that often anyway. Try a few things in store brands like cream cheese or sliced cheese. You can slowly figure out what your family likes or doesn't like.

You don't have to be a crazy coupon lady to still save on the grocery budget. With these tips, you will cut your grocery budget in no time.