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5
money-saving
tips for
grocery
shopping
By Emily
Heil
washingtonpost.com
Saving
money at
the
grocery
store
might
seem
intimidating.
After
all,
everything
about
the
experience,
from the
upbeat
music
playing
in the
aisles
to those
packages
of
precut
vegetables,
is
designed
to part
you and
your
hard-earned
dollars.
But you
don’t
have to
become
an
Olympic-level
couponer
or buy
food by
the
pallet
to trim
some
bucks
from
that
total.
Whether
you’re
already
a
cost-conscious
shopper
or
you’re
thinking
about
your
spending
in new
ways
these
days, a
few
small
changes
can go a
long way
if you
make
them
long-term
habits.
“If you
take out
some
convenience
products
and you
save $10
in one
shop,
that
might
not seem
like
much,”
says
Erin
Chase,
who runs
the blog
$5
Dinners.
“But if
you shop
once a
week and
you keep
that up,
you’re
looking
at real
long-term
savings.”
She
suggests
you try
out a
few
money-saving
tactics
and see
what
sticks
in the
long
run.
Here are
a few
ideas to
get you
started:
1-Plan
ahead
Saving
money at
the
grocery
store
usually
involves
a
trade-off
in
convenience.
That can
take a
lot of
forms,
whether
buying
vinaigrette
instead
of
making
your own
or
shopping
at the
market
down the
street
instead
of a
cheaper
store
across
town.
Think
hard
about
what
you’re
willing
to give
up and
what
you’re
not.
A lot of
your
saving
comes
down to
what you
do
before
you set
foot in
the
aisle:
Make
sure you
shop
your own
cupboards
and
refrigerator
first,
and have
a meal
plan
that
you’re
shopping
for.
There
are
loads of
resources
online,
in
recipe
books
and in
this
very
publication
for
budget-friendly
meals.
Apps can
help you
identify
what’s
on sale
when
you’re
planning
your
meals.
Beth
Moncel,
who
blogs at
Budget
Bytes,
likes
Flipp,
which
lets you
browse
the
sales
fliers
for your
local
stores
and
manage
that
stack of
loyalty
cards.
And
don’t go
it alone
if
you’re
shopping
for a
household.
Enlist
your
partner
and kids
in the
project,
too.
“Talk to
your
kids
about it
over
dinner,”
Chase
suggests.
“Keep it
simple
and say,
‘Guys,
we’re
spending
too much
on food,
and
we’re
going to
do some
things a
little
bit
differently.’”
2-Stay
flexible
Expand
where
you
shop,
considering
discount
or
international
stores.
“Be
open-minded,”
Moncel
counsels.
“International
grocery
stores
have
amazing
prices
on
things
that
would be
considered
specialty
items at
other
places.”
Maybe
it’s
time to
test
your
brand
loyalty.
If you
reflexively
grab a
particular
label,
consider
a
less-expensive
one or a
store
brand.
You
might
eventually
decide
to go
back to
your
name-brand
favorite,
but it’s
worth
revisiting.
And
while
your
mantra
should
be
“plan,
plan,
plan,”
be
prepared
to
pivot.
If you
encounter
an
unexpectedly
high
price
for a
product
or an
ingredient
on your
list —
maybe it
wasn’t
on sale
like you
thought,
or
supply-chain
issues
caused a
price
hike —
consider
what you
could
swap for
it.
Boneless
chicken
thighs
instead
of
chicken
breasts,
maybe,
or a
different
cut of
steak.
Moncel
notes
that
this is
easiest
when
you’re
shopping
for
flexible-format
meals
(think
pizzas,
stir-fries
and
casseroles)
that can
adapt.
3-Focus
on the
pricey
stuff
Meat is
probably
one of
the most
expensive
items
going
into
your
cart, so
it’s
smart to
focus
there.
Check
the
sales.
And you
can buy
less if
you find
ways to
cut it
with
other,
less-expensive
proteins
— Chase
suggests
lentils
in
sloppy
joes or
black
beans in
taco
meat.
The
produce
aisle
can be
tricky,
too. Be
sure you
check to
see if
the
listed
price is
per item
or per
pound.
Moncel
recalled
that,
recently,
she was
thrilled
to find
papayas
for
$1.99 —
until
she
realized
that was
a
per-pound
price,
making
the
hefty
fruit
not such
a great
deal.
And
consider
whether
you
really
need a
fresh
vegetable
or
fruit;
frozen
produce
can
often be
a great
money-saver,
and
there’s
less
chance
it will
go to
waste.
4-Avoid
impulse
buys
Shop
alone if
possible.
The
temptation
to
placate
a kid
with a
treat or
to
indulge
a
request
for an
off-the-list
meal can
quickly
derail
your
plan.
But if
that’s
not
possible,
try
asking
kids
ahead of
time
what one
item
they
want to
eat that
week,
and then
enlist
them in
helping
find it
and put
it in
the
cart.
And
shopping
while
hungry
is
always a
bad
idea,
for
grown-ups
and kids
alike.
Many
people
like
curbside
pickup
because
it
eliminates
in-the-moment
temptations
— just
watch
out for
pricey
substitutions.
Even if
you’re
blissfully
solo and
feeling
no
hunger
pangs,
steel
yourself
against
your
weaknesses,
whether
it’s a
magazine
at
checkout
or a
bunch of
flowers.
In
stores
like
Costco,
you’ll
pass
displays
of items
from
pajamas
to
laptops.
“You
could
wind up
with an
entire
wardrobe,”
Chase
says.
5-Track
your
success
After
you’ve
taken
steps to
hold
down
your
spending,
there’s
nothing
more
encouraging
than
seeing
your
efforts
pay off.
Take a
look at
your
grocery
spending,
before
and
after
you
started
making
changes.
You
don’t
even
need a
fancy
spreadsheet
or app —
just
write it
down.
Even if
you’re
saving
just a
few
dollars,
give
yourself
a mental
high-five.
“When
you see
it
working,
it will
encourage
you to
keep
going,”
Chase
says.
And
since
grocery
shopping
is a
never-ending
errand,
there’s
always
another
chance
to do
better.
“Think
about
baby
steps,”
she
says.
“You’re
building
habits
over
time.”
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