This Is the Single Biggest Change I've Made to Slash My Grocery Bill
Shopping at the right time has made all the difference for my grocery expenses. Learn the technique I use to reduce my costs dramatically.
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Groceries have become pretty expensive thanks to inflation causing food prices to rise. Like most people, paying a lot of extra money for food for my family has been a hit to my checking account.
Fortunately, I've found ways to reduce what I'm spending on groceries. And one of the steps that has made the biggest impact is a very simple one that anyone can replicate. Here's what I've done to cut my bills dramatically.
This has made a huge impact in reducing my grocery bills
The most important change I've made to reduce my grocery bill is to stock up on items when they are on sale so I never have to pay full price for them.
See, like most people, my family buys items on a set schedule. We regularly buy pasta sauce, cereal, granola bars, applesauce, apple juice, and dozens of other products. And we go through them on a pretty steady basis. For example, we eat about a jar of applesauce a week (my kids love it!) and a box of cereal every two weeks.
To help reduce the amount I was charging on my credit cards for food, I kept track of how often my grocery store put a particular item on sale. For most things, it was every six weeks to every eight weeks, although some products only went on sale every 12 weeks. Once I figured out how long a sales cycle was for a particular item, I just bought enough of that item at a discount to ensure I wouldn't need to purchase it again until the sale came back around.
For example, my local store marks applesauce down every eight weeks. So, I'd buy eight or nine jars at the discounted price, saving around $1 on each one (or sometimes even more for a great sale). This alone saved me $8 (or more) off what I otherwise would have spent for those applesauces in a two-month period.
By doing this with lots of products that I purchase, I've reduced my monthly grocery bills by around $40 to $50 compared with how much I saved before trying out this technique. That's extra money I'm able to put into my savings account or use to meet my financial goals -- and all without changing what my family eats or making any other shifts to my lifestyle.
Here's how to save on groceries using this technique
If you want to try this technique, take a look in your pantry and make a list of some of the staples that you buy often. Make sure you're only including things you know you won't get sick of, as you don't want to buy items that will just get thrown away. On your list, put a check mark each time you use up a jar or container. Do this for a few months, and you'll be able to see how quickly you go through each product.
As you're noting the food you eat regularly, you can also figure out the grocery store sales schedules. You can use a spreadsheet to record when your commonly purchased items go on discount, or just keep weekly receipts and sales flyers. If you do this for around eight or 12 weeks, you'll figure out your store's sales schedule.
Once you've done that, you're ready to start bulk buying during sales weeks -- and can begin reaping the savings. It doesn't take as much time as it might seem to do this, and you'll likely find it's well worth the effort when you can keep your grocery bills down. The best part is, once you've implemented this system, it will keep working for you and helping you save money for a long time to come.
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