Budget Grocery Shopping Fundamentals | Part 1 - Matching Habits to Sales

Our average monthly food budget for two adults is $200. Sound impossible? I promise you it's not, even in the North East, USA where our grocery prices are on the higher side.

Saving money on food is a skill like any other, and it does take some effort, but I promise you it's worth it. 

I am working on a series of posts dedicated to teaching you how to shop smart, plan ahead, maximize sales, and use your freezer more effectively. Look for updates bearing the "Budget Grocery Shopping Fundamentals" title.

Before we get started, I want to acknowledge that the ability to shop frugally is in many ways a privilege. Everyone's financial and living situation is different.

I encourage you to think creatively to address any challenges you may have. Stay tuned for a follow up post on this topic.

Without further ado, let's get started!

Frugal Grocery Shopping Fundamentals

Part 1 - Matching Your Habits to Sales

Buying food you won't eat just because it's on sale is not going to save you money!

Read over the concepts below, and start thinking about what your family likes to eat, your schedule, and other life factors that impact your eating habits.

Understand What Foods You Buy Most

The foods that you buy most will provide the best opportunity to save over time. 

Take a week or two to track what foods your family consumes the most, and how much. This allows you to buy in the correct quantities when items are on sale.

Remember, the focus is mainly on shelf or fresh food that freezes well. Fresh foods that do not freeze well are likely to be wasted if you purchase more than can be consumed in a week or so.

The simplest way to track how often food goes on sale, is to keep a price book.

Keep it simple by starting with the shelf stable or freezable foods you consume the most. Make a note of whenever the item goes on sale, what the price is, and what the brand is. 

Overtime you will start to see trends. These trends will help you understand how much of an item you will need to purchase to tide you over until the next sale.

Know Your Stock Up Price

In time you will recognize what an OK sale is and what a GREAT sale is. This is where your price book becomes your best friend.

Buy enough of your most consumed items at the best sale price to last you until the next time it goes on sale (typically 4-12 weeks) - once again, use your price book!

Many items will have a "rock bottom" sale once or twice a year, keeping track of sale cycles will help you recognize these rare sales.

It doesn't take long to start recognizing when something is a good deal or not. For higher price items like meats and cheeses, I have a general idea in my head of what the best price is. This allows me to take advantage of unadvertised sales or clearance bin items.

Shop Seasonally

Many items go on sale in accordance with a season or holiday. For example, flour and butter go on sale quite often around Christmas time.

Be prepared for these sales by making sure you have the space in your freezer to accommodate the quantity you will be buying. This is especially relevant when preserving large amount of u-pick fruit or harvesting a garden.

Use these sales to your advantage, but make sure they really are a "good" sale by checking your price book.

Know What Foods Freeze Well

You may be surprised to know how many types of food will freeze well.

Check out this list to help you get started. If in doubt, research before you buy!

Remember, if you buy something with the plan to freeze, freeze immediately! Don't let it linger in your fridge where you risk the chance of forgetting about it.

Freeze Foods Correctly

Air is the enemy is food. Make sure it is well wrapped and labeled before placing in the freezer.

Freeze foods in quantities you will use in a meal.

In many cases, it is more space efficient to remove items from their original package and wrap in small portions.

Freeze items flat to save space. For liquid or soft items, place the freezer bag on a cookie sheet first until firm enough to stack.

Group like items together. I use labelled baskets in my chest freezer.

To keep items like berries from freezing in one large brick, flash freeze them spread out on a parchment lined baking sheet for a few hours before decanting into a bag.

Use Coupons Wisely

Coupons can be a great tool for saving money, here are a few key principles to keep in mind:

• Only use coupons for a product you were going to buy, or are genuinely interested in trying.
• Know your store's coupon policies.
• Just because you have a coupon, doesn't mean you have to use it.
• Take advantage of apps offered by your store. Those are the easiest way to use coupons and take advantage of other store offers.
• The best way to use a coupon is to pair it with a store sale for maximum savings.
• If the price with coupon is more than your stock up price, re-evaluate if it is really a good deal.

In my WWS & WWA posts you will see that I use coupons quite frequently. Most of these coupons are clipped digitally on that store's app. I only use coupons for a product I already plan to buy, or to get a deal that is close to or better than my stock up price.

Schedule Time to Plan

Set aside 30 minutes one day a week to review that week's sale flyers and plan your main meals for the next week.

Pick a time that allows you the maximum your ability to access sales. Shopping on the first day of a sale means that products are more likely to be in stock and fresh.

Shop Your Home First

Tossing unused food defeats the purposed of frugal grocery shopping.

Check your fridge, freezer, and pantry each week for items that need to be used up. Combine those items with sales to plan your meals for the week.

A freezer inventory list will help you know what you have at a glance. When food enters the freezer, write it down, when it comes out, cross it off.

Consider Stores Outside Your Normal Stops

If you follow my What We Spent & What We Ate posts, you will see that we shop a variety of stores, from traditional grocery stores, to dollar stores and salvage stores.

Get familiar with the places that sell food in your area. Use your price book to compare their sale and normal prices to those at your regular grocery store. 

Don't feel like you have to go to every store and price compare all at once. Use store websites to look up prices, or subscribe to email flyers. Alternatively, take a browse through the food isle on a rainy day. Focus on your most frequently purchased foods first.

Limit special trips. Driving 10 miles out of your way to buy one or two items that are 10 cents cheaper at another store defeats the purpose of frugality, you will spend more in gas and time than you would have spent by paying the extra 10 cents at the store you were already at. Save those one offs for trips where you are already in the area, and be sure to grab enough to tide you over until the next stop. 

Set a Budget

Do you know what you currently spend monthly on food per person? If the answer is no, start by analyzing your bank card/credit card statements over the past 3-6 months. Add up all grocery purchases, divide by the number of months, and then by the number of people you are feeding.

For the two of us (young adults who work office jobs with no dietary restrictions) we budget $200 a month, or $100 per person. Our budget does not include household items such as toilet paper or laundry detergent. It also does not include eating out, these items have separate budgets.

Pick an amount per person that seems reasonable for your family. Consider age, activity level, and special dietary needs.

Test out your new budget for a few months. If you end up with a lot left over each month, consider reducing your budget. If your struggling, analyze what food items you are buying and see if any changes can be made before increasing your budget.

Be Flexible in Your Budget

You will notice that I state we spend an average of $200 a month. 

Some months we spend closer to $300-$400, other months less than $100. 

This is because we shop mainly sales and take advantage "great" sales or "stock up" sales when we see them. By knowing the lowest sale price (by using a price book) we are able to make smart buying decisions.

As a result, we are constantly "feeding" our pantry and freezer, and supplementing with fresh items.

I recognize that this approach is not possible for everyone. We are fortunate to have enough flexibility in our income to allow this style of spending. If you feel this approach is not workable for your financial situation, I encourage you to keep reading, and get creative. You can set aside a portion of your budget for just stocking up on sales, or roll over any unspent portion of your grocery budget until you have a buffer fund. These approaches work well for people who already have an existing stock of food (large or small) and those who keep very little on hand. I will try to cover these scenarios more in depth in later posts.

I hope these tips help you get thinking about your family's needs and how to start sale-shopping smartly.