Your groceries may cost you $500 or more each month. And depending on your lifestyle and household size, you may spend even more. Maintaining nutrition and flavor without overspending can require creative grocery shopping, and preparing beforehand might help your budget stretch further.
Planning meals and making lists may help lower your grocery bill, especially if you struggle with impulse buying at the food store. You can also compare prices between stores, opt for budget-friendly ingredients and time your grocery runs to align with deals and promotions. If you’re ordering groceries online, Citi ShopSM is available for eligible cardmembers and automatically applies coupons at checkout.
This guide will provide practical hacks, from planning strategies to online browsing tool recommendations, to help you save more on groceries.
Plan before you shop
Planning weekly meals and a grocery list while taking stock of what you already have can help you shop strategically.
Make a meal plan
Having meal ideas in advance can help you create a grocery list that prioritizes necessities and avoids non-essentials. Meal planning can also streamline store time and help you make the most of what you buy.
Here are some meal plan creation pointers:
- Buy ingredients to use across meals. For example, plan to use spinach in both salad and pasta dishes to avoid waste.
- Check your schedule before shopping to determine which nights you’ll cook and when you’ll rely on leftovers. This may curb overbuying.
- Opt for flexible, family-friendly recipes that can be adapted to everyone at your table. This may help minimize your time in the kitchen and the need to buy many different ingredients.
Create a grocery list
You can create a general grocery list based on your meal plan or specify the brand and type of product for each ingredient if you want something specific. Overall, a successful grocery list helps you stay on track at the store and within budget while shopping. You can even organize your list by aisle to help you shop efficiently.
Take stock of what you have
Reviewing what’s in your fridge and cabinets before making your grocery list can help you budget more accurately and avoid costly duplicate purchases. Knowing what you already have at home can also prevent surplus ingredients from spoiling.
Here are some foods with longer shelf lives that you may forget you have:
- Cooking oils
- Condiments and spices
- Dry beans
- Boxed juices and broths
- Oatmeal, cereals and other grains
- Sugar, honey and other sweeteners
- Canned jellies, fruits, vegetables and non-refrigerated meats
Opt for budget-friendly foods
These more affordable product options might help you stretch your grocery budget:
- Purchase store brands
Generic store brands often have similar ingredients to brand-name products, but they typically cost less since they don’t spend as much on advertising and marketing.
- Go for low-cost staples
Many healthy staples like canned fish, beans, fruits and veggies are usually inexpensive and have long shelf lives. Frozen foods like fish, vegetables and fruits may also cost less than fresh and keep for longer in the freezer.
- Buy seasonal produce
In-season produce tends to be less expensive since you’re not paying for storage or transportation. Also, local farmers often have more than enough seasonal crops, so they keep prices lower to remain competitive.
Shop Smart
These smart-shopping strategies may help you save more on groceries:
- Purchase in bulk when cost-effective
Bulk purchases typically have a cheaper overall cost per unit, so buying family-sized products could be more economical, even if those products cost more than smaller-sized alternatives. Compare each product’s per-unit cost before buying and be sure you’ll actually use such a large quantity.
- Avoid shopping when hungry
You may be more tempted to make impulse purchases if you shop before eating or while hungry.
- Sign up for store rewards programs
Joining store loyalty programs may help you earn rewards or cash back that help offset grocery spending.
- Time your grocery trips
You may want to plan your grocery store run for days when you’re busier, since having less time to spend can mean having less time to make unnecessary purchases.
- Know when items are marked down
While the most affordable days to grocery shop vary, sales often begin on Wednesdays and end on Tuesdays. Be sure to check on your local sales cycles, but generally, you may find cheaper prices midweek.
- Find coupons and tools to save even more
Browser extensions like Citi Shop can help eligible credit cardmembers save money by finding and applying coupons and discounts automatically during checkout at online grocery retailers. Enrolled cardmembers who use the extension can also activate available offers and complete their purchase to receive statement credits.
- Consider a cash-back credit card
Some cash-back credit cards, like the Citi Double Cash® Card, could help you earn cash back on select purchases with top retailers, including some grocery stores.
You might be able to keep your grocery bills in check when relying on the right mix of planning, smart shopping habits and help from Citi Shop. Consider keeping track of your grocery savings over time. You may be surprised how small tweaks can add up in your favor.
Disclosure: This article is for general educational purposes. It is not intended to provide financial advice. It also is not intended to completely describe any Citi product or service. You should refer to the terms and conditions financial institutions provide for various products.
