18 Helpful Tips to Reduce your Grocery Bill 

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18 Helpful Tips to Reduce your Grocery Bill

These last couple of years have been a crazy and an unpredictable one. With the pandemic and the uncertainty of what will come has taken a toll not just on our families but throughout the whole world and we are still feeling the effects today and forecasted for some time yet. 

With these ongoing issues and now with the festive season fast approaching, it’s never been a better time to look at cutting costs or revising easy cost savers where you can. 

The first thing that comes to mind is the weekly grocery bill. With food costs rising, you have probably noticed an increase on your bill each time.

Theres never been a better time to assess and evaluate the family budget. Even a few dollars saved each week can total a big saving over time when comparing annually.

I have created a list of easy tips to reduce your grocery bill. This list also highlights just how easy it is for added extras not accounted for can add up without even realising. 

This being said with a little focus and evaluation you can save easily and efficiently by implementing a few of these tips.  

Follow and implement some of these Tips to Reduce your Grocery Bill and challenge yourself to see if you can make a savings to your family budget.

Meal Plan

I cannot stress enough how vital meal prep is. Not only for helping to reduce your grocery bill but for convenience and organisation.

Meal Prep has a string of positive benefits when regularly implemented into your daily routine.  

Not only are you planning and organising your week of healthy nutritious meals, but you are also going to be less stressed when you arrive home after a busy day’s work and running around with after-school activities with the kids. Meal prep allows you to walk in and have a nutritious meal ready to reheat in minutes. 

Another important and positive benefit to meal prep is that it can save you generously on your weekly grocery bill. When you are prepared and organised it will ensure that you won’t have to buy takeaway due to having no time to prepare a meal.

By having a meal plan in place can also help you to see what you have in your fridge and pantry. By looking at what you already have can ensure you use up those ingredients first. This will help you save by using up what you have on hand before buying another. This can also help with wastage, potentially saving foods from going to waste from spoiling when doubling up. 

Check what you have on hand

Once you have planned your weekly menu of meals, before you start your grocery list, have a look in your pantry and fridge to see what you currently have on hand. 

Doing this can help you to save on waste and not buy more than you need. 

Make a Grocery list

Making a list of what you need for the weekly menu can help you not overspend on things you may not need. 

Creating a grocery list can help you to stay prepared and on top of your meal prep and not buy impulse items that you don’t need. 

Shop Around

Shopping around at a few supermarkets can help to save you money by comparing prices and weekly specials. 

This can take a little more time but is usually worth the time when you work out your savings, especially over a yearly period. 

Shop Online

Shopping online can be both a cost-saver and a time-saver. 

By shopping online, you can cut out 3 steps – 

1. your grocery list, as you can create your list as you place items in your cart, 
2. it cuts out the time and effort to actually shop for those items and, 
3. you can get your groceries delivered straight to our house. 

Personally, I love online grocery shopping in particular for those reasons above. 

The supermarket usually offers a yearly delivery subscription that is a fraction of the price compared to a once off delivery, and when you compare gas prices at the moment it’s totally worth it. 

When the pandemic hit, it was ideal not having to mix with people at the supermarket and with the groceries coming straight to the front door it saves leaving the house. 

Online shopping also reduces the temptation of placing items in your trolley that are not on your grocery list and eliminates the surprise of the bill total at the end.  

Shop for the Season

Shopping for items that are in season can help reduce costs as these items are usually a fraction of the price compared to the off-season. 

Another positive is that you usually get products grown within your country compared to those imported in the off-season. 

Don’t Shop When You’re Hungry

I don’t know about you, but everything looks irresistible when your hungry. 

Ensure you have eaten before you go into the supermarket to avoid placing numerous items and products in your cart that are not on your weekly grocery list. This will increase your total bill cost dramatically and expectedly. 

Don’t Shop With Your Kids

What is with kids and the supermarket?!

If your kids are like mine and ask for almost everything they see, then I would definitely recommend going to the shops without them to avoid a meltdown and easy cost blowouts. 

Take some ‘me time’ and shop alone. Grab a coffee and have a nice quiet shop on your own if time permits or just do your groceries online to streamline the whole process.  

Buy In Bulk

Buying in bulk may seem a lot up front but when you work out the cost by the kilogram or another metric measure you can save a lot by buying in bulk. 

Just ensure you do compare as this may not always be the case. The supermarkets usually these days have the measurement stated on the price label for you.

Make Double

Buying in bulk means that you can cook in batches. Think double or even triple to save you time and money in the long run. 

Making a double batch of pasta sauce or a veggie bake to use for a few nights as part of your meal prep will help on the nights you need a meal ready to go otherwise you may be tempted to grab an expensive and unhealthy takeaway to make up time.  

Buy When on Special

Each supermarket generally have weekly specials in their catalog and also half-price specials. 

With online ordering, the supermarket usually has a filter for you to be able to shop for these specials to make the process even easier. 

By meal planning from these special prices can help to save you on your weekly grocery bill especially when items are half-price.

Portion Control

Portion control can not only help to spread the meal around but can also help you to stick to your healthy eating habits. 

Meal prep can help in this situation by cooking in advance and portioning out into airtight containers and storing in the fridge or even the freezer for easy and convenient meals to reheat in minutes. 

Consider Cheaper Proteins

Shopping for proteins that are on special for the week or cheaper cuts that are convenient for slow cooking can help not only to save money but an easy alternative to cooking when time poor.

Simply place in the slow cooker in the morning and you have set yourself up with delicious meal to come home to ready to eat. 

Leftovers for Lunch

Cooking in bulk or having leftovers from the night before can be a convenient way to meal prep for work the next day. This helps to ensure you are prepared and not left to buy expensive work lunches.

Having work lunches prepared can also ensure you have a healthy nutritious meal for work. 

Cheaper Brands

Usually, there is nothing wrong with the cheaper brands and most times they look and tastes the same. 

It all depends on personal choice but choosing this option can be an easy cost saver.

Alternative Ingredients

Being flexible and choosing ingredients that work in multiple recipes can help you reduce your grocery bill by reducing the number of items on your list and also ensure you use up what you have on hand. 

Using different ingredients can also help jazz up the same meal you cook each week by changing it up slightly with a new ingredient and help inspire you to be a little creative and try new things. 

Stick With 5 Ingredients or Fewer Recipes

Using 5 ingredient recipes has so many great advantages for obvious reasons. 

Not only is it easy to whip up, but it also usually means that you don’t need to add as many items and products to your grocery list which in turn will help reduce your grocery bill. Another advantage can help reduce your wastage as you can use up what you have at home.  

It can also mean for a quick and easy meal to prepare and cook.

Homemade

When you are cooking homemade meals you are able to control what you put in your cooking and you can control the nutritious elements.

If you compare a pre-brought meal from the supermarkets it usually has some preservatives in the product to help increase the shelf life.

Another disadvantage to buying pre-made is that the cost is usually far more expensive than if you made it at home.

Final Thoughts

The rising costs of living for families has dramatically increased at a sharp rate in recent times.

We are having to find ways to help reduce the cost of living to help the family budget.

I hope my tips to reduce your grocery bill will inspire you to give them a go and may also be helpful and useful for you to implement in your weekly grocery and reduce your grocery bill.

Let me know how you go on my socials.

Amy x

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