For this week’s inquiry, I wanted to explore providing some Grocery Shopping tips for individuals seeking to save money while still purchasing healthy food during their shopping trips. Shopping can be a challenging task, especially if you are an impulse buyer and have lots of food interests (like me, I get it). Walking into a store, aisle upon aisle of different foods, and noticing that the foods that will keep your body healthy are pretty expensive can be a bit frustrating. For that exact reason, I believe this post could benefit people in British Columbia, and wherever else you may be viewing from.

Where do I start?

For beginners, I would say my number one tip that has helped me personally save a lot of money is purchasing anything that doesn’t need to be refrigerated at the dollar store. Buying canned goods at the dollar store instead of your local Save-On or Walmart can save you a lot of money in the long run.

“I went shopping at the dollar store, and holy cow, bread is only 2 bucks!” – My friend Grace

Always plan your grocery trips and make lists of what you need before you leave the house. Walking into the store with no idea what you want basically is a gateway to overspending and impulse purchases. Before you go, look through your fridge and pantry; write what you have, what is getting low, and what you really need. It might help to put your grocery list in order based on what products you need, so you aren’t running around the store trying to follow the list in order.

Many people have found that shopping for “one-pot slow cooker meal” groceries helps them save money and energy, as they are provided with multiple meals, and they are so simple to do on your own time. I found a book that you can access online called “Set It and Forget It Slow Cooker Recipes: 101 Dump-and-Go Meals for Busy Families, Weight Loss, and Effortless Meal Prep on a Budget“, which I believe may be a great resource for families, students and hard workers alike to use if they find one of their biggest difficulties in the kitchen is time. Another wonderful part about slow cooking is that it helps you reduce food waste. You can throw in vegetables that are close to going bad or pantry items that might not get used otherwise. Tougher cuts of meat that may be cheaper from the local butcher or grocery store become much more tender in the slow cooker, allowing you to purchase less and have it taste restaurant quality.

I can’t stress enough that it can be so helpful to have grocery store apps and coupons. If you are one of those people who always feel like they miss out on good deals, this one’s for you! Take a look at the grocery store apps around your area and look for coupons and deals on groceries that you already plan to buy. Make sure you have a physical card that you can scan reward points with at the stores as well, because not only can you gain reward points on your groceries and access exclusive deals that help you save money on your trip, but you may also earn enough reward points that you can go on trips. If you would like to learn more about couponing and loyalty cards, click this link.

One more way that you can save money is by buying frozen fruit and vegetables. Many people have this weird belief that frozen produce is less healthy than fresh produce, and that is, in fact, a myth. Frozen produce is often way cheaper than fresh, especially if it’s out of season. The best part about frozen produce is that you can use what you need, and if you have any left, it won’t go bad sitting in your fridge.

My final tip for today is to embrace off-brand products instead of the expensive name-brand ones. When people walk into a store, many will instantly reach for the expensive name-brand products. Why is that? The plain-looking brands that you see around the store are not just cheaper, but many of them are equally as healthy, and if you learn how to cook, you can make anything taste good. Where there may be some small nutritional differences between generic items and their name-brand counterparts, cookbook author Holley said the “differences are minimal.” There are many types of foods, such as rice, oats, and beans, that you may be able to buy cheaper in bulk. If you would like more information on buying off-brand products, check out this link.

“Don’t assume that a fancy label means higher quality”

Sylvain Charlebois, professor and researcher of food distribution and policy at Dalhousie University in Canada

Let’s summarize a few key points for you to take away from this post!

• Start at the Dollar Store
• Plan your grocery trips
• One put slow cooker meals
• Grocery store apps and coupons
• Frozen fruits and veggies
• Embrace off brand

Thanks for tuning in to this weeks blog post 🙂