3641: 8 Tips to Save Money on Groceries by Amanda Brownlow of Hello Brownlow on Frugal Living

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[00:01:00] This is Optimal Finance Daily. 8 Tips to Save Money on Groceries by Amanda Brownlow of HelloBrownlow.com Our grocery budget seemed like it was getting out of control when we went vegan. It spiked from just $200 to almost $400. That's when I pulled a couple of tricks I learned from my mother out of our money-saving bag. Here are 8 tips to help you save money.

[00:01:27] Number 1. Check your pantry. This should always be step 1 before you go shopping. You have no idea what could be lurking back there. It could be a gem or it could be rotten. We make sure that all of our canned food gets rotated so that the earliest to expire is in the front. You also get to see what you use the most of.

[00:01:49] We always have rice and pasta on hand as well as crunchy taco shells. Other items that we consider pantry staples are beans, canned and dry, canned tomatoes, and canned veggies. Having basic items in our pantry lets us be creative with what we buy in the grocery store because we don't need a whole lot of everything. Number 2. Check sales flyers.

[00:02:14] This is my favorite part because I love a bargain. We're lucky and we get the 3 main grocery store flyers in the mail. If they don't get mailed to you on a weekly basis, make a list of the stores you shop at the most and check the flyers the day that the sales change. My favorite stores to shop at are Aldi, Reesers, and Sprouts. If possible, I take the ads with me and circle the items that I need. Number 3. Find a co-op.

[00:02:43] This has been a game changer for us. We found one called Bountiful Baskets at the recommendation of a friend. For our location, it's $19 a basket and you get fruits and veggies that are in season. It's so worth the 20 bucks every two weeks. It's allowed us to try new things and it's saved us money. And the basket each week is easily $30 to $40 in fresh produce. We spent less than $30 this week for our basket, $19.

[00:03:12] And the add-on of pineapple, $10 for 22 pounds to be exact. Number 4. Meal Planning This is my mom's secret and her mom's secret. This is how they both stayed sane and saved time and money when raising kids. We plan all of our meals on Sundays and again on Wednesdays when sales change. We inventory our pantry and fridge and plan to buy as little as possible.

[00:03:40] It's great to come home from work, look at our menu, and not have to worry about going back out to the store in bad traffic, or have to come up with a meal on the fly. We used to fly by the seat of our pants and would eat out two to three times a week instead of cooking at home. We heard the cha-ching in our bank account when we started only eating out once a week or less. Number 5. Make a list After you make your meal plan, write down the ingredients that you need.

[00:04:09] Take the list to the store with you. I don't know how many times we've made a list and then left it on the notepad at home when we went to the store. Don't be us. The list keeps you on track and helps you to not impulse buy. If you're like me and are terrible about putting said list in your purse or pocket before you leave, as soon as you finish your grocery list, take a picture of it on your phone. I'm 95% less likely to forget my phone than I am a paper list.

[00:04:39] Number 6. Clip a few coupons You don't have to buy 20 Sunday papers to get coupons. With all the store apps and coupon websites, you can get coupons for free. If you're a Target shopper, I highly recommend the Cartwheel app. You can add percent-off coupons to your barcode and redeem them at checkout. They've also placed manufacturer coupons in the app too. Coupons.com is a whole website dedicated to getting you coupons.

[00:05:08] Browse through them before you shop to see if there's a coupon for any items on your list. My favorite coupon matchup site is the Crazy Coupon Lady. They have a fabulously updated site that lets you search deals by store. Number 7. Have a definite budget We sit down at the beginning of the month and budget for every possible category. For groceries, we budget $2 to $250 a month and we stick to it.

[00:05:36] I know things will come up like you lose power and all the groceries in the fridge spoil, where your husband doesn't shut the fridge door and the cat eats all the produce. But we account for these things by spending less in another category. And number 8. Pick a day to go shopping I shop on Sundays and Wednesdays. Why? That's when ads and sales change. I try to never have to run to the store on another day to pick up something that we need.

[00:06:04] We already planned our meals and made our list. If we leave it off the list and forget to buy it on our shopping days, then we never needed it in the first place. Or at least that's how I look at it. You just listened to the post titled, 8 Tips to Save Money on Groceries, by Amanda Brownlow of hellobrownlow.com. This episode is brought to you by Google Chrome. You think you know a browser, but Gemini and Chrome?

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[00:07:03] The U.S. Department of Transportation is empowering staff with Google AI tools to rapidly synthesize research and streamline contracting, directly strengthening the safety and reliability of our nation's transit systems. This is a new era of American innovation. Learn more at g.co slash American Innovation. When I was getting out of debt while I was living in New York City, I tried to focus on reducing expenses in the areas where I was spending the most money.

[00:07:30] For the majority of us, that's housing, transportation, and food. I was locked into a lease for my apartment, and I didn't have a car, so I was optimizing as best I could with public transportation. There wasn't much I could do about housing and transportation, so I ended up focusing on food by cooking every meal I ate through meal planning and batch cooking. This was a game changer for me, so I really appreciated this article with additional tips on saving money at the grocery store.

[00:07:59] I think these tips are practical and easy to implement. While some of them may seem like common sense, it never hurts to be reminded of ways to save money. This article also reminded me of how much money we waste on food waste. I saw an incredible TEDx talk where the speaker said that people don't waste food. They save it until it goes bad, and then they'll throw it away. Sound familiar? The speaker's name is Brian Suddeth,

[00:08:28] and he gave a ton of great tips in his speech titled Tackling Food Waste, A Recipe for Savings. The USDA states that the average U.S. household spends $5,000 per year on groceries, and then throws away about 32% of that. Brian makes a compelling argument that we can do better, and shows us exactly how. You can watch his speech right now on YouTube. Your wallet will thank you. But that should do it for today.

[00:08:56] Thank you for being here and listening every day. Have a great rest of your day, and I'll see you tomorrow where your optimal life awaits.