Money Saving Tips: Grocery Edition

We’ve been “college broke”, and we’ve been “for real for real broke”. During which, I learned how to stretch a dollar suuuuper far, and I’m here to share it. 

Moving internationally on the cusp of a global pandemic? Zero stars, would not recommend. And I certainly don’t recommend a career change during a global pandemic, but sometimes those are the cards we are dealt. And now we all find ourselves in the wake of a global pandemic, unprecedented financial crisis and all. We made it. Barely, it seems sometimes, but we made it.

Grocery prices are on the rise for sure. The monthly grocery expenses for the average American household are $1,080 according to Google’s AI overview. Our monthly grocery budget fluctuates, but its about $1,000/ month. We don’t eat all organic foods, but when the cost difference is nominal I will opt for organic. There are several things I prefer to buy organic, but overall I am just going for whole foods. We love to support local regenerative farmers, and our grocery bill is a lot less in the summer when the produce is abundant.  

I have always been frugal. I like to save money, and we love to be generous with our money. However, in the aftermath of the pandemic we were heckin’ broke. So, we had to be frugal to like….eat. 

That changes things. 

The number one tip I have for dealing with money probs: Pray like your life depends on it. 

And then: Be honest with yourself, have a good little cry, pour out your regrets or pain to the Lord….and then set to work.

• Stay home. Ironically doing the thing, includes not doing things. 
• No money to eat out? Stay home.
• No money for the movies? Stay home. Dig through some totes in the garage and find thrilling DVDs you have not seen in forever. Fun fact about me: I love all the Bourne Identity movies, and I forgot I owned them. Also, the Library. 
• People invite you to things you can’t afford?  Stay home. You don’t have to spill your guts, a simple “Thanks for thinking of us, we would love to come but can’t this weekend. Let’s set up a time to meet at the park/hike/go for a walk. See what I did there? No money or meals is involved.
• Get comfortable with saying “not now, we are saving” to yourself and your kids. 
• Ask for help. For real. Maybe it’s gov. assistance, talking to your church, or asking a friend or family member for a loan. If it’s between not asking for help and losing the house, I really hope you will ask for help.

If you are going through financial hardship right now, take heart. It really will be ok. Pennies can be pinched, money can be saved in almost every area if you try hard enough and sometimes you just have to figure out a way to bring in extra income, even if its temporary. The skills you learn during a pinch can really help you create margin and savings over the long term. Nothing I am going to say in this piece is brand new or revelatory, but sometimes simple actions are the best ones. You don’t need to stress, but you do need smart strategies and some scrappiness.

Is it exhausting sometimes? You bet. 

But the skills you learn in the trenches can create a long-term margin for you and your family. 

Okay…for real this time…

Money-Saving Tips I learned when we were heckin’ broke.

Tip #1) Prioritize and Have a Plan.

I don’t just mean a meal plan. You must know your priorities before you even make your grocery list.

Obviously, priority number one is feeding you and your family. But what is the priority within that? If you have a kiddo with severe allergies or someone has an autoimmune condition and has to eat a certain way…you don’t have the wiggle room that someone else without that might have.

We have been there. My family and I are quite familiar with being stinking broke but needing to buy the food that supports our health. A financial crisis AND a health crisis happening simultaneously would be even more not great. If that’s you, alas you’ve come to the right place. I am working on a series of ultra cheap “recipes”, so come back soon. And you can check out this post on affordable and effective low-tox personal care products.

What’s the priority? Do you have a strict criterion for meals you need to stick to for health or can you live off rice and beans for a few months? 

I do not think you can go wrong prioritizing dietary protein and vegetables. Protein, fat, fiber and carbs will get your far.

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Tip 2) Plan Meals and Make a Grocery List

I don’t mean a fancy one that requires you buy 85 new ingredients. Just jot down what you plan to make and write the list accordingly. Bonus points for using what you already have. More on that at #3. 

Again, I feel protein, fat, fiber, and carbs is a great framework for a meal. Its not revelatory, its simple. But sometimes simple can get lost, especially during a crisis. 

Maybe that looks like: Cheesy chicken, rice, refried beans and a frozen vegetable. 

I love and recommend this meal plan, from Lillie Biesinger. I think it can help save money if macros/high protein and real food are your priority. It’s neat because you can customize the meals, customize the serving sizes and it will automatically make those changes to the grocery list and the best part is it will automatically send it to your walmart cart. Or kroger…or whatever. This isn’t sponsored I just love it. I dont use it all the time, but its a great way to change it up if we are in a bit of a food rut. 

**Important note**Listen, I love a shiny new meal plan like Lillie’s. However. If you are like suuuupppper tight on money, like you might lose the house or a car type of situation. Now is not the time to start something new. It’s time to start eating rice and beans, ya know? In that same vein, probably not a great time to start a new diet either. Its time to use every random thing in your pantry. 

Which leads us to…..

Tip #3) Use The Food You Already Own

Even if you’re not in a crisis, the food you already own is a great place to start.  It’s time to use every random thing in your pantry. Dig into the archives of your freezer. There are no rules in the kitchen. Have a random bag of dry beans from who knows when? Use it. 

Ground beef, black beans from the back of the cabinet, rice and frozen mixed-vegetables from the depths-season with garlic and salt and Ta-dah! A meal! 

You’re trying to save money on groceries, what better way than to use the food you already bought. 

Tip #4) Ditch Most Convenience Food

Convenience food is expensive, it just is. I have good news for you though! Since you will be spending more time at home, you have more time to make homemade food!

I just checked today and a family size, frozen lasagna from Walmart is $9.97. And though it says “family size” it is only five servings. You can make a lasagna much cheaper.

 But you know what’s even cheaper than lasagna? Spaghetti. You can make spaghetti, with ground beef, sauce and parm (even gluten free pasta) like enough for an army for $10. Leftovers for days. You get the idea. If you can’t have pasta, serve your meat and sauce over broccoli or spaghetti squash.

However, the reason I say ditch most convenience food and not all is because having a few easy items on hand can save you money during busy times.

 For example, we buy these gluten-free chicken tenders from the brand Perdue. The entire bag is $11. We usually can get two meals out of the bag. Pair with a frozen-vegetables, and some rice and its a LOT cheaper than fast food. It might not be the most optimal meal, but its WAY cheaper and WAY healthier than fast food. 

Another example: A sandwich. 

The forgotten sandwich can be one of the most nutritionally dense foods truly. Bread (home made, gluten-free, store- bought…whatever) + lunch meat + tomato + lettuce+ cheese+ mayo (I like chosen foods but again making your own will be cheapest). Sandwiches can pack a punch. 

Another idea: Yeet a bag of beef jerky, crackers, cheese sticks and some little oranges at your kids on the way to practice. Far more nutritionally dense and way cheaper than fast food.

Tip #5 Shop Smart

Grocery Pick Up or Grocery Delivery Services-This is a great way to save money. It’s usually free and I think there is FAR less impulse purchases when you put in an order. I love the community aspect of grocery shopping, but if you are fighting for your financial life, maybe just put orders in for the next few months.

Check Grocery Apps- Although scouring the Sunday newspaper for coupons is largely a thing of the past, most stores have apps. Even our local grocery store with only three locations has an app and the opportunity to clip online coupons. We also have Meijer and Kroger, both of which offer online pricing and sometimes lower prices are offered for “online only” deals. You can usually add the online orders to your grocery pick up or delivery order. Check your ads for buy-one-get-one sales, 5 for $5 or 7 for $7.

Store Rewards Card- As mentioned above, a lot of stores have their own aps. There used to be actual store rewards cards, now most rewards are connected to your phone number. We have 

Stick to the Shopping List-Take your list, stick to the list. 

Buy In Bulk– This isn’t for everyone, but if this is doable for your situation it can be a great way to save money. Wholesale clubs like Sam’s Club and Costco generally have better deals when you buy in bulk. I save a lot of time and money going to Costco once every 5-6 weeks. I buy staples there in bulk and it keeps me out of the grocery store. That is not to say I don’t need to stop and pick something up at a grocery store a couple times over the month. But its less frequent, which reduces the need for so many food-related financial decisions throughout the month. Double check the unit price of the items you buy, because usually buying in bulk is a better deal, but not always. 

Shop Aldi–If you have an Aldi near you, utilize it. Honestly, their prices are really hard to beat but they offer another advantage: there are far less options. And if you are in financial crisis, the last thing you need are more decisions to make. Additionally, since there are less items overall, there is less margin for impulse buys. WALK AWAY from the Aldi Finds aisle.

Shop with Local Farmers– Fresh produce is often cheaper at a farmer’s market or local produce stand. Obviously, if you live in a climate with harsh winters, your access to fresh fruits and vegetables will be limited. Frozen fruits and vegetables are your friend. See tip # 6.

Discount Grocery Stores- Some of the best deals I have seen are at our local discount grocery store. There are a few in our area, but the one I go to seems to be like a scratch and dent for Whole Foods. A lot of the items are food that I would not usually buy because they are expensive. The food prices tend to be lower at discount stores but you still need to watch out for the sell-by date or use-by dates. Sometimes the discounts are super steep, because the food is on it’s last leg. That’s not a problem if you plan to use it right away, just be aware.

Buy Cheaper Cuts of Meat- Ground beef and chicken thighs are your friend. Chicken thighs are fantastic, they are one of the lowest priced meats and they are incredibly difficult to overcook.

Tip #6 Learn to Cook

This honestly might be the most important tip here. You can save so much money on your food budget with just some basic kitchen skills. Meat preparation, different ways of cooking vegetables, and learning how to use spices can really go a long way. Again, this is an area where I am planning to have some more content. I learned to cook from my momma, maybe she will come on my Youtube channel, that I have not yet started, and teach some basics. I recognize its not super helpful for me to say “learn to cook” but then not tell you how. Some of my favorite resources are: 

Jessica Sowards at The Farmers Table on youtube. And this video is actually a really affordable sandwich bread which I make regularly.

Brittany Williams at Instant Loss. She shares a lot of “how-to” on her Instagram page and her book Instant Loss on A Budget is really budget friendly, I use it regularly, and the book itself is only $6 today!

There are so many free videos on YouTube, if you don’t know how to do something, I almost guarantee it’s on YouTube.

PS: (That’s an associate link, if you click it, I might make a small commission at no cost to you)

The seasoning and curry packets pictured above are some of my favorite resources if you are learning to cook. The spice packets have simple and specific instructions for a great meal. I buy all of those at our local Walmart. I found them on Amazon but they’re more expensive so I am not going to link them.

Tip #7 The Freezer is our Friend.

Say it with me: The Freezer is our friend. Still nutritious, still delicious, but frozen fruit and vegetables are often significantly cheaper than fresh. Especially organic. I do not know why but the way things are, are the way things are. (Name that movie)

For example, a giant bag of frozen strawberries at Costco are like $8, and the clam shell of organic fresh strawberries was $15 the last I was there. Let’s be honest, no midwestern strawberry in the dead of winter is going to be bursting with flavor so you might as well buy frozen.

Additionally, freezing your left-overs is a great way to save money. 

Tip #8 Cook at Home

I know it might be easier said than done. But even if its intimidating, start with what you know and go from there.

Batch Cook

Listen, I know not everyone loves leftovers. But you know who really loves leftovers? A mom who cooked it the first time and doesn’t want to cook again. You don’t even have to eat your leftovers the next day, throw them in a freezer friendly dish or freezer bag and tah-dah! Just make enough for now and later. 

I am a big fan of meal prepping. I love to meal prep lunches and snacks in particular.

SOUPS and STEWS

You want to know what can really stretch a nickel? Soup. 

Soup is one of the most nutrient dense, filling and economical foods in the world. 

If you don’t know how to make broth from scratch yet, never fear, buy some. You don’t really need a recipe: broth, meat, vegetables and a starch. I tend to lean toward potatoes or beans for said starch.

If you are still learning to cook, another great option is to buy a soup mix and then just follow the instructions. I use this Bob’s Red Mill soup mix from time to time and its always a hit. Soup is also a great comfort food, especially in the winter. We love soup and homemade drop biscuits. (Thats also an associate link.)

Pack Snacks and Lunches

Packing snacks and lunches is so much more economical, and likely much more healthy, than fast food.

Homemade Pizza Night

If you are a family who loves to order pizza on Friday night, consider making your own. Its pretty easy. Im no expert, I just follow the recipe on the back of the pizza dough mix. (We use King Arthur’s Gluten-Free) But it is way more economical. And our son loves to make his own. Something we’ve done before as well is buying garlic naan bread and having a little make your own station with all the toppings.

It will be okay.

Prices of everything are exceedingly high right now. Sometimes it’s hard to stay hopeful, especially if you are in crisis-mode. Take a breath. It will be fine, maybe not right now, but the storm always passes. I hope this was helpful to you no matter where you are financially.

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Drop your best money-saving tips in the comments!

-Lauren