How to save on Groceries

Living a frugal life comes with saving everywhere you can. And what is a better place to start saving some money than food. There are millions of websites about this subject. Many of them are just like "save money on food 50 top tips"  or "this is how you save on groceries" anyway I'm just going to tell you how i do it nothing less and nothing more. This is just my way of doing it.

Shopping list?

- I never ever ever make a shopping list when i go to my local supermarket, even though there are hundreds of websites that make these "tips" the first thing they mention is "make a shopping list" and everyone tells that you save money that way, i say there is no point doing that if you know:

1.  What you need.
2.  How much is the average price of that item.
3.  How much is that item worth. 
4.  You know/remember what you got back home.
5.  You know how to cook with an improvised touch.

Going to store 

My shopping trip is just a basic routine, i go to our local big supermarket that i know has a good discounts from time to time and have cheaper than average priced common food products like milk and good variety of veggies, meat, bread and so on.  

Going to walk you through my basic shopping routine now.

So i got to my local supermarket, big up shopping basket and head to veggies section, i check if there is any discount on lettuce, cucumber, tomato etc. I pick some up if they are good priced i try to buy seasonal products because these are the cheapest. At this point i all ready know what i wanna eat tomorrow so i pickup some potatoes these are usually cheap or fairly good priced depending on season 0.78€/kg to 2€/kg. So i pick some up. Then i head to get some milk usually 2 liters 0.90€/l and check if there is a yogurt on discount if not i will head on. Meat and Fish section, i first check if there is any discounts on either one of these, fish is usually expensive to my taste 10-20€ / kg depending on the type of the fish. No fish today, then the meat. There is a minced beef discount today so i buy 800g (2.95€ / 1 package 400g) then i head to buy some bread, i buy one package of rye bread 1.95€ this last around 1 week. Then cheese this one is quite expensive also, don't have cheese home so  i buy 1 kg of cheese for 6.95€ its a big back.

Everything else that i need to make me some awesome food i already have at home. I try to stack up as much as i think is reasonable amount, example i buy pasta, rice, canned stuff (crushed tomatoes, pineapple, tuna etc) on discounts and i buy them a lot, last time i bought like 8 packages of pasta (500g) because of a good discount and because these preserve a long time.

The total trip cost was 18.05€ 

There is big variety of different type of meals you can make with potatoes, minced beef and a can of crushed tomatoes. Now its only up to my skills how do i wanna prepare my meal, quickly i can figure out 4 to 5 different ways.

Usually my food costs for a month around 100-180€ (depending do i stack on discounts or not) and that feed 2 people. (me and my gf)

I often buy stuff like toilet paper, soaps, laundry detergent etc on other shop because these things are cheaper there, and a buy big backs on discount. There was this very good deal of toilet paper few moths ago i i think i bough like 8 big package of toilet paper that lasts quite some time and i saved around 16 Euros, that's almost the same amount i bough food with. 

How to save on Groceries

• Learn how to cook with an improvised touch, this helps you quickly figure out what to buy while you are in store and see all the stuff that are on discount today.
• You have to know an average price of that item to shop frugality and how much that item is worth, so you don't pay too much. Sometimes the shops try to Trick you! if it says Discount 3.50€ only today buy now, and store close by sells same item 2.95€ all the time, then you can't rely call it a discount can you? So knowing the average prices helps you decide is it a discount or not.
• Know what you have at home comes always handy so you don't buy too much of something that spoils easily.
• Buy big packs of items that don't spoil easily or doesn't spoil at all such as toilet paper.
• Stack some rice, pasta, canned food.
• Freeze stuff and buy frozen packs of veggies that preserves long time.
• Go to buy your groceries when it fits your other plans, save some gas money or just walk.
• Grow your own veggies and herbs. I do this summer times and i try the leftover herbs and put them in jars for use in the winter time.
• Cook big pile of food once you start cooking, i usually make food for three or four days.
• Make a veggie meal vegetables are usually cheaper than meat.

How to you save in groceries? Any good deals lately? Did this post help you?

Thank you for stopping by.

picture By Ambro http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/