Over the past few months, I have been challenging myself to cut down my grocery bill while maintaining healthy eating habits. For example, today I was able to plan a full week's menu that touches on all food groups for $18.07 (including taxes). With shows like "Extreme Couponing" capturing attention around the world, coupons and flyers have become a trendy topic.
While it's worth paying attention to sales and offers, there are less time-consuming ways reduce your grocery budget not to mention possibly healthier. Often an "awesome deal" isn't the healthiest one.
Don't have time to read flyers? Drive to multiple grocery stores? Watch for coupons?
Here are a few tips that can help you keep your grocery costs low sans coupons or flyers.
1. Always evaluate your fridge contents and pantry. What ingredients do you already have for meals that you know you enjoy?
2. Search for enjoyable and affordable recipes online. Looking to spice up your menu while keeping costs under control? Check out online recipe databases: plenty of budget recipes that taste anything but low-cost. Here are a few links to check out:
AllRecipes.com article on "cooking on a budget"
Canadian Living article on "budget friendly recipes under $3 per serving"
Jamie Oliver's budget recipes
Kraft Canada's "Healthy Living Budget Recipes"
3. Draft a meal plan. I use a simple grid that allows me to plan breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks for every day of the week. Why this is great:
- You can map on the meals that draw upon existing fridge contents and pantry items. This gives you an idea of how many other meals you need to add to your plan
- It is easy to see if you are touching on all food groups
- You will know exactly which ingredients you need to buy: this will prevent you from over-buying
- It can save you from spending at fast-food outlets and restaurants. Knowing that you have purchased ingredients for a meal is often good encouragement to make the choice to cook at home
- You can prepare food ahead of time so as to reduce time spent packing lunches and preparing dinners
- It will allow you to make effective use of leftovers: why throw away good food?
- By knowing what you need, it will cut down the time spent grocery shopping
4. Know which grocery items can be found at significant reductions and base your shopping trip around these items
- If you do not have a lot of time to research flyers, identify those items on your grocery list that can be found at significant reductions
- Briefly scan flyers to see if there are any good deals on these items; if so, the balance of probabilities is that your total grocery bill will be lower if you complete your shopping at the store offering the desired sale
5. Save room in the budget for an in-the-moment treat
- I still allow myself to purchase one or two "treats" (things that were not on the original shopping list)
- This keeps extra purchases to a minimum while allowing for some fun while shopping
Using these simple strategies, I've been able to reduce my spending on groceries by more than 50%. No coupons or fliers required.
Before looking to coupons, I'd definitely recommend spending some time meal planning as the cost-savings can be much greater and the choices healthier.
