4 Money Saving Tips That Can Help You to Save on Groceries
Posted on: September 22, 2019Posted in Budgeting, Expenses | Comments Off on 4 Money Saving Tips That Can Help You to Save on Groceries
According to Statistics Canada, the average Canadian family of 4 people spends about $214 on food for each person every month. And, this is just for groceries and does not include eating out. Financial experts recommend cutting down this average budget to only $125 per person on food each month. That’s a pretty tight budget! Can you do it?
Try these money saving tips:
Make a Grocery List and Stick to it
The best way to shop is to have a list on what things you need to buy and to make it a point to buy just what’s on the list. This avoids impulse spending, and according to research if you make a habit of sticking to your list you can save up to 23% on your grocery bill. Now, that’s huge savings already!
A grocery list will also help you plan your meals for the week. When you’re planning your weekly menu make a grocery list based on your plan. So every week, you have a meal plan and a list to guide you to buy more nutritious and less pricier food items and you can avoid buying expensive and unhealthy food items on impulse.
Stock Up on food items on sale
The month of February is National Canned Food month in Canada. Did you know that? Well, it is and it’s during this time when you’ll likely find specials on canned produce, so take advantage and stock up on things like canned beans, tomatoes and even canned fruits.
Another themed month linked to saving money on food is on March which has been declared as Nutritious Food Month by the Dietitians of Canada. Frozen foods packed full of vitamins and minerals likely go on sale, so it’s a great time to stockpile on frozen veggies and fruits, and also bread and meat.
Canned and frozen vegetables and fruits can be a huge money saver especially when fresh produce is out of season and still very expensive to buy.
Another great way to look at what’s on sale is to take the time to browse through grocery store flyers, newspaper ads and online to see what items are on sale and which stores you can get them.
Remember to stock up on only things that you normally use. It’s the only way this will work. You won’t save if you go splurging on food items that you don’t need. By stocking up on grocery items that are on sale, you can save about ten percent to twenty percent or even more on your grocery bill for the month.
Go on a meatless diet
Canned and frozen vegetables and fruits are also just as nutritious as fresh produce. So, even if you’re saving big on costs you’re not going to compromise on nutrition. Now, here we have another way to bring down your monthly food shopping bill. Plan out meal recipes wherein you can make use of these canned and frozen vegetables and fruits, for example, you can make large batches of soups, chili, stews, pie fillings, cookie dough batches, or prepare meatless meals like bean burritos with salad, rice and bean casseroles with vegetables, vegetable and cheese omelets with whole grain toast and tofu vegetable stir fry on rice noodles, the recipe list can be endless.
When you serve meals with nutritious, fiber-rich meat-free alternatives, you eat less meat, which is healthy and good for the whole family, and you also buy less meat, which will cut your food costs significantly.
Skip Grocery Shopping
Another food saving hack you can plan your budget on is to skip grocery shopping once every month. When you stockpile on groceries when they are on sale, you can live off of what you stockpiled and then skip grocery shopping at least once every month. If you can’t do this every month, then aim to do it maybe once every three months for a start. It will still save you more or less 25% on your food costs for the year.
Yes, food is expensive, but it doesn’t have to be. There are many ways for Canadian families to save on groceries every month and still eat well and healthy. All it takes is some strategic planning. Use these money saving ideas to start with and then try combining other money saving hacks you can find and in no time you can make it possible to lower your grocery budget and save some serious money that you can put towards other financial goals.
