Grocery Shopping Hacks That Still Save Money Right Now
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- Опубліковано 16 лип 2023
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The landscape of groceries has changed in the past few months. Prices have gone up - a lot. Yet, in 2023, I’m feeding my family for 15% less than I did in 2022. Let me show you the grocery shopping strategies that are still working to keep my grocery budget under control and helping me still save money right now.
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We're Hope and Larry and we love practical frugality. We raised our four sons, debt-free, including paying cash for our home when our income was well under the national average. For tips on saving money, budgeting, paying off debt, and setting goals (while living with a spirit of joy and abundance), subscribe to us here on UA-cam and visit us at our website and on social media.
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Friends came over and brought lunch the other day. We had BBQchicken plus other goodies. They left the chicken leftovers for me. That night I had the chicken wings and bits left on the carcass. At the same time I boiled the carcass. The next day I had some leftover breast in a bun at lunch time. At dinner time I added a whole load of veggies to the broth and made enough soup for 4 meals. That chicken went a long way.
Not related to groceries, but took the advice to pay in cash for a large medical bill and the doctors gave me a 5% discount which was about 70 dollars. Thanks you Hope and Larry
Awesome!
My dentist gives 7% off
Take ANY discount you can get! Congrats! 👍
You can tell them you know you guys have to include roughly 50% for back house people that chase folks for collections. You tell them I'm here now and I want to settle this with cash. But I'm not paying that amount. You should be able to chop 33% off the bill. But you have to have it to pay. They know you can send a dollar a month and be considered trying. They like to get paid fast.
Years ago the hospital gave a 10% cash discount when paying our portion. No clue what they do now.
Also, keep an eye on the screen that shows the prices as things are being rung up. Just yesterday I bought six clearance items that were marked 2 for $1.99 or 2 for $2.49. They all rang up as, $1.99 or $2.49 each. I would not have bought them if that was the price. It was corrected, but if I wasn’t watching, I would not have caught that. I always put things like that as the last items to be rung up so they’re not rung up while I’m still loading things onto the belt and miss it.
Awesome tip! 🎉
Same!
Exactly right and check.every.single receipt before leaving the store. I greet the cashier then I shut my mouth because I am checking everything. In an average month I catch Kroger and Safeway in $7 of wrong ringing or failure of coupon to load, etc. I also caught my Asian market. Japanese yams are $2.25/pound. American yam is .99/pound. I bought 1 pound Jap yam and 2 pounds American. Cashier rang it all as Jap. 😂 I got my money back.
I love the “random discount area.” Last week I found 12 oz bags of coffee for $.87! I bought 7 bags! The expiration date was 9 month out, so no problem there😊
I love this! You got a great deal on that coffee! Bravo!
You can freeze the coffee
Usually, "expiration date" doesn't mean this or that food immediately rots after that, not even with dairies. Let alone COFFEE!
I scored on some organic coffee in June, bought every bag that was on clearance.
@@charlainereynolds7113 I did! I should be good for awhile😊
Larry and Hope thank you for reminding people to buy single ingredients, it makes a huge difference in your grocery budget.
I am so glad I have a stockpile and a garden in my backyard! I have also noticed how much packages are shrinking but prices are not!
Yup... it's called.. Shrinkflation. Now I try be aware of the OUNCES from week to week.
I bought a second freezer just to save even more its great
I usually write my menus for the month just like a school calendar and then i'd shop in the pantry of my own home.
then I go grocery shopping.
I do that kind of for the week but am still flexible to special offers.
The grocery stores going to digital ads and coupons make it harder on the elderly and poorer shoppers. Makes me sad.
At Krogers in Central Illinois if you ask the cashiers they will give you those Digital Coupons off your purchase
Makes me angry. Actually.
My parents don't like to deal with them so we share a Meijer account. I clip.things we can all use and share a number for the checkout.
I went to visit my meat eating family and we did rice and black beans, & added mango, lime, avacado and some greens and a little green salsa, that was all I needed. My son cooked up a steak for him and his wife to add to it.
The next morning we had potatoes and sautéed veggies with hot sauce on corn tortillas, the kids had bacon with theirs. Easy ways to compromise and eat cheaply for vegans and meat eaters.
Thanks for the great content.
I like the idea of adding mangoes 😊
I live in a low income seniors building and a lot of seniors qualify for food bank monthly boxes. BUT they end up putting most of that food out for other residents because they don’t want to cook anything. I don’t know how they afford to buy prepared foods but I’ve been able to build up a 6 month food pantry/storage from what they get rid of to supplement my grocery bill. I felt guilty taking it but if I don’t someone comes and scoops it all up for their adult kids.
I saw a video about how people are not getting enough good food to eat. They talked about supply chains, food deserts, cost of food and shipping but NO PLACE did they mentioned about teaching people how to cook food from scratch! As you showed , the amount of food you get in a prepackaged meal vs. buying the ingredients and cooking it yourself. I have had so much fun learning how to combine foods I was not familiar with to make some of my best meals.
When people are on assistance they need to take a class on scratch cooking with visual displays like UTM just showed and how to shop, loss leaders, comparison, etc. Even people on assistance have a smart phone nowadays. They can be taught about apps like Flipp, Receipt Hog, Ibotta, and Fetch. Many complain they don’t get help with diapers or soaps, etc but app money/gift cards could be used for those products. I get back $100+ each year through my grocery store app plus coupon savings, my sister just lets her points expire. I imagine many people do. I want people on assistance to learn as well as get financial help. This will help them make better nutritional decisions as well.
AMEN!!
A couple of us from my church have talked about giving cooking lessons….we have a “little food pantry” set up and notice that our patrons are more likely to take the “junk” in a can rather than rice or dry beans and canned vegs…..
Tinned sardines are cheap and full of nourishment.
I needed a dessert for a birthday party a month from now and found pretty decorated cupcakes marked down to $2.50 from $10.00
I put them in my freezer and no one will be the wiser
Great visual comparing the frozen 8oz version and cooking from scratch version. Years ago, cooking beans took 3-8 hours depending on how they were cooked. Now using the pressure cookers of today it’s so easy and less labor and energy intensive.
Suggestion for summer grocery shopping. Frozen and refrigerated foods - bring your freezer travel bags and refrigerated bags and put frozen food directly into the freezer bags. Put refrigerated foods directly into those bags separating meats from other refrigerated foods. When you go to pay take them out and then replace them right back. This leaves you less anxious if there are lines or traffic is heavy.
I put meat, frozens, quart jar yogurt etc. in clear veg bag with price visible, can leave bagged. Really good in summer 🌞.
I get a lot of limes and lemons from the markdown produce. A bag for 99 cents because they are starting to get old. But they’re still good enough for cooking and salsa.
"Markdown shark 🦈 " , 😂 hilarious!!
Very good visual aid on the rice and beans!
I love all your tips…Thank you! Your demonstration of beans & rice comparison was spot on! I had not yet set aside funds for my stock-up/sale category - although you’ve mentioned it in the past, I never made it part of my budget. 🤷♀️🤦♀️ I will from now on! Recently I did a full pantry, fridge & freezer inventory and included all the best by/expiration dates. I then put all of it on spreadsheets, one sheet per area along with a combined master spreadsheet and sorted everything by expiration date. Working from this master spreadsheet and the weekly perishable items, I have a head-start on my meal plans for a couple of months. One other quick budget hack I do is allow myself a set amount for food only each week and I do stay under that amount (yeah!). I then take what is leftover in the food budget at the end of each month (totals left over from each week) and apply it to my debt as I am still paying bills off. One month I paid $65 extra to debt and back on one of my no-low spend months, I paid over $200 toward debt. It is so true that every Every. Single. Bit. helps!! Thanks again!
I watch a lot of videos on grocery savings and I can say this was one of the best I've seen in awhile! I love the beans and rice comparison. Perfect demonstration of how much money people spend on convenience Foods.
Your comparison of the prepped beans and rice is great... what is even better is if you buy your rice in bulk I've gotten it recently when buying 20 pounds for less than 50 cents a pound. That gives you the money to add spices and maybe some canned tomatoes and still be under $3 for an enormous amount.
I was thrilled to find 16oz jars of Creamy Jif for 80 cents each in my Kroger's general markdown area last week! I have to let you know how happy I am to have found your channel. I'm not vegan, but I am vegetarian and your meal ideas and tips are of so much more use to me than many other channels! I love your positive attitude, how you share both successes and... stumbles lol. Thanks so much for providing encouragement and knowledge!!
Oh, wow! You got an amazing deal on that peanut butter!
I also only buy markdown meat and I love those clearance sections at Kroger
I lowered mine by more couponing (I know you don't like coupons Larry, but they are a good thing if you plan things out), sales, clearance rack shopping and dumpster diving. I also try to be very aware of what is in my frig so I have zero waste.
I have the app for two close stores that I shop most often. I check both apps for lowest price (even while at the store). This helps keep me from buying something only to find it was less at the other store.
I always do a grocery list. I first see what I have and then go from there.
I'll just say an "AMEN" for individual simple ingredient... That advice also works brilliantly for me in Denmark. 😊💚
I loved the ending of this video where you showed cooking at home versus the convenience grocery store meal...lots and lots of savings there that was awesome thank you guys
I make up rice, veggies and beans from scratch like that and make up bowl meals for work lunches. I can add other things to them too.
When I was on a very limited budget of 75 a week. It was 30 meat from meat store, 20 produce store, 25 dairy carbs and extras. That was it. It worked for two people. Gotta know where to shop.
I have shopped markdowns and my veggie garden and menu planning, spent $60 this mth so far, Tonight is Caribbean black bean nachos
Yummy curious about the nachos ?
@@rossicastellanos1333 I will find the recipe and put it down for you today
Thank you for reminding people to buy ingredients! Not only does it save a lot of money, it is generally much healthier. If one looks at the ingredients list on those premade meals, there are probably things added to preserve the food. I try to eat items with only ingredients I would stock in my kitchen. I am on the wait list at my library for the new book "Ultra Processed People" and have been implementing strategies from the "100 Days of Real Food" into my diet. Can't afford to implement them all, but I am implementing this in a way that doesn't increase my grocery budget but is healthier than some of my previous choices.
Being a single person, when I come across good vegetable sales. I get them home and roast them all. I freeze them in usable portions. Otherwise a lot of waste. I can't see buying 2-3 potatoes at a time. The same with carrots, celery and onions. Now garlic is super yummy roasted and freezes well.
Great demo. If you know how to cook then it’s so much easier to be frugal. I’ve been cooking since I was a kid.
Larry & Hope - I got to the party late but enjoyed coming back to watch the replay from the beginning. The point illustrated at the end with rice & beans cooked from scratch vs tidy little boxes that even at discounted prices feed next to nobody was well made! I do try to set aside a bit of $$ for stock-up bargains and they can be anything from canned goods at less than 80 cents each to clearance items at the local Walgreen's. I have yet to find clearance goodies for my tractor at the local Kubota dealer but I live in hope. Have a wonderful week, friends - hoping to see more from you (maybe on my birthday this coming Friday?) Stay well, -Sherry and Pete-the-Briard.
Eat before you shop... it saves you a lot when you're full than hungry. You're more relaxed picking the most important one. Once you're hungry, you're mindset is also craving.
Good demo at the end. It really brings it home how we can definitely keep our meal costs down if we are willing to cook
I love the treasure hunt of markdowns! You guys got some killer deals!
I only buy one frozen prepared meal, pizza. The only reason I buy it is on the days I do yard work, I'm usually so exhausted (I'm 74) I need something that required no prep time and frozen pizza fits the bill. The rest of the prepared meals are too salty for my taste, because I cut down of salt years ago and now even restaurant food is like eating a salt lick.
You guys are fabulous!!! Love listening to you! ❤️
Oh my goodness - love how you demonstrated the individual packaging vs. the rice and beans!
New subscriber here. I just found this channel from the Bigger Pockets episode that you both did last week. I'm looking forward to watching more of your videos! Thank you.
Welcome to the Under the Median Family. We're happy to have you with us.
These guys remind me so much of my parents. I appreciate them and their frugal methods so much!
Another great tip that I'm starting to pay more attention to is the circular timing of Adds. I've discovered that Stouffers, though pricey, can often come in handy when we need an emergency meal. When we can hit a sale.. it becomes doable.
Has anyone noticed that the TIME BETWEEN Sales is expanding for some products?
Yes! The regular sales cycle for products is definitely getting longer in between sales.
Have found the item that used to be on sale every 6 weeks is now 3 months.
I was laughing so hard at the expressions on Hope's face with the salads lolz😂
Our Grocery prices are high sky here in New Zealand
I never thought I'd pay over $10.00 for toilet paper
Thankyou for your great videos
My folks taught me a lot about making money, but not enough about how to keep more of it. Thank you guys for helping me be more efficient at adulting and enjoying myself while I do it. ❤
I don’t stock food anymore
Keep few meats in freezer in case
But buy as I go each week
I don’t throw food away
N look for sales
Twice a week I replace meat protein with a tin of sardines (steak minimum Uk £5, a tin of sardines£1) and sardines are full of nourishment.
I have been nicknamed The Markdown Bandit at my local grocery store. What a great nickname!!
I love it. Great title for an educational comic character. Guess you can tell I worked in education, lol.
Love this 1/5 method! Such a great idea!
Yes to the single ingredients. Thanks for the tips!
Yes. Meal planning is budget saving. 😊
Plant based doesn't sell too great at my local store, so they are markdowning plant based roasts to $3 and lemon herb plant based chicken $3( I am in australia so that is a good price)
Even more important to note, there $3 rice/bean bowl was ORIGINALLY $6! Yowza.
That's true! I didn't remember to point that out in the video.
Most of the stores in area have weekly on-line ads. We don't have any physical Kroger stores in our area but, they have a growing number of warehouses. We purchased a membership with no delivery charges for about $60 a year. I am very, very impressed with their service, food and excellent prices (which are more than paying for the yearly membership fee). Their brand name foods are very good and often cheaper than Walmart and better than name brand! I check their online ad weekly for loss leaders, e coupons and specials. And it keeps me out of the store and away from temptation. LOL!
Thank you for this comment! Ive been wondering about their delivery service. There is still tipping the driver though right? Or is it like Walmart delivery?
@@LadyBeeSting2434 No tipping required. In fact we tried to tip a driver and he refused it.
I love Fetch. I started in March and I am saving my points until November to use for Christmas gifts.
I love fetch. There are a few others you might want to consider - receipt hog is another I use. Receipt Hog is free, easy to use for cash but slower to earn. Some people take the fast money for $5, I like to go for the $40 payout. There is another app that starts with Receipt but I don’t use it, I’ve heard it recommended just never used it.
Receipt pal????
Thank you for another great money saving video guys! Wasting food just makes me shudder!! Love how you plan everything out so well!
Love my Aldi's so much I save there
Wow! Excellent object lesson guys! That comparison of the cooked beans and rice for the same cost if one serving of convenience food was a real wake-up call.
I enjoyed the example of the rice and beans visual….. that was very helpful!
Also consider the summer heat and humidity in your local area to not overbuy dairies and consume them quickly. Packages you don't need much e.g. from a big yoghurt or like cottage cheese you might want to use in meals so that they won't rot in the fridge.
Absolutely.. weather conditions matter. 👍
I liked to limit based on nutritional needs and then in summer add a tiny bit of lemon to their water if they drink excessive water. And using Celtic /Himalayan/etc salt with foods like apples, cucumbers, etc. excessive water drinking need’s additional salt. When traveling the equivalent of Gatorade can be found in individual powder packets and ordered in bulk over the Internet much cheaper. A few family members has long term diseases that require electrolyte replacement, so I stay well stocked. One actually drinks a glass of water with 3 tablespoons of Himalayan salt every day. And if she flies long distances, 6-8 times a year, takes electrolyte replacement with her to drink at the end of the flight. And gives it to friends/husband after a night of drinking. She can’t drink more than a glass of wine @ dinner. So when fine dining she splits her amount of wine among the different courses to still equal one glass.
You guys are great. I love the rice and bean demonstration, especially for the youth watching this video.
Hope, your new hairstyle seems to reflect a reduction in stress. I may be reading more into this but the style softens you in a lovely way.
Thank you. I started walking three miles a day about six weeks ago. It's definitely been reducing my stress levels.
I get on my computer on Tuesday the night before I shop for Loss leaders. I check out prices on all three of my close local grocery stores to price compare, then make my list using all three stores, and I travel in a circle even taking traffic patterns into consideration. I take an ice chest with large freezer pack on hot days in the even I choose items at first store that need refrigeration. The advantage of living in a city. I can go to Food Lion, Kroger, and Walmart in a circle with only 6nmiles involved.
Shopping with Shana always goes over Kroger ad in advance.
Great video! I run a frugal food group in the state I live in and I find Kroger/fry's is more expensive to shop at. I will add if anyone shops at Safeway/Albertsons,their app is really good but don't forget to open up the emails they send. You will get a free item. 3x now I have gotten one bag of vegan cheese lol . Most people just delete the emails and I used to also.
My Kroger's , here in Utah Smiths, I find very expensive. I get coupons and check their clearance items for purchase. Walmart and Winco's are my go to stores.
I don’t have Krogers. I have 3.5 grocery stores. The .5 is a regular Walmart. I get email and coupons for free food and $5 off $5 purchase. I pop in and buy meats or loss leaders for the $5 off $5. Lots of bang for the buck that way. I also get coupons just for me on things I buy every trip. I have a store that sends $15 of $75 purchase in snail mail, I use it at a different store because they except competitors coupons.
Thanks for the information like always keep up the good works
Hmmmm, I pretty much remember everything what's in my refrigerator.... So I know to use the perishables. I almost never throw any kind of food away.
I live in the San Fernando Vslley area of California and my Kroger mails the flyers to our home and still had them in the store!
Love all the tips and all of the videos!
Fabulous video Larry and Hope ❤
Thank you so much for the advice ❤
I enjoy you two so much. You're like a wonderful frugal and wise aunt and uncle to me. Thank you for everything.
I use fetch all the time
Me too!
Loved this!
Great point on the rice and beans.
Great tips - as always!
Thanks for the new video! I’m looking forward to seeing what other content you post! Always good to learn as much as you can!
Absolutely great tips. Just what I was looking for. I’m trying to save as much as possible
I give my fruit and veg a look over every day. If something feels a bit soft it gets used first. I am noticing in the uk though fresh produce isnt staying fresh as long as normal. My potatoes were delivered already starting to sprout!
I find it helpful to have a list on the refrigerator for items we are getting low on so I can start watching for a sale. Bonus if there is a coupon or rebate for the item at the time!
Lots of great advice
Great tips! What a phenomenal deal on those Amy’s meals though! They are the best frozen dinners in my opinion.
Hi all from Colorado
As a vegan husband and wife we are pretty good about what we eat but it seems the essentials of fruit and veg is going up. We use Flashfood etc to help offset but I struggle with keeping the price down on the shop. I know a lot of people are not vegan but do you have advice on specific ways to keep the fresh food cost down for us vegans? We do stock up on frozen but again, we do need the fresh. We do not have any amish stores around here or bulk shops unfortunately. Any ideas are appreciated. Love the show you two!!
Excellent video
i agree with all you said great tips
We have "bakers racks" near the cooled food sections ie dairy, cheese ad deli cuts at all Superstore Walmarts in my area. Bread, bagels, donuts, pies that would be in the bakery section are yellow tagged and cheap. The beans and rice comparison was awesome. I have a big slow cooker and ricecooker. I crank both up, rice with the spices and added meat with every other set of beans. As a single person, as everything is always at the most rock bottom price: rice and beans as yours, spices combined 20c, meat(polish sausage, leg quarters@79/lb, 12 eggs @$2.50 and spring onions every serving adds up to an average of $0.70/ per serving with 12 portions made.
I drink 1 glass of cold water with this and if I think I need a salad: big old ugly carrot finely shredded with any cheap apple, lemon juice and either sugar or honey. That is about another 25c. If You mix the salad with outmeal or sprout or whatnot that can already be your breakfast. I finagle all the time to get the same food results but cheaper. I love your channel btw.
Single person household, but sometimes feeding hoards during the summer...❤
Carrots and apples, super easy salad but add a little chopped onion and parsley too. 👍👍 You can make a delicious soup from 1 carrot too, take some handful of oatmeal and roast in butter, grate the carrot and mix, add water and instant broth and some pepper, that's it. 👍
I just love you both! An old gal from Petersburg, West Virginia
In Southern California, Food 4 Less (a Kroger store) still mails sales flyers to our home and still has sales flyers on display at the entrance to the store.
Awesome video
Yes the store shopping app is awesome. I made a list, and added all of the loss leaders that I wanted, to ensure that I didn't miss any.
May I suggest rectangle shaped glasses for both of you the next time you’re due for a pair? You will probably like the look! Thx for the video!
OMG! Yes! You NEED a list! Whenever I don't take a list, I end up with random items to fill up what I feel I "expected" to spend - but I didn't get a bunch of items I needed! So, back to the store I go and spend more to get them. Plus some more random items that worked their way into my basket.
Tomorrows the last day Albertsons offer a digital coupon for frozen burritos for nice cents each. I bought two slabs of .99 ribs, less than ten dollars at Kroger. Less than $5.00 a slab.
Great share, guys! The only Kroger store we have in our area is a delivery only location, so we don’t get to search the markdowns there. We used to when we lived in Texas though. Always loved that. But we have been able to keep our grocery expenses down. 🙌
How interesting! I've never heard of a delivery only Kroger store. That would cut back on the expense of the store staffing, for sure.
@@UndertheMedian yeah, but you still have to pay a membership fee and tip the driver, so we’ve never tried it.
I was at Shaws yesterday and scored Goya rice, beans and bean soup for half off for clearance. At Walmart I was able to snag 3 - 24 count k cups for $5 each. Sometimes you just need to look around...
Another thing I like to do is buy fresh meat in bulk when it's on sale due to its approaching expiration date, and then store it in the freezer.
I love Fetch.💖
I like to try frozen dinner and if I like it get the individual items and make it
i love the idea of using 20% for things that are on sale - that part always confusing me about whether or not it will put me over budget.
Thank you! New subscriber here!
Welcome to the Under the Median family.
I love looking at the meat area for mark downs, seeing as I live alone I take the meat divide it up and vacuum seal it. I'm also trying my first No Spend month, going to do my best and not eat out.