Looking to lower your food bill but don’t know how? Here’s your beginner’s guide to frugal grocery shopping!
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Table of contents
Know Your Current Food Bill
The first thing you need to do to lower your family’s food bill is to know how much your family is currently spending on groceries each month. You can track this in a budget if you have one, or write down how much you spend from your receipts. If you want to compare this to average grocery costs for a family of your size you can use the USDA-endorsed Grocery Budget Calculator. This calculator lets you customize the age ranges of members of your family and the number of meals eaten at home each week. Use your current food bill as a starting point to try and lower your next month’s expenses.
Factors Affecting Your Food Bill
Any of these factors could increase your food bill. The Grocery Budget Calculator does not take all of these factors into account so make sure you also consider how these will affect your family’s food expenses.
- Food Allergies
- Number of Family Members
- Age of Family Members
- Location
- Diet Choices
Frugal Grocery Shopping Tips
1. Buy Generic Brands
Name-brand foods are almost always more expensive than generic brands like Great Value, or Member’s Mark. Just making this one switch is guaranteed to save you money on your monthly food bill! Some grocery stores are also higher priced than others. Walmart and Aldi are typically the cheapest, while Target, Hy-vee, and others are more expensive overall. Buying generic brands at these cheaper stores will save you even more money! Be prepared, however, that quality will vary from name-brand products you may normally like.
2. Cut Out Unnecessary Expenses
Paring down is one of the first steps of frugal shopping. Eliminating extra “treats”, junk foods, flavored drinks, or ingredients you know you won’t fully use before expiration will help lower your food bill. Just cutting back on one case of pop per month could save you $10. Pair that with one less bag of chips, box of cookies, or carton of ice cream and you can easily come in $20 under your starting grocery bill!
3. Cook From Scratch
Cooking from scratch can be difficult if you’re not used to doing it or don’t have much time. However, you can make most pre-packaged, or restaurant meals at home for less than half the price. Cooking from scratch does take time to learn, so don’t plan on this being the only option you start with or you may get discouraged the first time you try to lower your food bill. If you’re new to cooking from scratch, I recommend learning to make easy meals like pizza or learning to replicate a freezer or restaurant meal you like on your own!
4. Shop For Sales
Most stores offer weekly sale prices for certain items. You can find these sales online, on the store’s app, or in ads in your weekly newspaper. Watch for products you know you will use to go on sale and then buy multiple units so you don’t have to pay full price later. Remember, just because an item is on sale doesn’t mean you need to buy it! If you buy a product you don’t need or won’t use you’ll be wasting money!
5. Buy in Bulk
Often, foods can be a better price per ounce when you buy in bulk. This means you’re buying more or larger products, but the company is saving money on additional, individual packaging. Sam’s Club and Costco are great places to find bulk items but you can also “buy in bulk” by purchasing lots of one item when it goes on sale or clearance. Make sure if you plan to start bulk buying groceries that you have the storage for them and that you’ll use them before expiration. To evaluate if this method of saving money is right for you, check out my post on how to bulk-buy cheap groceries.
6. Meal Plan
Meal plans don’t have to be complicated! Knowing what you want to cook before you go grocery shopping, though, can save you money by making sure you only buy what you need. If you’re looking to start meal planning but need some help, check out my post on easy meal planning! There are all kinds of different ways to plan (weekly, monthly, etc) so choose what works best for you. If you’re new to meal planning, try to start simply by planning one week at a time. Don’t get discouraged if you make a mistake or don’t follow the plan exactly!
7. Create a Capsule Pantry
A capsule pantry is a well-stocked pantry curated with ingredients your family uses regularly for meals they love to eat. Essentially, you look through your common meals for overlapping ingredients. You then make a list of these ingredients so you know what you always need to keep on hand. Then, you create your shopping list each week based on what you know is missing from those shelves (plus any additional fresh or extra ingredients for new recipes). This way, you always have meals on hand for when you’re in a hurry or low on budget at the end of the month. If you’re interested in starting your own capsule pantry, you can check an example of my own pantry and get free printable to create your own!
8. Cash-Back Apps
Cash back apps like Fetch and Ibotta give you money back when you buy certain products. You can then cash those savings out for gift cards to spend later on other purchases. You can save quite a bit of money with cash-back apps but it takes time. This method of lowering your food bill is best combined with other options. If you’re new to this method of frugal shopping, I have a how-to guide for Ibotta and affiliate links for both Ibotta and Fetch for you to earn even more!
9. Pick-Up Orders
Free pick-up orders can be a massive money-saving, especially when used in conjunction with meal planning or capsule pantries. This is because it keeps you from buying anything extra while walking around the store. Once you submit your order, nothing else can catch your eye. The added benefit is that it saves you the time of shopping!
10. Alternative Food Sources
Frugal shopping leads to creative shopping! Check our local area for discount grocery stores, wholesale stores, local farmers, or a Ruby’s Pantry location. These types of stores often offer excess produce, bent and dent items, or near-expiration goods for cheaper than regular grocery stores. As long as you make sure to use these items before expiration in your meals, they can be a huge money saving!
What if Frugal Shopping Doesn’t Save Enough on Your Food Bill?
If you have tried your hardest to save money on your food bill but still aren’t able to afford enough groceries to keep your family fed, consider reaching out to your county for assistance. You may be able to find government programs like SNAP or WIC to help meet your needs. Many counties also have local food banks that can provide free food for qualifying income restrictions.
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