I really enjoy saving money and think it’s kind of fun (and it’s also obviously extremely useful). When it comes to groceries, I try to keep my bill as low as I can while still enjoying the healthy foods I love, including a few pricier items, like organic berries and humanely-raised meats.
I do use paper coupons some, but the main ways I save money grocery shopping don’t involve coupons. So, I want to share a few tricks and “best practices” I use to quickly save money each week.
1) Use grocery rebate apps. I love rebate apps since they’re so quick to use. I skim the app for 60 seconds before I go to the store to see what deals there are. Then, I just take a phone picture of my receipt when I get home from the store and get cash back (PayPal or Venmo) within 24 hours.
My favorite app is Ibotta because there are always healthy brand options on there! For example, right now, there are deals for Organic Valley, Organic Girl, Chobani, and a bunch of other brands I regularly buy. There are also “any brand” rebates for generic items like bananas and cereal, so you can buy any brand and save.
You can still use coupons and shop sales at the store like normal, which is how I ended up getting Applegate organic chicken sausage for $0.25 (paper coupon + grocery store sale + $1.50 Ibotta offer) last week when it’s normally $6.
Last thing I love about Ibotta: if you sign up, love it, and share about it with your friends, you’ll earn $5 for each friend who signs up and redeems an offer, too! Over the past 3 years, from a combination of referring friends and cashing in my own receipts, I’ve earned…over $1100!
To get $10 when you sign up, you can use the code “zhxlbg.”
2) Skim sale flyers online in advance. Before I leave for the store, I look at at the sale flyer to determine what I’m going to buy that week, so I don’t waste time looking around the aisles for good deals while I’m at the store. Checking out the flyer in advance is almost second-nature to me now.
For example, I don’t buy a lot of meat, but if organic chicken happens to be on sale, I’ll be much more likely to buy it that week. Since I’m pretty neutral about eating meat, I almost never buy it unless it’s on sale. I’m also pretty open-minded about what types of produce I’ll buy and generally only buy things like berries when they’re on sale since they tend to be really pricy.
I think shopping the sales flyer is the #1 easiest way to save money on groceries, especially if you shop at stores that have great weekly sales. Some stores where I shop offer digital coupons that you can load straight onto your shopper’s card or rewards card, so when I look at the flyer online, I usually take 30 seconds to glance at the store’s digital coupons, too.
3) Shop the bulk bins for small amounts of ingredients or spices. When I need just a little bit of a spice or a specialty ingredient I want to try out (i.e. nutritional yeast), I’ll typically buy that from my store’s bulk bins. I’ll end up paying $.40 for all of the spice I need for the recipe. That way, I don’t have an entire bottle or container of an ingredient or spice that I may not like or will just forget to use again.
4) Know where to buy what. This is a big one! I keep an ongoing grocery list in the Notes app on my phone so I can add things as I think of them throughout the week. Since I regularly shop at three different grocery stores (usually just one or two each week), I split my list up by stores, based on what the cheapest place to buy that item is. At this point, the prices for things I buy most often are in my head, so it’s pretty easy to know where (ideally) I’ll buy each thing.
5) Take advantage of student/senior discounts. Obviously, these only apply to certain people, but one of my local stores has a 5%-10% student discount depending on the month, which is a great deal and so easy to take advantage of since it doesn’t require any extra effort. Some stores also have senior discounts on a certain day of the week.
6) Limit splurges and impulse buys. This is another big one for me. To save money, I usually try to limit my splurges to one item per grocery trip, and it’s usually ice cream, dark chocolate, or some kind of a snack. Everything else I buy is usually from my list, so even though I never calculate what my grocery total will be in advance, I’m not usually surprised by my total at the cash register.
I hope these tips were helpful! They’re pretty simple, but you can save a ton just from shopping the sales and limiting impulse buys, not to mention using rebates as icing on the cake. Feel free to download the Hopster app when you get a chance and take advantage of the offers to earn some money back on your groceries.
If you’re interested, here are some other posts about how to save money grocery shopping:
5 Ways to Save Money without Couponing
A College Girl’s Guide to Couponing
We totally love to use coupons when we can and buy food on sale! We have a place called Sprouts Farmer’s market that often has chicken on sale, so we get it there. We like to support a family that farms that comes to church and buy their beef, but we don’t normally buy beef at the store because it’s so expensive. O_O
Ooh there’s a Sprouts near me but I haven’t been there yet. Thanks for the tip!
I don’t use coupons either since I think they can be more of a hassle but that’s just my opinion! When meat is on sale, you should try to freeze some so you always have it on hand. Since you live in a dorm I’m not sure how feasible that is but it’ll help you save money. I will definitely check out Hopster, thank you for sharing!
My mom freezes meat all the time, but you’re right, it’s not as feasible in a dorm room mini-fridge! And I should say that I do use coupons some, but they’re not the primary way I save money 🙂
Maybe you used some of these methods to get goodies for your birthday yesterday?
I bet she did!
I also find it fun to find easy ways to save money. I will have to check out the Hopster app. Thank you for the recommendations!
Yes! It’s so satisfying to save money on groceries and have that money for other things!
Oooh I love rebate apps! Checking out the Hopster app now. I’m making an effort to save more money in general and I have to admit, I usually spend the most on groceries! Thanks for all the tips!
So do I! I think healthy groceries are so worth the cost, but it never hurts to find extra ways to save 🙂
These are such great tips! My biggest tip is to not shop with men 😛 Whenever I shop with Jesse with spend a gazillion times more because he wants ALL THE THINGS haha!
Haha! I love this tip! I think I remember you mentioning some of the things Jesse’s picked out before…like a TON of fruit or something? Too funny!
Ohh very lovely and interesting post.
Thank you for sharing with us.
I’m glad you enjoyed the post, Charmi!
Awesome! This very useful Tips because it hard to get money be wise to find a ways to save money.
We totally love to use coupons when we can and buy food on sale! We like to support a family that farms that comes to church and buy their beef, but we don’t normally buy beef at the store because it’s so expensive.
Very nice and lovely post. I will check the mobile app as well, thanks for sharing this information to save money. Thank you for sharing.
I especially appreciate the idea of planning meals and sticking to a list to avoid impulse purchases. In today’s economy, every dollar counts, and finding ways to cut costs is essential. Speaking of saving, if anyone is considering quick financial solutions, I recommend checking out instaloan customer service. They have a range of options that can help during tight times, and you can read user reviews about their customer service on Pissed Consumer. It’s always good to be informed before making any financial decisions!
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