This is the sixth post in my 31 Days of Living on Less Series. If you’d like to read all the posts in order, go to Day 1.
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If we’re not careful, food can become one of our main budget-wreckers. We’ve noticed that the cost of food is rising in our town’s one grocery store, so we usually go elsewhere to buy our groceries.
One of our main places to shop is Aldi, since they have such great prices. And we can sometimes even find organic food there. Unfortunately, we don’t have an Aldi very close to us, but at least once a month when we visit family in a nearby city, we make it a priority to shop there.
We also have several little discount grocery stores that we frequent. (And, yes, I did take these photos on our last trip to Aldi! The store was packed, but there was a temporary lull on this one aisle, so I tried to be discreet, but my kids were laughing at me.)
Here are some of our favorite ways to save on groceries:
1. Garden
During the summer months we try to grow as much of our own food as possible. However, in the past few years, that’s been a bit difficult for us. We still do what we can. We have some raised beds, and we were able to grow lots of lettuce and greens, spinach, some carrots, tomatoes, garlic, peppers, squash, and a few other things. Now we’re working on a fall garden that’s producing some swiss chard and lettuce so far.
2. Buy Local Produce in Season
What we don’t get from our garden, we try to get locally. We get some produce from my parents, some from friends, and some from local farmers. The quality is usually better, and so is the price. What we can’t find locally-grown, we get from Aldi.
3. Shop at Discount Grocery Stores
We have quite a few discount grocery stores in our area. Sometimes the items are dented or bent, or the packaging has been opened, or sometimes it’s out of date. You have to inspect everything carefully, but we’ve been shopping at these kinds of stores for years, and we’ve lived to tell about it! When we first got married, I was pretty concerned about dented cans (my dad is a very cautious food scientist), but we’ve never had any problems with food from discount grocers. And oftentimes we’re able to get a great deal on organic or natural brands that we’d pay a lot for if they were in a health food store.
4. Shop at Aldi
As I mentioned above, Aldi has become one of our favorite stores, and we go there whenever we get a chance. You can find so many great deals here.
5. Buy Paper Products at the Dollar Store
This may not be true everywhere, but we’ve found things like toilet paper and paper towels are usually cheaper at the Dollar Store.
6. Buy Generic Rather Than Name Brands
If there’s a generic or store brand available, we’ll often choose this over name brands, since they’re usually cheaper and the quality is often comparable. This isn’t always true, though, so we weigh all of the options and decide which one is the best value/quality for our money.
7. Shop Sales
We check our store flyers and if there’s a good sale on something we regularly use, we’ll stock up (if we can afford to).
8. Forage for Free Food
We are always on the lookout for free food. We’ve been blessed so many times by neighbors and friends who have shared an abundant crop from their garden or fruit trees with us. We’ve also invested in a few books on which wild foods are safe to eat in our area. This summer we discovered a few gooseberry bushes that were likely planted by birds. We also have some wild blackberry bushes growing nearby. We’ve only begun to enter the world of foraging for wild food, but I’m sure there’s more available that we could be eating if we took the time to discover it!
Do you have any tips for saving money on groceries? If you do, please share!
Patrick and Emily says
October 11, 2014 at 7:30 pmAs far as produce and store brand prices Walmart price matches Aldi's if you are within 100 miles of them. We have 1 hr to drive to get to a Aldi's. so I never really get to one. But last year I got tons of pomegranates 3 for a dollar from Walmart with my phones Aldi's ad. 🙂
Joy Kincaid says
October 11, 2014 at 7:51 pmThat's a great tip! We don't have an iPhone, so we miss out on some of those kinds of deals. But that's good to know, thanks for sharing!
Kristen @ Joyfully Thriving says
October 9, 2014 at 12:41 amUnfortunately, I don't have an Aldi close either. I save money on groceries by shopping the sales and stockpiling. Then, I plan my menus based on the sales. I'm enjoying your series!
Joy Kincaid says
October 9, 2014 at 3:00 amThat's a great way to save, Kristen! And I'm so glad you're enjoying this series! It's helping me focus on something positive, rather than just thinking about unemployment! 🙂
Julian says
October 8, 2014 at 6:47 pmI've heard we have an Aldi where we can drive to but it's not in our town. I have 6 kids 4 at home. 4 boys lol. It's hard to keep food lol. I think we spend most our budget on food. I've cut back our trips to sams (Costco) to every other week. I'm learning how to waste less food as well. Making chicken from one meal make 2 meals. It has been trial and error. I stock up when there's a sale, don't buy name brands very much, and cook simple meals instead of trying many ingredient recipes.
Christina
Joy Kincaid says
October 8, 2014 at 6:59 pmThanks for sharing these helpful tips, Christina! I agree about making simple meals–that can save a lot of money. And I'm sure 4 boys must eat a lot! 🙂
Christy H says
October 8, 2014 at 10:46 amAldi is AWESOME!!!! And a God send!! There is one within 2 miles of me and it is my main grocery store. Nothing helps the budget go further than Aldi…although I am not fond of their meat.
Joy Kincaid says
October 8, 2014 at 5:30 pmHow blessed you are to have an Aldi so close to you!!! Our nearest one is about an hour away.