The cost of groceries has risen, and it’s only expected to continue to increase.
Unfortunately, there’s not much that can be done about the rising cost of eggs and other grocery staples, but there are ways to make your grocery bills smaller without cutting out your favorite foods.
Experts told HuffPost that there are a few traps that get people to overspend on groceries and how to avoid them.
Here are some simple grocery shopping tips to be more mindful of on your next shopping trip:
Be aware of how much you spend on food
Family budgeting expert Rob Bertman told the outlet that the first step to reducing your grocery costs is knowing how much you’re currently spending.
“Sometimes, people will pick an amount out of thin air that they want their grocery budget to be, but that can be challenging to stick to if you don’t know how much you’re currently spending,” he said.
Go over old receipts and credit card purchases from previous grocery trips to figure out how much you currently spend on groceries, then make small, incremental changes you can make to reduce the amount, Bertman advised.
Making tiny changes will eventually lead to longer-lasting success rather than drastically cutting spending all at once.
Make a meal plan
It’s important to make a meal plan or a guide for exactly how you plan to eat everything you buy — especially when it comes to produce.
Quite often, people will buy food with the intention of eating it — and, instead, they let it go bad.
However, Bertman emphasized the importance of being realistic with a meal plan.
“You can have a great meal plan in place for the week, but if you get home from work and you’re too tired to cook, you end up ordering in,” he said. “It’s important to be realistic about your time and ambition.”
Check the fridge first
Tiffany Doerr Guerzon, author of “Save Money on Groceries Without Losing Your Mind,” recommends checking the refrigerator, freezer and pantry before walking out the door.
This way, you don’t end up with duplicates and are only buying what you truly need.
“Another way to cut waste is to challenge yourself to use only the groceries you already have at home every couple of months,” Guerzon told HuffPost. “You will probably need to pick up fresh items such as eggs and milk, but most people are surprised by what they have in their pantries, fridge and freezer.”
Reduce meat consumption
Some people choose to eat less meat for health reasons — but it can be beneficial for your wallet, too.
“One easy way to save money is to cut back on the amount of meat you use in a recipe,” Guerzon said, adding that you can do so by simply using 3/4 of a pound of beef rather than 1 pound in a recipe.
“No one will notice the difference,” she explained. “If you buy ground beef in 1-pound packages, freeze the extra quarter-pound that you saved. And after you’ve prepared that recipe three times, you will have enough in the freezer for an extra meal.”
Buy frozen produce
Many people will buy produce aspiring to eat it, but produce tends to go bad quickly. One cost-effective solution to this is to buy it frozen.
“Freezing does change the texture of berries, but this isn’t noticeable when incorporating frozen berries into smoothies, baked goods [or] even for topping your breakfast oatmeal or yogurt,” Guerzon noted.
Searching the frozen section for produce in its simplest form will give you the cheapest option since those in a microwaveable bag or covered in a sauce or purée are likely to be more expensive.
Buy spices in bulk
If you cook with spices regularly, buy them in bulk rather than in tiny, costly jars.
“Buying spices in bulk is my number-one [money-saving] tip because those little jars are expensive,” Guerzon said.
“You can just reuse an empty spice jar and refill it from the bulk bins, or some stores that offer bulk spices even sell empty spice jars. I once refilled a $6.50 jar of dried basil from the bulk bin, and it cost me less than 50 cents.”
Buying in bulk can also apply to dried pasta, rolled oats, rice and other grain prooducts.
Don’t buy products at eye level
One of the trickiest things about the grocery store is that items placed at eye level tend to cost more.
“Human nature and a desire to get the shopping done quickly causes us to be more likely to reach for items at eye level,” Guerzon shared.
“Stores know this and place the more expensive items there. Next time you are in the store, take note of where items are placed. You may have to reach up or down for better deals.”
Simply doing a quick scan of the items below and above the one you’re looking at can be a money saver, Guerzon advised.
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