You could save $100 a week by changing your shopping habits

You could save $100 a week by changing your shopping habits

I saved $100 a week by making these four small changes to my grocery shopping habits.

Going to the grocery store may not be the most pleasant experience in the world, but it has gotten a lot worse since inflation has increased and food prices have increased. Plus, you may have developed some bad grocery shopping habits that you need to stop over the years.

Fear not, because GOBankingRates is here to help you lower your grocery bill each week. We contacted some retail and shopping experts to find out what small changes they've made in their grocery shopping habits that have saved them money.

Want to know how to keep more of the environment in your pocket and still stock your home with essentials from the store? Check out these helpful shopping tips from those who know best.

Focus on purchasing items for sale only

Tasia Boland is an expert in frugal living who has shared with her family keeping their grocery budget down to $65 per week for years via her blog and Tiktok channel, which includes many grocery-saving tips. Her first tip: Sale items are the only thing you should buy.

"One key strategy for saving up to $50 or even $100 a week is to plan your meals around the items on sale at your local grocery store," says Boland. "This approach allows you to take advantage of the best deals while enjoying a variety of meals. Scan weekly sales flyers with the free Flipp app to get this done. You can compare prices of groceries and create a grocery list in this app."

"For example, last week, our local grocery store, Tops Markets, had a package of bacon on sale for $2.99!" Poland share. "Regular price for the same package of bacon is $6.99! That's a $4 savings, which means if I save $2 to $4 on every item I buy each week, that can easily add up to $50 or more." of savings."

Look for generic brands

Each store has a version of the brand's product name stored as a generic brand. Why are you afraid of them? Nosheen Babbar, owner and CEO of Untold Recipes by Nosheen embraces the generics.

"I try to buy generic brands where possible, and also buy dry chickpeas, lentils, and beans, and cook them in an Instant Pot myself versus getting the more expensive canned ones," Babbar shares. "It can be divided and frozen for future use."

A generic 1-pound bag of dried chickpeas is $0.78 and contains 2 cups of chickpeas. A 1-pound generic bag of dried chickpeas costs $1.38 and, when cooked, yields 6 cups of cooked chickpeas.

Buy what's in season

The modern grocery shopping experience allows customers to go to the store or visit an online store to buy anything they want, including food that may not be in season. This may add unnecessary costs to your overall grocery bill because "out-of-season foods will be more expensive," says Blanca Garcia, registered dietitian and registered dietitian at MIDSS.org.

"They're more expensive because the technologies need to be used to keep them fresh longer, or they have much more mileage on them," says Garcia.

"Blueberries are a perfect example of this. Out-of-season blueberries can cost $5 per 125-gram serving. That same bundle can cost $1 in season," Garcia describes. "That's $4 cheaper if you pick in-season blueberries. Blueberries in season usually have a 10-container limit; I always encourage customers to buy the maximum amount, keep one in the fridge, and the rest in the freezer for shakes. "

Add plant protein to your menu

You don't have to be a vegetarian or vegan to live a plant-based lifestyle. Garcia suggests that buying plant-based proteins twice a week is not only nutritional but cost-effective, too.

"Most people think that a balanced meal means that the protein should be some kind of meat daily," says Garica. "But this is not the case. You can replace meat with vegetable protein twice a week and save a lot of money."

Garcia uses the cost of food from Walmart as an example to make her point.

A pound of ground beef that can feed a family of 4 (2 adults, two small children) can cost $6.93. Buying 1 pound of lentils can cost $1.42. If you add potatoes, carrots, and tomato sauce to ground beef or lentils, you'll save $5.51 if you use lentils.

"The great thing about lentils is that you only need half a pound to feed the family and have some leftovers for a future meal," notes Garcia. "Saving lentils for later can save you an extra $6.93 if you don't buy ground beef, and it doesn't spoil like meat."