With food prices fluctuating wildly, it can be difficult for many families to keep in stock of all the necessities they need to live day by day. Groceries are more expensive, to the point that many people may find themselves having a hard time navigating their budgets to cover everything. The overabundance of food delivery services, take-out, and fast food often exacerbate this problem by touting convenience over frugality. Making it even more difficult for families to stabilize their grocery budgets and offer nutritionally sound meals to the people they love.
This conundrum has renewed interest in frugal ways to stretch a buck and easy tricks to stock up the pantry for the long haul. To answer the age-old question: “How can I feed my family nutritious food without breaking the bank?” many have turned to the past, looking at how older generations managed food and grocery price hikes over the decades, in hopes of integrating those nuances to counteract the current economy’s unstable market. While some work beautifully, others can be so time-consuming that they become cumbersome and a waste of time, oftentimes discouraging families from any practical applications.
Simple Goals
When beginning a food and cost-saving journey, many will find a wide range of ideas floating around that sway heavily in one direction of difficulty to another. What some may claim to be easy can sometimes be incredibly difficult, and vice versa. So, the first step is to set reasonable goals by answering a few simple questions. What do you wish to accomplish? How much are you looking to save? What can you cut out? What can you adjust? What can you not live without?
Answering such questions can be daunting, as many people are unsure how to begin or determine the right answers. Keeping grocery receipts and reviewing your current spending habits is the easiest way to determine where you might improve. As you compare, you will quickly be able to spot some of the most pertinent factors increasing your food costs. Finding answers to such questions as: Do you buy pre-made, frozen dinners instead of cooking regularly? Are you more likely to reach for pre-cut veggies than the entire vegetable? Is your cart more likely to be filled with conveniences over effort? Junk over nutrition? And how much do those choices cost you overall?
Cost Comparison
With these answers, consumers can then take the time to compare prices at their typical grocery store. This can be done in person or online, where available, and should always include the items the family buys regularly. When exploring in person, take a list and take your time. Walk around the entire store without skipping an aisle, and take a special interest in each item on your list.
Note the item’s regular retail price and any sales that may be available. Then, compare those prices to similar items and their prices. Customers will often find that by doing this, they will discover a wealth of variety and varying prices between brands.
Brand Loyalty
Quality versus quantity is often argued to justify brand loyalty. Rather than picking store or off brands, consumers are willing to pay extra under the guise that the higher cost always equals a better product. This thinking, however, is not always true; it can seriously hamper families’ ability to save on food costs. Especially when the price difference seems negligible, or the item is on sale. But a few cents here and there, on a macro level, can add up when you factor in where that money can be better utilized.
Brands spend billions of dollars annually to push their products to consumers, utilizing marketing techniques ranging from that annoying advertisement you see all the time to the item’s very location on the shelf at the local market. Companies pay to put their items at eye level to entice the consumer base to choose convenience over practicality, hoping that shoppers will grab and go without a thought. Falling victim to such marketing and this intent is one of the biggest factors hindering a family’s budget. The best way to combat this is to look down, as store brands are typically shelved closer to the floor and will offer similar items at more nominal price points.
Practical Frugality
Effecting practical frugality may seem a little overwhelming or even intimidating at first, but its fundamentals in practice are quite simple. Once the consumer has outlined their goals, compiled a loose cost comparison of their everyday food items and how often they are used, and explored their local stores to see what alternatives are available, the next step is to plan your grocery list accordingly and decide which markets will get your business.
The local grocery store might be more convenient, but if eggs are cheaper at another chain, it’s worth it for your family to take the extra time. Remember to expand your horizons, as a grocery store one town over may offer even better deals.
Deals
With a list in hand, there are some simple tips to help the shopping experience go more smoothly. Sales, but their very nature, can be both a blessing and a curse. So, to combat being swayed by something that looks like a good deal, ask yourself two questions before it ends up in the cart: “Do we really need this?” and “Is it really worth the price?”
If the item in question is something the family uses regularly yet does not need to be replaced or replenished at the current moment, it may be prudent to think ahead. If not, it may be better to pass on that sale item and wait for it to go on sale at another time.
Tips and Tricks
For items like fresh fruit and vegetables, the easiest way to save on food costs is to tailor your purchase to only what you need or can reasonably consume within a given time frame. Products with longer shelf lives, like potatoes, bulb onions, apples, oranges, and pears, are usually more cost-effective when bought in bags, as the price per item is regularly cheaper than buying them individually. Depending on available storage space and what food preservation methods a family employs, buying in bulk can also help mitigate food costs over time. However, consumers should evaluate if such a purchase is viable for their family’s budget and decide accordingly.
Meat is the most egregious money-sink in any family’s food bill. It can make or break a budget quicker than any typical staple. Fresh meat products can often eat up anywhere from thirty to sixty percent of a family’s available funds per shopping trip, leaving consumers with the need to make hard choices. Evaluating how much meat you prepare for a single night’s dinner and adjusting the portion sizes will reduce costs. Supplementing with more side dishes or including extra carbohydrates like rice can also significantly lighten the burden on your budget. Other options include choosing frozen over fresh, higher fat content over lean, and utilizing alternative sources of protein like beans and tofu.
Next Steps
Implementing these tips can significantly equalize the disparity between the family’s available budget and their ability to facilitate cost-effective, nutritionally sound meals for day-to-day living. While not the be-all and end-all of available resources, they offer sound and practical advice that can be implemented easily with minimal effort and allow the necessary wiggle room to adjust and amend when needed.
These changes to food purchase practices can also be expanded to apply to everyday non-food items, like cleaning supplies and personal hygiene products. This allows families to increase their savings even more.
