Over the past two or three years I have noticed a strange phenomenon. Although my kids are growing and eating more, and we are eating more nutritious foods every year, my weekly grocery bill are getting less expensive. It’s strange! I’m doing so many things that I’m told should cost me more. I am buying more local food. I’m buying more organic food. We are trying a larger variety of foods as the kids’ tastes get more adventurous. So why is the weekly tab shrinking? Here are five reasons I came up with:
1) I make a list. I have a list that I print of my usual staples and I check off what I need throughout the week. Every Saturday morning I figure out what I am making for the week and add special items to my list. On Sunday when I go to the grocery store, I am armed with a list that allows me to purchase those good high-quality foods and no more. In short, I waste less when I have a list.
2) I buy local. At our local market the produce prices are very reasonable. Every Saturday after I make my lists, I buy everything I can from the farmers market. Not only does the food taste better, it lasts longer because it’s been picked in the past 24 hours, rather than traveling a week from a different time zone! Two weeks ago we picked almost 40 pounds of apples from a local orchard. These will last for weeks in the fridge, and we have made homemade applesauce, apple butter, dried apples and more.
3) I buy in bulk. This means buying oats out of the bulk bins and not the box. I buy large tubs of yogurt instead of single servings. Packaging costs extra money. Why pay for it if you are not going to eat it!
4) I buy less processed food. Processed food, for the most part, costs more. A store-bought granola bar costs 2-3 times what a homemade one does. As I make more homemade versions of store-bought food, my grocery bill shrinks. Popsicles, granola, muffins, cookies, and soups are all examples of things I used to buy but now make. I’m also skipping a lot of preservatives, additives, dyes extra salt and sweeteners.
5) I buy less store bought drinks. I used to store up on drink boxes and pouches for the kids to share when they had friends over. I would buy cartons of juice for breakfast, which I often had to throw away when they expired. My kids now drink water and organic milk and don’t seem to miss all the juice. My husband has kicked his diet soda habit, too (almost). I used to buy a vitamin-enhanced water, but stopped about a year ago. Water out of the tap is just about free, and has zero calories!
How do you save money at the grocery store?
Kudos to your readers! Your children will certainly benefit from these changes and your pocketbook will have more “change”!
Enjoying a healthier way of eating,
A grandmom: Mary
I do many of the same things. I have said for years that creating a menu for the week and then making your grocery list from that is more valuable than couponing! Plus you don’t worry about what’s for dinner!
I buy the $1 weekly menu planner notepads from Michael’s about twice a year. I keep one for breakfast and one for dinner on the fridge. I usually use the previous week’s menu to make the grocery list for the new week, so I double the use of each sheet. During the week, if I recognize something that we’re low on or out of, I can jot it in the memo section of the current menu- which will become my next grocery list.
I make our soups, which many times I will double. I keep a deep freezer stocked with meal-sized portions (and some individual lunch sized portions). I can’t even stand the taste of canned soups anymore! Plus, easy dinners of defrosting!
We have never been juice-giving parents, and I never stock the house with sodas unless we’re hosting a party or something. It’s organic milk & water most days. Occasionally OJ, but it’s RARE!
I make cookies from scratch using organics and use my small Pampered Chef scooper to scoop onto parchment-lined sheets to freeze. Once frozen, put the balls into a freezer bag. Whenever you need a few cookies, then pull them out and bake!
Which grocery store do you shop at? I moved to Fredericksburg from Northern Virginia and miss the price and convenience of Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods. Where do you go to buy bulk items (oats, oat bran, dried beans) and inexpensive organics? Also, I went to the farmer’s market in downtown F’burg and found the majority of the growers grew conventionally. I ended up not buying much since there was only one organic farmer there. Any local tips you have would be great! Thank you!
Jasmine, I am a big Wegman’s shopper (in Central Park) and being from Northwestern PA, it’s what I grew up on. There own store brand is VERY high quality and saves me a lot of money. They have a good bulk section and the “Nature’s Marketplace” area has even more bulk and some organic bulk. Harvest Market in Spotsylvania Courthouse Village has a lot of great options, bulk and local items. I frequent the Spotsylvania Farmer’s Market at Rt. 3 and Gordon Rd. which runs on Saturdays from 8-1. It’s a great market with a good variety (ALL local) and I’m seeing a bit more organic lately. I buy chicken and eggs there too. At the height of summer there are about 35 vendors (less now that it’s fall) but they do run all the way until Thanksgiving. There are some organic CSA’s in the area too. Hope this helps!
Awesome! Thank you!