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My Best Tip for Spending Less TIME and MONEY in the Grocery Store

February 2, 2013 by Elsie 4 Comments

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It's so obvious, but true! This is the best way to simplify your grocery shopping.

Remember how I said that I enjoy grocery shopping? That’s thanks, in part, to the handy shopping list I make which streamlines everything. But I have an even bigger secret that saves more time and money than anything else.

Ready for it? Here it is: Don’t buy stuff.

I understand, this “tip” is kind of like saying “the best way to save on gas is just don’t drive.”  Well, both tips are true. They seem a little obvious and anti-climatic, but they also happen to be the most effective. Until I took these things to heart by skipping the frozen food aisles (and walking to school when the weather was nice), I really wasn’t saving much money.

In the years since I began buying my own food, my grocery list has shrank gradually. There are three reasons for this:

 

1. We don’t eat as many processed foods
2. We buy ingredients rather than a finished product
3. We source some of our food elsewhere

To show you what I mean, I made a list of a few things we used to buy at the store but no longer. In parenthesis I’ve put what we use instead.

  • grated/sliced cheese (a block of cheese can be grated or sliced as needed)
  • yogurt (we make our own in the crock pot)
  • milk (we have a herd share with a local dairy)
  • coffee creamer (I use a splash of creamy raw milk!)
  • canned soup (we make our own soup/broth)
  • canned fruit (we usually just get fresh)
  • canned vegetables (we eat fresh or frozen)
  • salad dressing (make ourselves or do without)
  • bread (make ourselves)
  • bottled drinks (buy only as a treat)
  • frozen pizza (make our own)
  • pasta/pizza sauce (it’s cheaper to make your own with canned tomatoes and herbs and veggies of choice)
  • processed food like waffles, hotpockets, etc (don’t need)

Crossing these items off my list allows me to cut out nearly half the aisles in the grocery store!

Yes, I spend a little more time in my kitchen making food from scratch, but the health and money benefits are worth it. And the time I used to spend in the grocery store can now be invested in making a wholesome pot of soup or a loaf of sourdough bread.
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Comments

  1. JaimieJaimie says

    February 2, 2013 at 4:15 pm

    I am so excited to see that these things (except for milk, every-so-often salad dressing and the rare frozen pizza for a quick meal) are all the things I don’t buy, either!! 🙂 When I realize how many aisles I skip at the grocery store, it’s a pretty satisfying feeling. 🙂

    Reply
  2. A Proverbs 31 WifeA Proverbs 31 Wife says

    August 1, 2013 at 6:14 pm

    That is truly the best tip of all 🙂
    I still buy salad dressing, and yogurt. But for the most part, when we go to the store, the area I spend the most at is right there in the produce section. 🙂 In the summer time it’s easy to make do with what we get from our small garden, but in the winter, I am desperate for fresh food 🙂

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. 97 Easy Ways to Save Money - GrowingSlower says:
    October 2, 2014 at 11:49 pm

    […] waste food that’s about to go bad28. Cook from scratch29. Make your own chicken stock30. Make your own taco seasoning31. Make your own almond milk, or cashew, hemp, rice, or […]

    Reply
  2. 25 Things I Don't Buy in the Grocery Store (And What I Use Instead) - Richly Rooted says:
    November 21, 2014 at 2:28 pm

    […] Because we buy grass-fed hamburger and milk, nitrate-free bacon, and other expensive items, we also needed a way to free up grocery budget space. Leaving these items off the list saves us big bucks in the long run, so we can spend more on foods that we feel should be higher quality (for us, that means animal products!). Not buying these items is my best tip for saving time and money in the grocery store! […]

    Reply

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