With prices rising due to a trade war and corporate price gouging, it’s time everyone learn the skill that is grocery shopping.
I spend around $400 a month on groceries for two people. It’s not a completely bare bones budget, but it’s significantly less than the average American spends. The average American two person household spends or $469.58 per month.
Finding cheap food that is tasty, nutritious, and doesn’t go bad quickly is not something many people know how to do. Let’s talk about it!
In Store Strategies For Smarter Grocery Shopping
When you get to the grocery store you may not realize it, but the store is trying to get you to spend more money.
Grocery stores are laid out very specifically. The most commonly bought items in the store are put all the way in the back, so that you have to walk through the entire store TWICE to get them.
This is a marketing tactic. You’re more likely to buy something if you have to walk past it and see it.
So, to save more money at the grocery store:
-stick to the perimeter of the store. This is where your food basics are sold anyway: fruits, vegetables, dairy, and meats. It’s in the inner aisle that the more expensive items, like prepackaged food and snack foods, are sold.
-Skip single serve items. Single serving items, like the individual bags of chips, are conveniences that cost more. To save money, skip them and buy the larger sizes.
-Always shop with a list. I never go to the grocery store without a list of what I actually need! Without a list you’re more likely to fall to the marketing tactics that the store is blasting at you. You’ll buy extra things you don’t need, or pick things up because “it seemed like a deal.” Remember, we’re here to save money and feed ourselves, not to shop for fun.
-Create a monthly grocery budget. As I mentioned I spend around $400 a month for two people. I budget for that in Empower, the free financial dashboard I use. I create a total monthly amount for food spending ($400), and then Empower automatically tracks all my spending at the grocery store and totals it for me throughout the month.
Cheap Food Items I Buy To Save The Most Money
Here is the list of cheap food items that I buy the most often to save money on groceries.
Lentils– Lentils are packed with protein, cheap as hell, and can go into so many dishes. I love a lentil soup personally, but you can use them in chili, tacos, spaghetti squash, and mix with ground beef to make the beef stretch further. They are a fantastic vegetarian food for people who want to eat less meat.
Squashes– And I do mean all types of squashes! Butternut squash, acorn squash, and spaghetti squash are all major players in my kitchen. Squash tends to be a cheap vegetable (especially when in season) that is also very diverse.
Rice (of all kinds)- White rice, brown rice, aborio rice. Rice is cheap, versatile and delicious. One of my favorite cheap and healthy meals is a vegetable risotto. Risotto is a very flexible meal; I’ve made asparagus risotto, butternut squash risotto, and pumpkin risotto.
I keep white rice in my house at all times because I have Crohns disease and it’s one of the easiest things to digest for me. I buy a 15 lb bag once a year, and store in mylar bags so it doesn’t go bad.
Ground Turkey- Turkey is a lean protein that can be made a million different ways. Turkey meatballs, turkey burgers, turkey meat sauce. It’s generally cheaper than red meat and it’s healthier.
I buy in bulk and freeze ground turkey so I always have a protein on hand.
Cabbage- The cabbage is the vegetable of the people! It’s another incredibly easy to cook vegetable that can go in a million dishes. Eat it raw in coleslaw or on top of tacos. Roast it with other vegetables. Sautee it in a stir fry.
Sweet Potato- God bless the potato. They last a long time when stored in a cool dark place. And the sweet potato can be served in a savory dish or a sweet dish.
Regular potato- To quote Samwise Gangee “boil ’em, mash ’em, stick ’em in a stew.” Potatoes have carried humanity through wars and famines because they have a surprising amount of nutrients, last a long time, and grow easily.
Foods to Avoid If You Want to Save Money
Convenience foods. I love my gluten free chicken nuggets (and I buy a bag every week) but they are pricey.
Convenience is costly. Anything that is pre-cut, pre-cooked, or single serving is going to come with a significant price mark up.
Single servings: As mentioned before, these are a luxury item and the price reflects that. Save money by buying in bulk and then breaking out into individual servings at home with containers and compostable sandwich bags.
Energy drinks: I know these are popular but ground coffee or tea will be cheaper every time.
That’s my cheap food list for you! What do you buy that saves you money?
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