Grocery prices are crazy these days! Everyone wants to save money but I have some great tips on how stay-at-home moms can especially save money on groceries.
As a stay-at-home mom, you have a great responsibility. As your husband goes to his job each week to provide for the family, you are then tasked with putting that money to good use. When it comes to the grocery budget, you can find ways to pinch money to serve your family!
Your role in saving money and spending it wisely is just as significant as your husband’s role to earn it.
I remember when I first became a stay-at-home mom after our daughter was born. We became a one-income family and we had to rework the budget. Instead of spending money on things we really didn’t need, I made it my responsibility to implement these tips and tricks.
These tips on how to save money on groceries are some of my favorites and actually work! If you are a stay-at-home mom, make sure you are implementing all of these things.
Let’s check them out…
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Create A Weekly Or Monthly Meal Plan To Save Money On Groceries
Always make a meal plan to save money on groceries. My meal plans are nothing fancy and usually just stay in my head. I’ll pull out the meat we need for the week and place it in the fridge. Then I’ll think of what ingredients I need to turn that meat into meals.
If you are just starting out meal planning, I would encourage you to write it down and stick to it. Over time, you will have the meals and recipes your family likes memorized in your head and the task will become easier.
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Check Your Inventory First
When you make that shopping list, look inside your fridge, freezer, pantry, and all cupboards. You don’t want to purchase anything you don’t need or already have. You will not save money on groceries if you don’t take the time to look at your inventory first.
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Make A List Before Going To The Store
Going to the grocery store without a shopping list is a huge mistake. You will certainly overspend. You may grab something off the shelf that catches your eye, forget about certain items you need, or pick up items that are in a higher price range by accident.
To save money on groceries it takes intentionality. Make a shopping list of exactly the items you need. Then, when you enter the store only purchase those items!
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Shop Alone
Whenever I can, I make it possible to go to the grocery store alone. That makes it easy to stay on task and avoid distractions. When my husband or children are with me they will ask for items that are on our list or in our budget. They may even try to change my mind!
Shopping alone can be very cost-effective, especially if you’ve noticed this being a problem for you in the past.
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Don’t Go To The Store Hungry
Make sure you eat something healthy and nutritious before going to the grocery store! I know that I tend to buy everything I am craving as soon as I walk into the store because it takes too much willpower to say no.
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Buy In Bulk
Buying in bulk will always save you money on groceries, plus it is a wise investment for your family. Bulk items are cheaper because they require less packaging and investment from the retailer. However, make sure that you are ready to store those bulk items properly. I recommend 5-gallon pails for dry goods and freezer space for other perishable items.
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Shop Generic Brands First
Try to purchase the generic brand that the store puts out instead of the brand name. They will almost always be cheaper but with the same ingredients! For example, instead of “Kellogs Rice Crispies”, perhaps your grocery store has something like “Best Choice Rice Crisps.”
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Go To Discount Stores
Is there a local Amish or Mennonite store nearby? They often have great discounts on several random food items or bulk items. Even a major grocery chain retailer like Aldi is considered a discount store. Don’t be afraid to try out new grocery stores in your area and compare prices.
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Buy From A Local Farmer
We love to sell various items from farm fresh eggs to rabbit meat to local neighbors! Make sure you are checking Farmish, Craigslist, and local bulletin boards for local farmers with great prices. I know that currently farm fresh eggs are selling cheaper than the grocery stores due to several economic factors.
Farm fresh food is always better for you than what has been sitting on the shelf in the grocery store, but still, be sure to do your research on the farmer and learn about their farming practices.
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Choose Frozen Foods Over Fresh
We love to eat berries in the winter, but the only way I will do that is by purchasing frozen ones when we run out of our own preserves. Berries are out-of-season in the winter by us which makes them very expensive. But, you can still enjoy them for a great price by just heading to the freezer section instead!
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Buy Foods That Are In Season
Like berries, several other foods are very seasonal and when you purchase them out of season they become very expensive. Enjoy the foods you eat seasonally. You can do this with a quick Google search. It may take a mindset shift but it is an easy way to save money on groceries.
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Go To The Farmer’s Market
Seasonal foods at the farmer’s market are usually an incredible deal! Not only were they just harvested fresh from the earth (versus weeks ago in the grocery store) but you are supporting your local community. As a farmer’s market vendor myself, please know that this is one of the best things you can do for others around you, but also for your own health!
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Cook From Scratch
Cooking from scratch at home is always cheaper than eating out, even if it’s fast food. Plus, it is so much healthier for you and your family! When you are meal-prepping for the week before you do your grocery shopping, focus on cooking as much as you can from scratch!
This could be learning to make your own condiments, bread, or desserts. The more you can make from scratch, the more money you will save on groceries!
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Walk The Outer Aisles Of The Grocery Store
Focus on purchasing only whole food ingredients – fruits, vegetables, meat, dairy, and bulk grains – which are found around the outside aisles of your grocery store. When you venture into the middle aisles you run into lots of processed foods, which makes your grocery budget go up.
If you are cooking from scratch, most of your grocery purchases should be these whole ingredients anyways!
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Make Freezer Meals
One way you can save money also is by making double batches of your meals and then freezing or freeze-drying the leftovers. Then you have a second meal for your family ready to go in a pinch. So next time you are tempted to just go out to eat, you can pull out your frozen meal instead.
We love our freeze dryer but it is a big investment! It makes preserving our leftovers into camping meals so easy. We also use it for preserving so many things, from garden produce to fresh apples in the fall. We also put any excess food or food about to go bad in the freeze dryer to re-eat later. It truly is a great way to save money on groceries!
But, even if you can’t invest in a freeze dryer right now, you can start learning other preservation methods to make saving money more feasible!
Related Post: How I Use My Freeze Dryer In The Winter Months So It Stays Running
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Save Your Leftovers
Always save your leftovers and turn them into a second meal to save money on groceries! You can eat them for lunch the next day, throw them in the freezer for later, or turn them into a brand-new recipe. Getting creative is a huge part of saving money!
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Use Curbside Pickup
Instead of going to the grocery store, you can now make pickup orders for free at many large chain grocery stores. I love this option when I have young kids, but also just all the time because I save money!
I can see the total bill before checking out and make adjustments accordingly. It helps me save money on groceries because I have more control over the budget with it.
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Starting your own garden is a fantastic way to save money, and nearly everyone can do it! Even if you only have a patio or a small front yard, take the time to buy some seeds and plant them. Growing even a couple of fruits and vegetables means you are spending pennies on the dollar compared to the grocery store prices, plus it’s so much better for you!
If you don’t know where to start check out these books.
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Consider Meatless Protein
Meat is an expensive part of everyone’s grocery bill, which is why we choose to raise our own meat. You could also purchase a whole cow, for example, in bulk from a local farmer to save money.
But, another option is to choose a meatless protein in a couple of meals each week. We enjoy beans, lentils, and nuts as protein sources for meals where we don’t have venison, chicken, or rabbit on hand.
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Go Hunting
We save money on groceries each year by eating the venison my husband harvests from the deer he shoots. He also fishes, partridge hunts, and collects small game. We enjoy eating all of these in various meals and love the health benefits too!
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Check For Coupons And Cash Back Apps
Of course, always check local ads for coupons and deals before grocery shopping. You can also download some cash-back apps if they are worth the time to you. You will get reimbursed a few cents on some items on your receipt!
How do you save money on groceries? Do you do all these things? Let me know in the comments below!
Kelsey at GoodPointGrandma
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