10+ smart grocery shopping hacks

A great place to shave expenses is by smart grocery shopping. Here are some hacks for doing just that …

One of the first places that people look to save money is on food. Smart grocery shopping isn't just one strategy; it's a collection of strategies. Any one, or several of them, will help you to save money.

Smart grocery shopping hacks you can use now

Here's a list of 10+ smart grocery shopping hacks you can apply right now:

1. Check out the store brand carefully. Checking out the unit pricing is one step. Checking out the taste, consistency, graininess, sweetness, saltiness, etc., with the name brand is another step. Checking out the ingredients is a third step that may not be on your radar. What type of sweetener is used? What extra ingredients does one have, or not? Is one set of ingredients less processed than the other? If the store brand is way cheaper than the name brand, try to find out why.
2. Consider whether the more expensive food is worth a try. You are what you eat. Organic, all-natural, non-GMO, etc., is on average more expensive than processed, genetically-modified, and artificial. Maybe eating better food will pay dividends in other places: fewer health problems, more energy, etc.
3. Resist shopping when you're hungry. It's a recipe for buying a whole lot more food, and a whole lot worse food, than if you have just eaten. Sometimes I catch myself when I don't follow this advice, and sometimes I don't. (It's easier not to put a whole lot of junk in the cart when my wife is with me.)
4. Shop with a list. We have a whiteboard near the kitchen that we put needed items on and head to the store when the list gets long enough. The act of purposeful shopping will help you to spend less because you have an agenda. Get the things you need, and get out.
5. Consider tracking your grocery spending separately from other household spending. I go back and forth on this point when I track expenses in Quicken: Do I have a Groceries category and a Household category, or do I combine them? In my latest attempt at tracking my expenses, I'm calling out groceries separately. Why? Because food habits are distinct from cleaning and maintenance habits. How I eat is different than how I shave or shower.
6. Buy produce in season when you can. When food is in season it's usually lower in price, and it tastes better. The US Department of Agriculture has information about fruits and vegetables in season, as well as other nutrition information on each.
7. Specials might not be so special. The clearance section sometimes has great deals, but sometimes not. Knowing what things cost helps a lot here; what looks like a huge markdown may not actually be a huge markdown.
8. A “limited edition” is marketing, and may just be a study. When a common item comes out with a wacky flavor in “limited edition,” it's clear that the limited edition is marketing-induced scarcity. (Think Disney “opening the vault.”) My theory is that some of these are marketing studies — a product idea that passed enough hurdles internally to get a little more distribution.
9. Only buy as much as you know you'll eat. This is a downside of wholesale-club quantities. Ten pounds of carrots, a two-pound brick of cheese, etc. — will you really eat all of that before it goes bad? Whether you err on the side of caution and don't waste any food, or get a bit more than you can eat comfortably because it's that much cheaper than a smaller quantity, it's good to consider your rate of consumption when buying groceries.
10. Use coupons only if you'd buy the item anyway. It's been a while since I've sought out coupons. Part of the reason is that we are a bit picky about the ingredients in the foods we eat; most of the groceries that you can buy with coupons are highly processed items that we wouldn't eat anyway. But even if your diet isn't as particular as ours (not judging) then consider whether you really, really want the item that the coupon is for. Coupons are marketing, after all.
11. Watch out for driving 15 miles and a half-hour to save 15 cents. You can pay less if you play grocery stores against one another and cherry-pick the best prices for particular items. Nothing wrong with this, but make sure you factor in time and gas, because there is a cost to hopping from store to store.

What other smart grocery shopping tips do you have? Share in the comments!