I thought I’d rekindle something here at Simply Frugal. 🙂 I love hearing from you guys and enjoy the conversation that can be had with the “I’m wondering” questions I’ve asked in the past. So, I thought I’d get those “I’m Wondering” questions going again!
Let’s get started shall we?
I’m Wondering: What is your #1 Grocery Saving Tip?
Have you got something you’ve been wondering about that I could feature in a future I’m Wondering post? Submit your question to us here!
-Meal planning (use first the existing ingredients and buy exactly the quantity for that I don’t have it);
– cook from scratch ( I buy food and not cardboard)
-for products used constantly ( flour for bread, pasta and tomato sauce, detergent etc) I buy only is an offer and big quantity ( sometimes I am ordering online)
– avoid the supermarket: go to local producers
-eat season and local products (cheaper and healthier)
Meal planning with emeals.com! Each week they send a new menu (food style and dinner size of your choice) this includes a weekly shopping list. I use the list, buy the items and nothing else as this covers 7 days so we don’t need to veer off this plan unless there is something w don’t like. It’s only $25 or $30 for an entire year so it’s extremely readinable!! Used them for 3 years now and love it. Can change plans if desired whenever as well. Can email them for a discount too.
Typo – extremely affordable!! I meant.
Meal planning. This is one thing that always goes off the rails for me, but I know that if I take 1/2 hour to plan out meals before going shopping, I end up saving tons, and less food gets thrown out at the end of the week, too.
I used to buy 1% milk, by the 4L jug. Now I buy the 3.5% or higher milk fat milk, and don’t fill the glass up(maybe 80% full) – I top it up with water. It tastes the same to me and costs less, and I’m having to recycle a big plastic jug less often.
What prompted me to start doing this? I converted to organic milk for health reasons and of course the cost was atrocious so this new habit helps me lower the cost, but the same principle re cost savings can be applied to regular milk.
I looked into buying powdered milk, too – but find it’s only available in-store as skim, which is fine for baking but not so tasty for drinking in my opinion. I found that higher fat powdered milk can be ordered online, but unfortunately the high shipping costs didn’t make it feasible.
Don’t shop thirsty, hungry or tired; buy what you eat on sale, price match, menu plan and cook from scratch, stockpile 2- 3 months worth of groceries, get familiar with best price and scanning policy,and shop only once a week.
Cut our grocery bill 50% With this plan.
Knowing what is a “good price” by keeping a price book
Second best would be to shop alone if possible (no kids OR husband) ;)!
Always eat before getting groceries. My mother used to say “Eat a sandwich, save $100.”
I have been meal planning, making the grocery list, then using the saleWhale app to find all the things I need on sale and write down beside each item which store it is on sale. I only visit 3 stores..No frills by my moms (I stop and check on her daily after work anyway), then Save On and Sobeys and both of which are across the street from each other and by my house. Occasionally I go to Walmart if most of my items are on sale there instead. Not as painful as it sounds to visit each store. It takes a bit of pre-planning but I have found that I am saving over $50.00 dollars a week in just doing this. This is a new process for me but I think it is working – Am I crazy?!?
LEAVE THE KIDS AT HOME! I spent way more and grab items we didn’t REALLY need when they are with me! I am loving the order online from Save on Foods. I can leave the app open and go through the cupboards and only order what we need.
My husband and I very rarely shop at a supermarket. Instead, we get our groceries from local independent grocers who usually cater to various ethnic groups; for instance, we’re in Vancouver and go shopping at Sunrise Market, where we bought tomatoes on Sunday for $0.69/lb ($3.99/lb at the local T&T) and oranges at $0.49/lb ($0.89 to $0.99/lb at the local Nester’s and IGA). Our weekly grocery bill for two is rarely more than $45.
We started doing meal planning a few weeks ago and it has definitely saved us some money. We try to make sure we can use up stuff from the pantry first and usually add one big meal so that we have a left over night later on in the week.