How To Do Your Groceries Like A Budget-Wise Pro
Grocery shopping is the highlight of your week if you just want to get away from your family for a solid hour and spend a bunch of money on the pretense of "helping them." I'm not judging, I do it too.
But you're probably shopping all wrong in so many different ways. Not to burst your organic, GMO-free, fair trade bubble, but there are so many hidden tips and tricks that literally nobody talks about for getting the job done right and on a budget. Here are just a few.
How Much Money Do You Want To Drop On Eggs?
Budgeting is the first step in a foolproof grocery shopping plan. Before you even leave the house, you should be making a freaking list and checking your bank balance twice to know how much you're willing to drop on your weekly food supply. A budget is your first line of defense against overspending and buying unnecessary things.
Go Digital Before You Go To The Stores
The best thing about the 21st century is that you no longer have to flip through endless pages of in-store flyers for avocado deals—you can see all that online. Start your search for the store that works best for you by browsing their weekly deals via their website flyers. Plus, it's paperless.
Take A Pass On Stores With Free Samples (Even Though They're Tempting)
Free samples, music that's not from some weird radio station, and generally nice-looking stores with Arcadian farm animal decorations are all signs that the grocery store is very pricey. Very. If you want to be paying $5 for a bag of celery, be my guest and go there, just know everything is going to be marked up.
Costco Is Only A "Deal" If You're Buying In Bulk
Maybe you want to eat the same frozen fish fillets every night for three weeks. I don't know your diet, but for most of us, that's not really an option. Even though Costco is toted as being a deal, it's only really worth it if you buy everything in bulk and like eating the same thing every day. Also, their basic membership is $60 a year, so you've got to factor that in.
Never Settle For Limp (In Any Area Of Your Life)
Vegetables should be crisp when you buy them—that's going to be the only way that you can tell if they're fresh. Obviously, don't start snapping celery stalks in the store, but give them a gentle tap to hear if they're full of water and haven't started wilting yet.
There's A Huge Difference Between "Sell By," "Use By," And "Best Before"
Knowing the difference between these will give you a ton of insight, so you can shop accordingly. "Sell by" is the date that stores should sell perishables by, and it may be good for way longer than that day. "Best by" is the date that quality starts to go down, and "use by" is the actual expiry date (so it's the only really useful one to look at).
Get The Freshest And Cheapest Produce And Meats From International Grocery Stores
That market on the corner that you've never been to because you can't pronounce half the non-perishables on the shelves? Well, ignore the shelves and head right to the produce, meat, and fish sections. They're often better quality and cheaper than regular grocery stores. Plus, international grocery stores offer a wide selection of unique products that you likely can't get anywhere else.
Dollar Stores Are A Must For Snacks, Cans, And Dry Goods
You may be kind of weirded out seeing food in the dollar store—but the items are only there because they're discontinued, their packaging is slightly damaged, or they're a surplus. There's nothing wrong with them. So you should definitely pick up that $1 can of branded soup from there that you know would be $2 at Sam's club.
BYOB (Bring Your Own Bags)
Before plastic bags began their reign of terror, people used to bring their own bags. Not only is it a greener alternative and reduces waste, but they're usually a dollar and will last you for years. Don't stop there—opt for small cloth bags to bag your produce in.
Buy Avocados When They're As Hard As Hockey Pucks
Avocados are delicious and make a tasty toast accessory, but they're finicky little things. Realistically, you only have one or two days of edible avocado before they start to go bad. So buy them from the store when they're hard and underripe—that way you can store some of them in the fridge and others on the counter to stagger which ones ripen when.
Trader Joes Comes Close To Traveling Babysitting
A little-known fact is that in every Trader Joes, they hide a stuffed animal in one of the aisles, and if you find it you get to skip the line and win a treat. It's obviously to keep kids entertained but...maybe this incentivizes you bringing little Charlie to your Saturday morning spree.
Support Local Farmers (Within Your Price Range, Of Course)
Local farmers support our cities, communities, and literally everything, so we should 100% support them by buying their delicious food (a burden, right?). Just know that, usually, farmers' market prices are a little higher than those of grocery stores because your purchase supports a family, so maybe only budget to do that once a month or as often as you can afford.
Always Check The Unit Price
The unit price isn't the big ol' one that stores proudly display on stickers (usually highlighted). It's the little one, usually on the left-hand side, that lists how much things are per pound, liter, or ounce. You can better compare items using the unit price than the actual item price.
Go Generic (In Your Brands, Not Your Life)
Even though you're a unique, wonderful individual, you can choose to express your personality not through the food brands you buy. Generic brands often taste close to the products they're mimicking, and at a fraction of the cost. You may not like them because they taste "off," but honestly, most people won't notice a difference.
Couponing Lets You Stock Up On Crap For Cheap
If you're like most people and want to use coupons to buy delicious healthy food that you normally get, then you're probably out of luck. Check store flyers for deals on the fresh stuff, but coupons usually give you a deal for a bunch of units of junk food like pop and snacks.
Never Shop On An Empty Stomach (Or The Day Of A Breakup)
A good rule of thumb is not to shop when you're craving food because you'll often buy more of it, less healthy options, and expensive, individually packaged meals for something quick. That means no Ben & Jerrys run right after a breakup unless you want to have the three pints you wanted in the moment sitting in your freezer for the next six months.
Here's Some Eggcellent News
Eggs are actually fairly hardy. Remember the "best by" date I was talking about? Well, eggs can keep up to 3–5 weeks past that date if stored correctly, which makes them a pretty great thing to buy in bulk. You can check whether they're good or not by performing a float test: If it sinks in a bowl of water it's good, but if it floats or tilts upwards it's bad.
The Softer The Fruit, The Worse It Is
Grocery shopping is a hands-on experience, especially when it comes to fruit. You should be squeezing fruits like it's your day job because that's a great indicator of how ripe they are. Don't let people give you weird looks—you're smart.
Frozen Foods Aren't Just Sad TV Dinners Anymore
We're all used to hearing that frozen food is the worst thing to eat (aka the old idea that it's disgusting). But oftentimes, frozen food is picked when it's the ripest and flash frozen right after—so it really keeps for a long time.
Beans And Lentils Will Give You The Most Protein For Your Buck If You're A Vegetarian
Naysayers love to say that being vegetarian or vegan is expensive, but they obviously haven't heard about lentils, chickpeas, or peanuts. Legumes are a cheap source of protein that will cost you less than a dollar a can. Peanuts, on the other hand, have 26 grams of protein per 100 grams—which is comparable to chicken, which has 27 grams.
Turn Your Blinders On In The Checkout Aisle
Grocery stores will try (as last-ditch efforts) to put their flashiest, most eye-catching stuff right beside the checkout so that you're tempted to spend a couple more dollars before leaving the store. Focus your energy on getting only the essentials, Jedi knight—ignore those flashy sweets.
Opt For A Basket Instead Of A Cart (Especially If You Live Alone)
While it's tempting to run through the aisles like a maniac, grabbing literally anything and everything in sight, if you live alone, you really don't need that much food. Limit yourself to buying a basket's worth of food, and avoid throwing stuff out because it went bad when you couldn't eat it in time.
Meal Prepping Is Your BFFL
Even though it's annoying to read about all the people meal prepping on their downtime on Instagram, it's something that you just gotta do to stay focused in the store. It'll curb your habit of buying unnecessary items.
Buy Your Home Essentials In Bulk
Don't wait to buy your lightbulbs, soap, and toilet paper—pick 'em all up in the same grocery run that you're already doing. Buying them in bulk also saves you a lot of cash, and you can actually pay the bulk price without feeling guilty because these won't expire.
No More "One Item" Trips
In European cities, it's usually pretty common to pick up individual groceries as you need them, but in America, it makes more sense to just get a big haul once a week since we drive more than those living in European cities. Those one-item shopping trips only waste your time and gas.
