How much money can you save over one month of buying groceries just by slightly changing the way you shop?
Do you buy your groceries weekly? This will be an easy task for you to follow to save money a different way each week for 4 weeks. By altering the way you spend money on groceries you can see where there’s possible savings to be made.
If you don’t have a regular grocery shopping day, choose one day of the week for one month to buy your groceries. It will allow you to follow the plan where you’ll see the benefits and save the maximum amount possible.
Groceries are one of the biggest expense areas of our weekly budget as we spend up to one quarter of our income on food, toiletries and cleaning products. Because of this, big savings can be made in this department by having a shopping routine and a set amount to spend each week
WEEK 1
Vegetarian meals are cheaper than meat meals.
This week, buy more vegetables and less meat than usual. Where you can, buy vegetables in bulkier quantities to substitute the meat in meals you’ll make. Buy a lot of vegetables that are meal versatile like potatoes, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower and bok choy. Even frozen peas, beans and corn are cheap and can be used in a wide variety of meals.
Cook meals such as vegetable curries, frittatas, pastas, stir fry, roasted vegetables and fried rice. All of these meals are cheap and require no expensive meat.
Buy certain types of fruit you can turn into desserts. It's amazing what you can whip up with some puff pastry and some sliced apples, bananas, anything that's currently in season and inexpensive.
You’ll be surprised how much cheaper your groceries will be by replacing meat with vegetables 3-4 times a week.
WEEK 2
Shop from your pantry and freezer first.
Spend less on groceries this week by pulling apart your pantry. Find the food that needs to be used before it goes out of date. Use as many products from both the freezer and pantry to come up with meals you don’t need to buy ingredients for because they've been hiding. These can be replaced over the next few weeks or months. Use up the cereals, pasta, rice, lentils, flours, sauces, tins of food and biscuits that you’ve already paid for.
Put some ingredients into Google and see what recipes come up. You might learn some great alternate meals to cook saving you more money in the future. Meals that are simple and have only a few ingredients are a working mothers life saver at the end of the day. If you can save money while saving your time, you're winning!
Warn everyone that it’s going to be a more interesting week of meals as you’re trying to move the food and ingredients you already have. Using these more this week will leave you less to buy in groceries with only perishables needed.
WEEK 3
Cook in bulk to save time and money.
During week 3 double the amount you cook for dinner. Just by doing this 2-3 times a week or one lazy Sunday you can freeze the leftovers and bank some meals in the freezer. Whip them out on those busy nights or take them to work to ease the cost of lunches during the week. Freeze smaller portions for the kids to take to school for lunch.
Start preparing ahead of time and you’ll thank yourself. Get as many extra meals in the freezer as you can to make future groceries cheaper and easier.
WEEK 4
Be more conscious of products you buy.
Spend a few extra minutes in each aisle this week and look around a bit more. Compare different brands selling the same product and try the cheaper brands. Look high on shelves and also down low. The best priced items are not at head height.
By choosing the cheaper alternatives on most products you can save a lot of money. There's almost always a different brand of the same product at a better price so choose these where you can.
Buy cheaper cuts of meat, look for clearance and close to use by items. Buy in bulk where you can to be in front with supplies at home. Don’t buy for convenience, meaning don’t buy pre cut vegetables and salads or pre made frozen meals from the supermarket freezer (eat the ones you’ve cooked yourself).
Try to get into the habit of doing any one or all of my 4 easiest ways to save on your groceries. Use the money you’ve saved to pay towards debt you may have or savings if you’re debt free. A tiny bit of extra effort while buying groceries will pay off, literally!
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