Six Ways to Save Money on Groceries

I’m so excited to share this post from my friend Katie of Simple Foody! If you’re looking for great info on real food, you simply must visit her blog and follow her on FB and Twitter!

Feeding a growing family on a budget can be a challenge for anyone, not to mention when you are trying to feed your family whole, organic and gluten free foods.  Here are 6 ways I stay within a sane grocery budget.

.24 an ounce VS. .51 an ounce

Buy In Bulk

Buying in bulk is probably the one way I save my family the most money on our grocery purchases every year.  Not everything is cheaper in bulk so always do the math, but in most cases you will save 25-50% by buying in bulk.  We buy most of our grains, flours, salt, and oils in bulk, along with fruits and vegetables when they are in season and preserve them to use later in the year.   Even tuna can be bought in bulk for more than half the price of the smaller cans.  Once you open the can freeze the extra for later use.

Shop The Outside Of Your Grocery Store
Don’t literally shop outside of your grocery store…well, unless there is a farmer’s market in the parking lot.  Rather shop the outer aisles, the perimeter of the store.  This is usually where you will find most of the unprocessed foods.  Fruits, vegetables, dairy, and meat.  Buy shopping the outer aisles, you are less likely to make impulse purchases on things you don’t really need, saving money in the long run.

Look For Marked Down Perishables

Our local health food store has baskets near the produce and bread cases where they place marked down perishable items.  They also have a section in the cold case for marked down cold items as well.  I always make sure to search these places when I go, and I almost always score some great deals.  Organic produce for 50-75% off, and raw milk 40% off, just $3.50 a half gallon to name a couple.

Buy Directly From The Farmer
I literally save hundreds of dollars every year by buying directly from the farmer.  We buy a quarter of a cow (grass-fed) every year for just a fraction of the cost of what it would cost us to purchase that same meat in the store.  This year we also bought 1/2 a pig which was killer deal from what we’ve been paying for pork at our local health food store.

Join A Co-op Or CSA

Over the years, living in many different states, I’ve been a member of many different co-ops and CSA programs.  Currently we are part of an Amish co-op in which we buy raw milk, raw cream, raw cheese, pasture raised chickens, and several other items for just a fraction of what it would cost me to buy those items at a store.

Grow Your Own Food
We’ve never had a lot of land, and probably won’t until my husband gets out of the military, but we make do with pots and any available flower beds we are able to cultivate.  Buy planting a couple of easy to grow and prolific plants we can easily save $100-200 over the course of spring, summer, and fall.