How To Make A Small Grocery Budget Stretch

Are you looking for ways to help keep money in your wallet even after the dreaded trip to the grocery store to do your food shopping? You’re not alone. Most families have a small food budget, making it challenging to get the groceries needed for the week. Depending on the size and age of family members, some of us have a bigger challenge than others.

However, a few tricks can help you purchase what’s necessary while saving you money. Here’s a closer look at how you can stretch your money every week while grocery shopping. I’m updating this post due to the significant increases in food prices and the need to find ways to save wherever possible. I have a PRINTABLE Grocery List below.

How to Make a Small Grocery Budget Stretch

Take Inventory of Your Pantry

Taking inventory of your pantry gives you a better idea of what food you still have available. You might even be surprised by how many meals you can still scrape together.

Doing so also helps you realize what you’re out of and what needs replenishment. It might even give you a good idea of simply grabbing one extra ingredient from the store to help make a complete meal. What you don’t want to do is get to the store and buy things on impulse.

Please make a list and stick to it unless you’re reminded of an item or two you’ve overlooked when putting your shopping list together. 

Diligently Search the Ad Flyers

While Aldi is typically the cheapest grocery store to shop at if you have one in your area, you can still catch even better deals if you search the ad flyers.

Yes, this might mean you are now considered a cherry-picker customer who has to shop at more than one grocery store during the week, but hey, that’s what it takes when you have a small grocery budget. Just don’t spend more on gas than what you’ll save on the cost using that ad. Use common sense when visiting multiple stores in your efforts to save money.

Shopping the ads could save you hundreds of dollars during the year, depending on the size of your family, the types of foods you usually buy, and how efficient you are when using the ads.

Go After Mark-downs

Are you a bargain shopper? Looking for the manager’s specials in the meat department or other perishable food departments can help you get great deals for a fraction of the original retail price.

These foods must be eaten relatively quickly to ensure freshness and quality, particularly if we’re talking about fresh fruit and vegetables. 

Buy the Generic Brands

Do you usually settle for the name-brand potato chips and national brand for a gallon of milk? In most cases, the generic or store-name brands are just as good and at lower prices.

Here’s a little secret. A gallon of milk sold under the store name is, in most cases, the same milk sold under the national label because of their contract with the national milk producer. This secret can apply to many generic brands and their various products and save you a chunk of money each week. 

Don’t Buy Regular Retail Goods

Try to stick to discounted items you receive in your weekly mailbox grocery sale items flyers. Avoid purchasing regular retail items you will find on sale at another retail store for much cheaper. Now, some stores are sending out magazines with coupons, like Smith’s! We’ve received two mail flyers from Krogers this week, and their local store brand is Smiths.

There are some chains that send out digital coupons if you sign up for their flyers and newsletters. Try it for a while and see if those digital notices are user-friendly and save you money.

Shop Alone

Shopping alone can be crucial to help you stretch out your budget. You don’t have all the distractions from kids fighting or begging for that candy bar or costly breakfast cereals. Also, you’ll be less likely to accidentally grab hot salsa instead of the mild version you want due to being distracted.

We’ve all had children who tend to beg for their favorite sweets, sugary cereals, and other food items that can quickly increase the bill. As discussed in the “make meal plans” section below, planning meals in advance and buying only those ingredients you need for a specific meal recipe can save a bunch of money.

I like to grocery shop in the morning. The stores tend to be less busy, so you can take your time, look over the items in more detail, and not have to worry about waiting in the checkout line. Make it a habit to schedule yourself to shop when it’s convenient for you and less of a hassle.

Don’t Shop Hungry

Everyone has heard this line before, and it’s true. Don’t shop when you’re hungry. Everything looks good when you are hungry; before you know it, you’ll have a grocery cart full of junk well outside your budget. 

Make Meal Plans

Making meal plans is one of the best ways to help with budget shopping. It lets you find common or similar ingredients in meal plans and use them when making several meals.

It also helps you from tossing meaningless items into your cart that can be skipped. Most of us are tempted to buy things we want but don’t need. If you shop based on what is required to complete the weekly menu plans, you’ll be surprised at how much can be saved and how the family will eat healthier meals.

Stick to the List

Now that you have the meal plan items you need on your list, stick to it. Avoid making those tempting impulse buys. 

Look for the Value (Cost per Ounce)

Be a smarter shopper by reviewing the item’s real cost. Most retail stores have a cost per ounce on the price posted on the face of the shelves. Use the cost per ounce to help you compare brands and package sizes of similar foods. Pick up the one with a lower cost per ounce to save extra pennies. Often, that means buying in larger quantities. Mark has cereal with bananas each morning. He’s found that the large bags available at Walmart have a lower cost per ounce, so those are the ones he buys.

Buy More Lower-Priced Proteins

Buying low-priced fatty proteins such as eggs, beans, and rice is a great way to make meals go further. They are not only cheap but also more filling. I realize eggs have gone up and then down in price. But they are still an excellent price for the protein.

We have lots of cans of beans since we’ve found fresh meats to be pricey these days. We can get the proteins we need from a wide variety of beans, like black beans, pinto beans, lima beans, etc.

There are containers full of pasta in our pantry too. We love to make spaghetti, lasagna, and other pasta meals since they’re cheap and filling when we make them from scratch.

Drink More Water

Choose to drink more water from a Brita or water filter. This can keep you from purchasing cases of water, and prompt you to drink more water each day instead of soda pop and juice that you really don’t need to be drinking.

Drinking more water also fills you up faster and keeps you from eating more food than you should.

Buy In Bulk

Do you have a large family? Buying in bulk on certain non-perishable items can also save you a lot of money. We all use many of the same staples for the base of our meal planning. With that in mind, we’re probably safe in buying more at a discounted price, saving more in the long run.

Buying big bags of rice and beans will save you far more in the long run than buying smaller amounts at regular retail stores. Several other bulk items are great for stretching out your budget. That tends to be the approach when purchasing from Costco. You may have to be more diligent as you monitor those expiration dates, but it’s worth it.

Properly Store Leftovers

Store leftovers in sealed containers and bags to help food last longer and keep its flavor and nutrients intact as they’re placed in your fridge or freezer for later use. 

Freeze Meat Immediately

If you buy meat you know you won’t be eating over the next few days, freeze it immediately so you don’t run the risk of having it spoil. You can always de-thaw meat and other frozen foods when needed for that planned meal. It’s called meal planning for a purpose!

Buy From Local Farmers’ Markets

Do you have a local farmers’ market? Make that extra stop and take advantage of great prices on super fresh produce, meats, and milk.

If you head there towards the end of the day, you can usually bargain with vendors for better prices. Supporting these food suppliers is also great for the environment and the local economy.   

Grow a Garden

You don’t have to get all your vegetables at the grocery store. How about growing a little garden for some of your basic vegetable needs? Not only will it save you money, but it will be fresher than what you would find at the retail store. We love the fact that we seldom buy tomatoes during the summer—they come right out of our garden! Update: As you know, we moved up north and hope to start a garden this spring.

Know Appropriate Portions

Serving the same portion of food to your kids that you’re eating will waste a lot of food. There’s such a thing as getting seconds if they’re still hungry.

The same goes for yourself. Most Americans will admit that they overeat. Stretch your food into leftovers for another meal. It can save you money and help you maintain that slim waistline.

How To Live On A Minimalistic Budget

Free Printable Grocery List

Grocery List from Food Storage Moms

Final Word

These are several ways to stretch a grocery budget further. If you’re living on a tight budget, what other ways do you stretch your money when grocery shopping? I’d love to hear from you and share your ideas with my loyal readers. May God Bless this world, Linda

Copyright Images: Cheap Grocery Shopping Depositphotos_54006891_S By Stokkete