I don’t know about y’all but my grocery bill has gotten out of control. Inflation has everything more expensive, and has hit grocery prices particularly hard. I never thought about raising chickens until I paid $7 for eggs. With that being said there was a time where I had a very strict grocery budget, and could not go over it. It taught me to be efficient, and make my money stretch. This is my strategy for saving while shopping.

Join the Loyalty Program

Pretty much every major grocery store has some type of loyalty program/rewards account. Join it and use it. Digital coupons are easy to load to your rewards card, and stores well often send you tailored coupons for things you purchase frequently. Nothing sparks joy for me quite like ringing up my order and seeing the total balance go down once my coupons are applied.

Shop the Weekly Sales

Go through the weekly ads and see what is on special that week. One of the specialty grocers I frequent doesn’t do much advertising, but their email list is a gold mine. They run all sorts of deals you wouldn’t know about unless you get the emails or pop into the store randomly. It makes buying things that would be a special occasion purchase an everyday purchase. If it’s items you won’t cook immediately, buy them, portion them out, and freeze them for later!

Be Flexible

This is probably the biggest one. We all try to meal plan and go to the store with a specific ingredient or dish in mind. Maybe you get there and it’s sold out or it cost more than you planned on spending. For instance if beef is too high, swap out chicken or fish. If the apples don’t look great, go for berries or other citrus. You can still maintain the integrity of your menu with different main ingredients. Cooking is an art, and swaps and adjustments are encouraged.

There you have it! I hope my suggestions make grocery shopping a little less intimidating and more fun. Give yourself grace and allow room for flexibility in your store trips.