7 Grocery Saving Tips for Millenials

Saving on food can seem difficult, especially to millennials who tend to appreciate convenience over low cost. Here are come grocery saving tips everyone can benefit from.

Lately, the trend has been to criticize millennials for not spending enough. A quick scan around the internet will yield articles accusing us of destroying everything from the housing industry to restaurant chains like Applebee’s. But the truth is—millennials spend more in some areas than any other age groups. Research from Bankrate shows that millennials spend the most on groceries – a whopping $800 a month. With the lower-than-average salaries most young people are making, that’s not an encouraging number. It can be hard to shop responsibly when you’re constantly pressed for time, but cutting food costs is the easiest way to free up room in your budget. If you’d like a little more financial leeway to spend on the things you care about, read ahead for some tips on cutting your grocery bill.

Avoid impulse shopping

How often have you gone grocery shopping and walked out with a half cart full of items that weren’t on your list? Impulse shopping is easy to do, especially when that pint of ice cream is calling to you from the freezer section.

To combat that habit, Liz Stapleton of “Less Debt More Wine” recommends ordering groceries online and picking them up in store or getting them delivered. “It forces you to really think about what you need, and you see the total as you go, making it easy to make decisions to avoid going over budget,” she said. She recommends Amazon’s Prime Now, which is free for Prime members, or Walmart Grocery, which is also free for customers. Other grocery delivery services include Instacart and Peapod, which do charge a delivery fee for this service. This extra cost only makes sense if you save more on impulse buys.

If you like the process of shopping for yourself but still want to limit your impulse buying, try to avoid tempting aisles and sections. You should also follow the age-old grocery shopping adage: Never shop on an empty stomach.

Use apps to save

Finding the best grocery deals used to be done sitting around the kitchen table with a stack of weekly ads. Now, it can be done from your phone. Andrew Swift Deckard of Savings Lifestyle recommends the Favado app, which scours the best deals in your area so you don’t have to compare the price of milk in five different grocery stores. “Millennials may be more likely to use apps/technology to save even more than other generations,” she said. The app Ibotta saves consumers money by having them scan their receipts after they shop so they can claim rebates and coupons. Many grocery stores have their own apps, including Target and Walmart.

Avoid pre-cut or packaged produce

Millennials have been accused of a lot of things, including being addicted to convenience. When it comes to food, we love to eat out, order delivery and plan our meals around how many dishes we’ll have to clean. We’re also willing to pay a premium for pre-cut, pre-packaged or otherwise pre-prepared produce.

There’s nothing wrong with buying something prepared when you’re in a hurry, but know that pre-washed mixed greens, pre-cut peppers and peeled fruit are always more expensive than their whole counterparts—sometimes double the cost. Unless you’re pressed for time and are thinking about resorting to fast food, there’s no reason to opt for diced veggies.

Skip the drinks

During my adult life, I’ve gone back and forth on having juice, Gatorade or soda in the fridge. I’ve generally avoided keeping any drinks, even though it’s tempting to reach for a ginger ale on a hot day. Once I finally decided to stick mostly to water, I haven’t gone back. Drinks can be some of the biggest budget-busters, but are also some of the easiest to avoid. Not only are most drinks loaded with sugar and calories, but you don’t need them to complete your meal. You can drink water, which will replenish your thirst and fuel your body better than any other beverage on the market. If you like to drink adult beverages, try to save the fancy wine and craft beer for special occasions or date nights.

Shop at discount grocery stores

Often, the decision that affects your grocery bill the most is where you decide to shop. The price discrepancy between a chicken breast from Whole Foods and one from Safeway is huge, and those differences add up quickly. That’s why Kim Anderson of “Thrifty Little Mom” loves shopping at Aldi, the discount grocery store chain. Aldi is famous for its ridiculously low prices, made possible by cutting overhead. They ask customers to bring in their own bags and require a 25-cent deposit to use the shopping cart—small sacrifices to make for big discounts. Aldi is also famous for its minimal selection, often only having one version of each product instead of multiple. This can save you time and money, since there’s no need to compare which brand of sugar is cheaper.

Check out ethnic markets

A hidden tip for those seeking savings on their groceries is to find their nearest ethnic market, which will often have cheaper prices for produce and staples like rice and beans. The quality is the same as your local store, but they save money by purchasing “ugly” produce. It’s as safe as the food you buy at Kroger or Ralph’s, but much cheaper. You can find an ethnic market near you by searching online or noticing smaller stores nearby. In some cases, you don’t even have to stop using your regular grocery store. Kate Horrell recommends shopping for food in the ethnic aisle.

“In my grocery store, there is a huge expensive spice aisle,” she said. “Two aisles over, almost all the same spices are available in the Mexican section, generally, but not always, for about half the price.”

Eat everything you make

How often do you throw away food that’s gone bad? If the answer is often, then you have a bad habit of food waste. Not only is food waste bad for the environment, it’s also expensive. The average American family throws away $640 of food each year.

Always plan your meals around the food already in your fridge, pantry or freezer, and keep track of any leftovers you have. If you don’t think you’re going to finish a dish before it goes bad, try freezing it.

Summary

Saving on food can seem difficult, especially to millennials who tend to appreciate convenience over low cost. With these helpful tips anyone can start saving on their monthly food bill.

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