Who doesn’t need a few cost saving tips for buying groceries? Find tips for helping you slash your food costs and keep your grocery bill in check.
In many areas of the country, the price of fresh foods, meats, and boxed goods seems to have skyrocketed. It seems like you can’t buy anything in a can or box for under a dollar. The prices seem to fluctuate weekly and this can become a real challenge to keep your grocery bill in check every week.
You might not have a lot of freezer space or physical space to grow your own fruits and vegetables, so here are some of my tips for buying groceries:
Cost Saving Tips For Buying Groceries
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Turn receipts into rewards. ReceiptPal lets you earn valuable gift cards and cash prizes just for submitting receipts. You can also link your Amazon account for even more rewards. Receiptpalapp.com or find it on the App store.
Ibotta Cash Back App
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Rakuten Cash Back App (Formerly Ebates)
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Flash Food App
Allows shoppers to receive major discounts on food items nearing their best before date, resulting in money saved and food waste reduced! FlashFood.com.
Flipp App
Get all your weekly circulars for free. Say goodbye to your paper circulars! Flipp delivers digital circulars from over 1000 local retailers so you can find the best deals in your community every week. Browse through the weekly circulars you love or search for the items you need to get the most savings. Get Flipp.
Meat Bundles
Look for family packs of steaks, hamburgers, pork, and chicken as the prices are often much less per pound. When you get home, repackage your meat into package sizes that work well for your family dinner and place them in the freezer. If you do not already have one, I heartily recommend investing in a FoodSaver as it will protect keep your meet from getting freezer burn.
You can also visit your local meat packing plant or local butcher shop and perhaps even the grocery butcher and ask for a custom package selection of meats. You can put together a custom bundle like 6 steaks, 12 chicken breasts, and 4 pork chops. They often will give a discount if you are purchasing a larger quantity. Consider going in with friends to get a better price with a larger quantity purchase.
Grocery Shopping
Aldi Stores
If you happen to have an Aldi store nearby, you can find great prices on everyday items. With Aldi you should know that you need to put in a quarter deposit in order to get a shopping cart. It is returned when you put the cart back in the corral. Also, if you do not bring your own shopping bags you will get charged for bags. A good reason to bring your own reusable bags. The bulk of Aldi’s products are their own store brand, so try out a few and see how you like them. I find this a great alternative with substantial savings.
Bread Stores
Look for a local bread store (like Hostess) in your area as they often run special on day-old breads and buns.
Farm Shares and Co-Ops
This is where you might buy in to some type of sharing agreement for a quarterly fee where you are allowed to share in the harvest with a small group of others.
Dollar Tree, Dollar Stores, and Big Lots
You can get inexpensive canned goods and dry boxed goods like pasta or crackers for much less than the supermarket.
Farmers Markets and Pick Your Own
Support your local growers by purchasing fresh quality food from area farmers markets or roadside stands. Also look for nurseries and local orchards that allow you to pick your own strawberries, pumpkins, and apples. This can become a fun family outing!
Amish Food Stands and Groceries
If you live anywhere near an Amish community, check out their food stands and markets. You can find some of the best tasting meats and vegetables at places like this. You can even get real maple syrup in some parts of the country.
Food Warehouses
Member only food warehouses like Costco, Bingo, and Sams Club can be great for paper good purchases like toilet paper, tissues, and paper towels. Be wary though, sometimes you end up walking out of one of these places with a LOT more in your cart than you went in to get.
Scratch and Dent Groceries
I only know of a few of these types of stores, but if you have one in your area check them out. They buy scratched and dented goods, like canned goods and are able to offer them at very low prices.
Churches and Salvage Stores
Places like St. Vincent de Paul in my local area have limited grocery items but you can find good deals on plastic ziplock bags, plastic wraps, and other household items. It is worth a look.
Couponing Websites
Although perhaps not as popular due to apps like those listed above, here are a few that seem to offer decent coupons:
Coupons.com
RetailMeNot.com
RedPlum.com
SmartSource.com
What about you?
If you have any tips or ideas to share please leave a comment below. It helps everyone!