Frugal Grocery Shopping

Here are some ideas to keep your grocery budget at a reasonable level. In my case, I feed our family of 6 an organic diet on $400 a month. I do get our produce delivered each week on top of that money(see bottom for what I got this week and the price) and we have a quarter of an all natural grass fed cow sitting in our freezer.

Start Small
Set a realistic budget at first if you want to succeed. Plus, if you follow some of my other tips, you will need more money up front to begin stocking up on sale items.

Use Cash
It is harder to hand over cash than a debit or credit card so bring cash to the grocery store every visit. Also, you will always know where you are at in your spending since you can see how much cash is left.

Use Coupons
I will write about how to use them efficiently later but start clipping them to get a head start. Most stores allow you to use more than one coupon at a time so get your hands on as many coupons as you can.

Stock-Up
Buy when items are on sale. I just bought 10 loaves of Oroweat wheat bread for $1.88. Three loaves went into the fridge for this week and the other 7 went into our deep freeze.* This goes for some produce as well. Avocados were just on sale 3/$1 so I bought two cases (120 avocados) and spent the weekend making baby food and different types of guacamole for the freezer.

Staple Items
Stockpile staples as well when they are on sale. Here are some items I like to have plenty of: pasta sauce, snack crackers, nut butters, jelly, mac and cheese, pasta, salad dressing, rice, nuts, ketchup, frozen items like bread, chicken, meats, fish, butter, vegetables, prepared fruit.

Follow Store Cycles
Every 4 or 6 weeks each item goes on sale. Watch items you purchase regularly and stock up when they are on sale. Try to buy enough so you don't have to buy the item at full price before the next sale. This will take a month or so to track at your particular store.

Don't Be Afraid to Ask
If you want to know when an item will be on sale ask the manager. They usualy have the answers.

Buy Seasonally
Don't buy watermelon in the winter. It also helps to buy locally as that produce is usually cheaper as it doesn't have the travel fees associated with it.

Shop the Ads
If chicken is on sale, stock up and use that to make your meals for the week.

Make a List...
and stick with it.

Shop every 8 days...
instead of once a week. If you shop on Friday this week, go Saturday the next week, then Sunday...

Compare Prices
Sometimes the smaller jar is cheaper per ounce than the larger jar. Plus, you can use more coupons on the smalle jars.

Drink Water
It is healthier and much cheaper than soda and juice.

Make It
Don't buy things you can make. Pop corn on the stove with coconut or almond oil instead of buying microwave popcorn. Make a double batch of cookie dough and freeze 3/4 in cookie sized balls for later use.

Avoid Big Box Stores...
unless you are 100% sure you can stick to your list. Dish soap may cost more at the grocery store but you won't be tempted to buy anything extra. Plus, many grocery stores double coupons so the difference in price might not be that extreme.

Buy a Cow
If you eat red meat invest in a grass fed cow. It takes up room in the freezer but comes already frozen and prepackaged into the sizes you request. It should last up to a year.

Use Organic Produce Delivery
This week I got 1 bunch of beets, 3 lbs clementines, 1.5 lbs sweet potatoes, 5 Braeburn apples, 1 bunch broccoli, 1 bunch spinach, 4 bananas, 2 Danjou pears, and 3 tomatoes for $19.66. Delivery keeps me out of the grocery store and I am in a neighborhood co-op so delivery is free and we get a discount. In the summer I order two boxes as we go through more fruit.

Plant a Garden
A backyard garden allows you to grow what you like. It also gives the children something to do in the summer. I froze tomatoes, green beans, and pumpkin from our garden that we have been eating this Winter. Our neighbors gave us a bushel of peaches which I sliced and froze as well.

*I highly recommend getting a deep-freeze as the amount you save by freezing sale/garden items will pay for the freezer.