How to Grocery Shop Like a Pro
Some people dread going grocery shopping, while others enjoy the experience. I personally enjoy grocery shopping and believe it’s because I know how to make my trip efficient! In this post I will share some simple tricks that can help you save money, shop healthier and more efficiently. I wish I could give you an in person grocery tour, but hopefully these grocery shopping tips will be helpful!
10 Grocery Shopping Tips
1. Make a List and Check it Twice!
This might be a pretty obvious tip, but making a list of the items you need is so important! Writing the items down helps ensure that you leave with everything you will need for the week, helping you avoid unnecessary trips to the store. Additionally, when we have a list, we tend to only buy what is on the list, leading to less impulse buying. And we all know the impulse buys don’t tend to be the healthiest items!
2. Eat Before you Leave
Avoid going to the store hungry! I’m sure we have all experienced shopping hungry. We load the cart up with all of the goodies, then arrive home wondering why we bought all of these unnecessary items and realize we bought nothing for dinner! Have a small snack before going to the store to help you stick to your list. Have a piece of fruit, some sliced veggies or a piece of 100% whole grain toast with peanut butter before you head to the store.
3. Shop the Outskirts of the Store
This is probably my favorite tip! Try to stay on the outskirts of the grocery store! Why do we want to do this? These outer areas are where the healthier, fresh items tend to be. Fruits, vegetables, meats, dairy and eggs all tend to be on the outer walls of the grocery store.
I always start my trip in the produce section, then to the meat section, and finally visiting the dairy and egg section. I will venture down the inner aisle for rice, beans, canned fruits and vegetables, pasta and some other items, but I go down the aisles intentionally and for items on my list.
4. Avoid the Inner Aisles
Grocery stores want you to adventure into these inner aisles because they want you to walk pass a lot of products, hoping you will fall victim to impulse buys.
If you do need items from these inner aisles, stick to your list! Know what you are going down the aisle for and don’t get distracted by the other well-marketed items.
5. Don’t be Tempted by the Endcap Displays!
This one goes hand in hand with the “avoid the inner aisle” tip. We tend to think the items on the endcap displays are on sale or healthy options. However, this is not always the case! Companies pay for their items to be featured in these locations, hoping you will grab the item while passing by the aisle. Once again, another opportunity for an impulse buy to happen. Be strong and resist the urge!
6. Buy in Bulk
Bulk items usually have a cheaper unit price. Just be sure you will be able to use the larger amount of product before it goes bad or be able to freeze the item if you are not going to use it right away.
For example, the name brand of oatmeal sells a 48 oz container for $4.79 and an 18 oz container for $3.19. If you buy the smaller size, you are paying 6 cents more per ounce than the larger container!
Most items list the price per ounce or per unit, but if you need to calculate it yourself, here’s how! Take the price and divide it by however many ounces or units is listed on the package. It’s that simple 🙂 So for the oatmeal in the previous bullet point, I took $4.79 / 48 oz = $0.114.
**Sometimes if the smaller package is on sale, the smaller package may be cheaper than the bulk size, so be sure to check the unit price.
7. Buy Fruits and Vegetables that are In-Season
In-season produce not only has more flavor, but they also tend to be cheaper! Check out the USDA’s Seasonal Produce Guide to find out when your favorite fruits and vegetables are in season!
8. Buy more beans!
Swap beans in for meat and save on cost, calories and saturated fat! Plus you get to increase your fiber consumption.
9. Use Cash Back Rewards Applications, Store Card Memberships, and Shop Manager Discounts, and Store Specials
There are many ways to save a few extra dollars when grocery shopping. The Ibotta app is a cash back rewards application where you select items to get cash back on. It’s basically like a digital coupon. I started using the Ibotta app a few months ago and have earned over $80.00. Use my referral code, ylinnyk, to sign up!
Most stores offer a free membership card/ program, which will get you automatic store discounts. Save money by just scanning your card at check out!
Also, look on the lower shelves for store brand items. Often these items are very similar in quality to name brand items, but sold at a lower price. Canned black beans are canned black beans, right? Why pay forty-cents more per can for the same item? The same holds true for many other items, so check to see if there is a store brand option available! For example with oatmeal, the store brand is $2.99 and the name brand is $4.79 for the same size container at my local grocery store.
Don’t forget about store and manager discounts! These items are marked down since they are reaching their sell-by date. This date does not always mean the product is not good anymore, the store just needs to get it off their shelf. So take advantage of the deal! Visit my post on how to decipher use by, best by, and sell-by dates to learn more about what these dates mean!
10. Use curbside pick-up
Avoid going into the stores all together! Larger grocery stores offer curbside pickup where you can order your groceries online and just pull up to the front of the store to retrieve your groceries. This can be helpful if you are short on time or often fall victim to impulse buys!
I hope these tips will help you save money, shop healthier and more efficiently!
Post a comment below of any of your grocery shopping tips and tricks!
