Save Money on Groceries

American families spend 37 cents of every dollar they earn on groceries, according to the Institute of Consumer Financial Education in their May 08 newsletter.

If nearly 40% of our income goes toward feeding ourselves and our families, and we can’t plan to stop eating anytime soon, the frugal choice is to find ways to save at the grocery store:

• Take a list! Make a grocery list at home where you can peer in cabinets and the fridge and know for sure what you need and what you already have.
• Plan ahead. When shopping on Sunday for the week ahead, don’t buy seven dinners worth of food if there’s already a pizza night planned on Friday and you’re invited to the neighbor’s house for dinner on Wednesday. If you buy too much fresh food, you’ll end up throwing it out when it goes bad. That’s essentially throwing money in the trash.
• Purchase items you can reuse. Many grocery items are staples, like rice and noodles, and can be reused in different recipes. Plan your shopping so that you maximize the efficiency of your shopping list.
• Check out flyers and coupons. Plan meals around the best deals. Why plan a grilled chicken dinner this week when it will be half off next week?
• Set a budget. Estimate how much you should be spending on food every month or week and plan to spend a set amount before you leave for the store.
• Be on the same page with your family. Don’t let spouses, roommates or children derail your frugal efforts- communicate your goals!
• After you communicate, consider shopping alone. More shoppers often lead to more purchases not on the list.
• If you must bring the kids give them calculators and have them tally up groceries as they go in the cart. They’ll get a lesson in money management and a project to keep them occupied.
• Don’t shop when you’re hungry!
• In the grocery story aisles don’t forget to look up and down. The best deals may not be at eye level; chances are they aren’t.
• Save the (free) plastic bags you get at checkout. There is no reason why these can’t be the bags for your bathroom trash can. Or use them to carry lunches to work, or to dispose of the kitty litter.
• Read ingredients. Do you wonder why the store brand cold medicine or spray cleaner is half the price of the specialty brand? Chances are you’re just paying for packaging and marketing. Look at the ingredients (especially the active ingredients) — sometimes there is no noticeable difference. And speaking of store brands…

Buy Store Brands and Save Over 40%!

American shoppers save about $15.8 billion annually by choosing store brands over name brands, according to industry sales research cited by the Private Label Manufacturers Association (PLMA).

To demonstrate how much money you can save by switching from name brands to store brands, these are the actual price differences for 20 common grocery items. Below are the results (prices include the store’s loyalty card discounts). Keep in mind that grocery prices have increased substantially since these prices were recorded:

As you can see, buying store brands saves you a significant amount of money. Our experiment resulted in a savings of just under $31 for 20 items – that’s an average savings of over $1.50 per item and a 42% savings overall!

Save on Produce with Community Supported Agriculture

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farms offer a healthy and affordable alternative to grocery store produce. CSA farms provide a weekly supply of in-season fruits, vegetables and herbs to members who purchase “shares” that cover the production costs of the farm.

On average CSA members spend less on produce than grocery store shoppers and they have the added benefit of fresh, in-season food. Many farms offer opportunities to volunteer at the farm in exchange for a discounted share price. Others offer discounted shares to accommodate low-income consumers.

There are over 1,000 CSA farms across the country and many make drop-offs at farmers markets to reach urban members. Members can either pick up their weekly produce at the farms or go to the closest drop-off site.

CSA farms strengthen local economies by keeping money in the community and small family farms are able to remain in business through guaranteed financial support. In return, members get to know where their food is produced unlike with grocery store products which can travel for days and miles across the country before they are stocked on shelves. CSA produce is also cheaper than grocery store organics because distributors often take advantage of the growing popularity of organic foods by hiking up their prices.

To locate a CSA farm near you visit www.localharvest.org . A good site for finding farmers' markets is http://www.ams.usda.gov/farmersmarkets/map.htm.