How to Save Money at the Grocery Store

Every family in America has been affected by the increase at the grocery store over the last few years. One of the things we’ve been helping more people figure out is a plan to attack the grocery store with as much intent as workouts. Like your workouts, without a plan we struggle to have success with what we’re doing. On top of the increased prices, the grocery stores can now be a sensory overload to our system. More items everywhere to look at for our brain to process the simple question of “Do I want to buy this?”. While this seems like nothing, the more decisions we have to make on the spot, the higher probability that we’ll make the wrong decision and purchase items we don’t truly need or want. Much like social media is mining our attention span by the second, grocery stores are mining our wallets every step of the way. These tips are designed to help you save money and keep attacking your health and fitness goals because lets be serious, no one ever bought too many green vegetables at the store. 

Have a Plan - Have your week laid out on when you plan to cook what meals. If you know some nights you have more time to cook than others then simply make those nights you cook and then nights where you’ll be busier later into the evening can be designated for left overs. By doing this, you can know exactly what food and ingredients to buy each week. No guessing and needing to go up and down each aisle. Remember this eliminates the process of decision making. 

Shop Off Brand - There’s generally no quality difference but the savings can be significant. Analyze your grocery picks and see if there are specific items that you feel have to be name brand and if not, start getting the off brand labels to save money. The one trick to watch for is making sure the off brand is the same size and actually cheaper than the name brand. For example, if you’re buying coffee and the name brand is $6 for one pound while the off brand is $5 for a twelve ounce bag, then the off brand is actually more expensive. 

Use the Store’s App - Many stores now have an app that shows you the price of each item individually and you can compare similar items, sizes, etc. This helps you understand what you want to buy ahead of time. Also the apps are loaded with coupons that can save you and even in some cases, get free items. You can already know how much you’re going to spend before you ever leave the house. 

Consumer Psychology - A basic understanding of consumer psychology goes a long way. Product placement in stores is critical. If something is on the end cap or placed at eye level, it doesn’t mean the item is on sale it rather means the store is getting a bigger benefit by it being there. Be your own best advocate when shopping each week. 

Buy in Bulk - Stores are trying to get people to buy more and now they’re even offering the item fifty cents to a dollar cheaper if you buy five or more. This makes sense for the consumer that can store the item and use it before it would expire. If you’re a single person, it might be hard to use 5 gallons of milk before they expire. Think about where this makes sense fr you and use it to your advantage. For us, things like coffee can always be utilized in a timely manner so these are great pick ups. 

Buy a Lunch Box - All the grocery tips in the world don’t add up to any value if you still go out to lunch every day. Buying a lunch box that works for you and stores your healthy meals will be one the biggest return on investment you can make for your health. If you work in a setting where it’s common for the group to go to lunch together each day, then you’ll break apart from the group. This takes discipline, but you have to remember that your health and financial goals are likely different from theirs. 

These are strategies that help our clients. Sadly, we can’t make the price of groceries cheaper but we can arm ourselves with a plan to do the best we can in our strategy and decision making. This is a practice that requires discipline and like anything else, over time we get better at it. Learning to effectively grocery shop is becoming a bigger skill set because it’s drastically affecting our waistline and our wallet which are two of the fastest growing issues facing our country. 

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