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Groceries are a super large chunk of everyone’s budget but there are some key things that you can avoid that will help to drastically reduce your weekly and monthly costs. I know many of these are “fun” items and it kinda feels like I’m putting you on a diet, but at least try this challenge for me before you give up on me…
A Grocery Challenge:
The next time you are in the grocery store focus on just things for meals and keep any extra items in a different part of the buggy (or even better have a kid push a smaller second buggy). Anything “extra” I want you to pay for separately. You are going to see right away just how much of your grocery costs went to things that weren’t for a main meal.
Top Things That Break Your Grocery Budget
Soda & Sparkling Water
Remember when your grandmother used to only offer you water… yeah she was smart. If it drives you crazy then grab a couple lemons from the produce department usually around 50¢ and you’ve got some flavor added in.
Crackers & Chips
In most stores these are right across from soda… so maybe just skip these aisles completely! These are not providing any nutrition, just calories. If you have to pay for something grab a bag of grapes on sale at the same price and you’ve at least gotten some vitamins added in.
Juice
There was a day when whatever juice was buy one get one that week was in our cart. After a few kids cavities we realized just how much juice folks were drinking and these got cut. Looking back a few bottles a week definitely add up and I don’t miss the cost at all!
Cookies & Candy
You probably saw this coming on the list. Yeah there’s a theme so far. Empty calories with no nutrition and not a necessary ingredient for a meal… these are you “hey I have $2 left in the budget” items. But really need to be considered only when you know there is room.
Prepared or Chopped Items
Anytime we purchase an item that someone else cooked or chopped we are going to pay an added cost for their time. Even if it’s buy one get one or “on sale”, I promise grabbing the whole watermelon or making the salad yourself if cheaper.
Pre-Seasoned Meat and Fish
It’s never a deal to buy hamburger patties compared to just grabbing ground beef, but really all pre-seasoned meat is bad call. You are paying quite a mark up and odds are you already have the seasonings you need at home anyway!
Tips to Stay on Budget
- Always eat right before grocery shopping. This is very proven, that going in full drastically cuts down on unplanned and unnecessary items.
- Truly focus on things you need to specifically for meals first. Then go back in or have that second buggy if there is extra money left over.
- High sugar and high carb items are always the cheapest, but they leave us hungry for more and cause you to actually need more groceries. Trust me, try a week without things and you’ll find that everyone has less munchies.
- Actually have a budget. You can’t stay on budget if you aren’t actually trying to stay under a set number. Draw a line and refuse to cross it. This week, be the person that puts things back if the total gets too high.
- Create a price per meal game plan. You can make a per person cost or for the whole meal. Planning out the total cost though, helps you make better decisions on meats and entrees rather than just wanting steak and paying the $20+ for them. If we eat steak tonight then we need to balance that with a cheap plan tomorrow (like spaghetti).
