Cut Your Grocery Bill in Half With These 4 Strategies

Cut Your Grocery Bill in Half With These 4 Strategies

It's expensive to feed your family! The cost of food is a large portion of most household budgets, and the price continues to climb. There are several alarming statistics surrounding the cost of food in America:

- According to The United States Department of Agriculture's Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, the cost to feed a family of four in July 2014 ranged from $568 to $1,293.20 a month! -Data from the Consumer Price Index shows that food costs have increased an average of 2.8% per year since 1990, and are likely to continue their upward spiral!

Fortunately, there are a few techniques that can help you save big on your next trip to the grocery store! Use these strategies to dramatically lower your food bill:

1. Stop paying for convenience.

To realize the biggest savings, avoid pre-packaged foods or foods that have been pre-washed, pre-chopped, or pre-cooked. - Look for whole foods that you can cook and prepare at home, rather than buying food that has been highly processed. Preparing whole foods at home is cheaper and gives you greater control over how much sugar, salt, and fat are added to your meals! - Cook at home rather than eat out. If you don't know how to cook, consider 1 asking your friends and family to share their favorite recipes with you. You can also search online for instructions on how to prepare your favorite ingredients. - Several sites allow users to enter three or four key ingredients and then provide recipes for their use. This is a great way to use up food items that may be close to their expiration date. Therefore, you’ll be throwing away less food!

2. Plan menus around weekly sale items. Prepare dishes with items that are already marked down or on sale for the week.

- Many grocers offer specials on items in their meat and produce departments once or twice a month. Other grocers offer significant markdowns on meat, fruits, and vegetables that are close to their expiration date.

- Shopping early and often can help you identify your grocer's sales and markdown patterns.

- Most meats and produce can be safely stored in your freezer until you’re ready to use them. Stock up on these special deals and plan your meals around these sales.

3. Avoid confining yourself to shopping at only one retailer for groceries and other household items. Look for specials, markdowns, and rewards programs at all of the grocery stores in your area.

- A bigger store chain doesn’t necessarily mean better savings! Include smaller, regional grocery stores, as well as area farmer's markets, on your list of places to shop for savings.

4. Save big with coupons and rewards clubs. Many stores offer special discounts to members of their loyalty and shopping clubs.

- Sign up and remember to bring your membership card when you shop. Save even more by using coupons you find online.

- Several sites offer coupons for many common grocery items. Many of these sites allow you to download coupons directly to your Smartphone or your favorite retailer's rewards card, so you don't have to spend as much time printing or clipping coupons.

- Using a coupon on an item that's already on sale will produce extra savings. Keep in mind that you aren't really saving if you use a coupon on an item that you wouldn't normally buy!

Rising food prices can make it difficult to afford a nutritious diet. These tricks make it easy for you to afford healthy and appealing foods, while dramatically reducing your grocery bill!