Grocery Bills: How To Cut Your Monthly Food Bill In Half

By John

The average American adult spends upto $150 per month on grocery bills alone, and in some cases per person. If you are that American adult, would you prefer to cut your monthly food bill  in half without sacrificing quality? No-brainer: of course you would and here’s how you can…..

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Before going anywhere near the store

Make a budget

• Know what you are already used to spending
• Cut that to the level you want to achieve and set that as the budget
• Plan your menus for at least the next week
• Research recipes that use less meat — in the US, the average scale is one pound of meat for three to five people, in Oriental dishes it stretches to seven to eight people or more
• Plan to do at least a week’s worth of shopping in one trip –  save trips, save money
• Make a shopping list of your needs that fits with the budget you have just set — smartphone apps can make this a breeze, and keep a tally of item prices at different stores if you have the patience to input the data
• Have a meal before going to the store (no impulse-buying to satisfy those hunger pangs)
• Leave the kids and spouse at home — they will wreck your budget if they tag along
• Get to know which stores consistently have competitive prices for the items you need. Bigger stores may have better prices because of their higher volumes

To coupon-clip or not?

It takes a lot of effort to search for all the deals available, but avid coupon-clippers report saving $50 or more per month on their grocery bills. Just make sure the coupons are for things you actually need, otherwise you’re in fact spending more on grocery bills and not saving at all.

At the store, canny shopping can make you big savings in your grocery bill

Do’s

• Do get a store card for discounts
• Do buy generic brands, especially fruit and vegetables and staples — they taste the same as name brands and don’t wreck your monthly food bill as much
• Do check the discount bins
• Do compare unit prices, not just packet prices
• Do buy big, in bulk if possible — certainly not individual portions
• Do look high and low on the shelves — the more expensive items are normally placed at eye level
• Do buy in-season produce
• Do buy frozen items unless fresh is important to you — they can be just as tasty and are a lot cheaper
• Do buy a stock of non-perishable items on sale
• Do watch for good deals after Thanksgiving. Good time to stock up and fill the freezer
• Do watch the register ticking up at the checkout, and check your receipt. Sometimes the shelf price of sale items may not register correctly, and checkers can sometimes make mistakes

Don’ts

• Don’t buy non-food items at the grocery store — they are probably cheaper elsewhere
• Don’t necessarily buy your meats at the grocery store — you will possibly get better choices and prices at a Farmer’s Market, or a deli, or from a farmer. Try to buy big and cut it up at home
• Don’t buy bottled water unless it is really important to you
• Don’t buy prepared and convenience foods – prepare them yourself
• Don’t buy items beside the checkout counter

And a last word on impulse-buying. Do you want it or need it? If you need it, it should be on the list. If it’s not on the list you don’t need it! Stick with the plan!

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Click here to compare offers and save hundreds of dollars every month on credit cards, cell phones, Internet, shopping, and more. Use our free comparison tools.