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6 weeks to a lower grocery bill

Lower your grocery bill in 6 Weeks!

Low Grocery Bill

How to lower grocery bills, is a question that I am often asked. Instead of answering this question each time I receive it, I thought it would be a good idea to share with you a bunch of things that you can do to lower your grocery bill.

For the next 6 weeks, I am going to share tips and ideas on how you can reduce your grocery bills and save money at the same time. Here’s what you can expect in this new series 6 Weeks to a Lower Grocery Bill.

Week One: How and why to create a grocery budget.
Week Two: How and why to create a grocery price book.
Week Three: How to create and shop with a grocery shopping list.
Week Four: How and why to create a grocery stockpile.
Week Five: How to save by shopping in season & locally.
Week Six: Why & how you should create weekly menu plans.

We’re going to start this series today, so watch for the post about grocery budgets later this afternoon (I promise it won’t be boring!).

Is there anything you would like me to cover in this series?

Comments

  1. Alison

    Have you done any freezer cooking? That’s my next goal.

    • Heather

      Alison,
      I do a lot of freezer cooking. Try googling “OAMC” or once a month cooking and you will find some great recipes. Whenever I make a casserole I try to make 2-3 at a time, then we eat one and freeze the others. Sauces are made in large quantities to have extra meals too. Great when you find a meat (say ground beef) on sale and then you make freezer meals.

  2. Wendi

    Week 2 Suggestion

    Instead of all of us creating individual price books could you post a template of yours?
    I’m guessing most of your followers are in the GTA so most of the prices would be the same or very close.

    I tried to do a pricebook last year but became overwhelmed because my experience was limited on what was a good deal. I think your experience with the cycles and the pricings is what would create a good guide.

    Ie. How and Why to Create a Food Guide Price Book and a Reference for the rest of us.

  3. kris

    Thanks for doing a series like this Cassie. One of my goals for 2013 is to spend less wherever I can possible and put the money towards debt. I love, love, love your shopping deal posts, it really helps me see what I can get with coupons, and the menu plans are great to show what you can make with what you buy. Thanks again! 🙂

    • Cassie Howard

      I’m glad to hear you like the shopping posts!

  4. tina

    Looking forward to this only hope I can use the info I live in rural Alberta and only have 2 small grocery stores close by. A sobeys and a super valu (part of loblaws) walmart is 30 mins away and other chains are 1.5 hours away. My income has also been slashed by almost $3000 per month recently since the ex decided that child support/alimony is a luxury not a necessary payment. hmmm

  5. Tiffany

    I second Wendi!
    If you would be willing to share your price book, that would be a-MAZ-ing!

  6. susan

    looks like I am not the only excited by the price book. I too have tried to start this but never followed thru as I made it too complicated and got overwhelmed! looking forward to week two 🙂

  7. teachermum

    I’ve always thought I’d make a price book, but have never gotten around to it. I do however write down all the sales in the flyer for things I use for every store each week. Now some weeks I may not even shop but just by doing that every week you learn fairly easily what the “good deals” are.

    ie a buck is an easy produce rule (a pound or per piece). I don’t buy broccoli unless it is a dollar or under. It doesn’t take long to recognize that when it is .69 I stock up bigtime and we eat a lot of broccoli for the next 2/3 weeks!

    Re seasonal shopping, I never pay attention to what is in season, but rather what is on sale. Usually, what is in season is what is on sale, but I just mark down the sale produce and that is what we eat. If canteloupe are not in season anywhere but a store has a loss leader sale for .99, we eat canteloupe!

    • Cassie Howard

      I agree, we do the same thing. When it is in season, it’s fresher – but not necessarily cheaper.

  8. Melissa

    I am so EXCITED for week 2! Never thought of a “price book” before! GOOD IDEA!

    Melissa Anne

  9. Debora S

    I would like to see information on healthy eating, not prepackaged stuff nor let’s eat frozen pizza every Friday. Just cause it’s on sale doesn’t mean I need to stock up on ice cream or cookies.

  10. Anna

    I have done the price book idea in the past and it helped but fresh produce/meat fluctuates so much it was hard for me.

    That is the one thing I have having difficult with this week – is the prices of fresh produce/meat. I am trying to list everything I am going to buy, the price, sale price, and coupons I have so I know exactly how much I am going to spend before I go and then eliminate anything I don’t REALLY need to keep my amounts down, but I can’t figure out how much my produce etc is going to be when it is by the pound.

    • Cassie Howard

      This is something you will learn over time (if you buy the same things often).

  11. Lisa Anne

    I followed these steps and it works!!! The budget is the most important and staying away from the impulse buy.

  12. Eva

    Oooo, I’m just starting out with this, but I also happen to be a huge spreadsheet/VBA nerd. I can’t wait to make up a spreadsheet to list and compare regular priced items while automating as much as possible. Why didn’t I ever think of that before?!

    Time to nerd out! If I make anything that I think would be useful to others, I’ll share. :3

  13. Betty Ann

    One way I have found to save money on my grocery bill is to buy what I need not what I want this has cut my bill down by at least 30% if not more.

  14. Blaze

    I precook and freeze meal components rather than finished dishes. Ground beef was on sale this week $2/lb so I bought 20lbs and fried it all up plain. It’s now in my freezer in 20 little freezer bags. I’m now ready for any recipe that starts off with “brown 1lb of ground beef…”. If I’m organized I put the bag in the fridge in the morning, but failing that 2 minutes in the microwave after work and I’m ready to go. Sausages are on sale this week so I’ll buy at least 2 packages of 12. I poke them each a few times with a knife, boil them until cooked, then freeze them on wax paper on a cookie sheet, and finally into a freezer bag. Now we’re immediately ready for pizzas, spaghetti sauce, or just tossing them on the BBQ to brown them up. Dealing with the mess once makes busy nights so much easier.

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