Saving money on groceries
I hate grocery shopping. I hate going to the supermarket, walking down the aisles to look for what I need, loading the car and then carrying all the bags to the kitchen and then unloading. I would stop except that I haven't figured out how to stop eating (damn my appetite!) or become independently wealthy (so I can pay someone else to perform this task for me).
The other reason why I hate grocery shopping is that I've noticed more and more that prices are creeping up ever higher. Did you know that the U.S. Department of Labor estimates that the average American family of four spends $8,513 per year on groceries. That's about $709 per month for mathematically-challenged people like me.
Even worse, food prices went up by
4 percent in the United States last year and are expected to climb as much again this year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
How do we keep money in our pocket even as we have to keep feeding ourselves? The good people at Oklahoma State University Cooperative Extension had some really good tips:
1. Take fewer trips to the grocery store. Make a big trip only once or twice a month. A consumer who goes to the store three times per week and spends $10 on impulse purchases each trip will end up spending an additional $120 per month. By going to the store just once per week, consumers will spend only $40 per month on these purchases; shopping once per month results in only $10 spent on impulse items. The shop-less save-more strategy can save families nearly $1,000 per year.
2. Buy generics. Cereal, canned foods and frozen foods can be cheaper sold through the store brand name. In most cases, quality isn't that much different.
3. Comparison shop. If there are different grocers in your area, compare sale prices before you shop.
4. Use coupons. Many stores will double the amount of your coupons up to $1.
5. Make a list and plan your meals. Stick to that list so you're less likely to impulse buy and less likely to buy food that you don't need. Buying less food that you don't need means you can cut down on tossing food out that spoils because you didn't eat it in time.
6. Cut out eating out. Buying a cup of coffee every day can add up. Buying lunch every day for $6 can add up.
Here's a tip from me. Don't go grocery shopping when you're hungry. You tend to throw a lot of food that you don't actually need into your cart (potato chips, dip, cheezy poofs) because your tummy is growling. I always spend more money on groceries if I shop when I'm hungry.
I think most of those ideas are good ones... I'm not entirely convinced that it's cheaper to bring your own food for lunch, though, since I'm not sure if it's cheaper for me to spend $5 or $6 for lunch every day or shop for groceries so I can pack something from home (which means, if I don't eat it all in time, the food could spoil, which doesn't end up saving much money at all). I need to test the cost-savings on both at some point so I can figure out which is cheaper. Anyone have any idea?
(AP Photo)
Technorati ProfileCategories: Budgeting, Cheap/Frugal, Food, Shopping
Comments
Mmm. Cheezy poofs. Say, this was the Taste centerpiece topic today! Great minds and all that.
DD: Mary, I just noticed that, too! See? We're all thinking about saving money on food... I try to buy generics, but when it comes to cheezy poofs, I don't scrimp. I buy Utz. I just think they taste better and leave my fingers the exact color of orange they're supposed to be.
Posted by: mary | April 23, 2008 9:51 AM
Bringing lunch from home is BY FAR cheaper than eating out everyday. You can spend less than $15 and have sandwich makings and chips for a whole week... or a couple bucks for some soup you heat up in the microwave! Or just cook a larger portion for dinner and have leftovers. It's not even a close call price wise...
Posted by: Andrea | April 23, 2008 10:42 AM
By far the best value at the grocery store (assuming you aren't a vegetarian) is the whole fryer chicken. We get about a 4 lb. bird at usually about $1/pound. So, for $4, that bird gives our family of four:
-- our main dinner once or twice;
-- leftovers that are cut up to use in chicken quesadillas or to make chicken salad, giving us at least a couple of lunches;
-- skin and bones. And when that's all that's left and we've picked the rest of it pretty clean for chicken salad, the bones are thrown in the freezer. Once we have 3 or 4 ,we use them to make chicken stock, which becomes one less thing we have to buy later.
Thrown in the peripherals (celery, mustard, mayo for chicken salad, tortillas, cheese and salsa for quesadillas, veggies/water for the stock -- and prorating for the amount actually used), and you are talking probably at least four to six full meals plus 3-4 cups of chicken broth for no more than about 8 bucks.
DD: Great suggestion WildBillFan.
Posted by: WildBillFan | April 23, 2008 1:32 PM