This is something we can all benefit from. It takes a little more work and planning if you want to spend less but still eat reasonably well. If you go stock up on pasta, tomato sauce and potatoes, you'll obviously save a lot of money, but the nutritional content of your meals will be somewhat less than complete. So the challenge is to shop smarter, buy healthy food, actually USE it, and thus manage to feed your family well without breaking the bank.
The first thing is, buy things you'll actually USE. It doesn't do you any good to stock up on dried beans and split peas if you are going to let them sit in your cupboard and never use them. Sure, they're cheap. But if you buy them, learn how to cook them. Then do it. Ditto with fresh produce - if you're going to buy it, plan it into your menu and use it before it goes bad. Few things are more disheartening than finding $20 worth of rotted produce in the bottom of your fridge.
Next, shop close to the source. I honestly thought I was saving money by shopping at the big stores. Wrong. This summer I stopped at several roadside stands and discovered that I could buy my produce for less than I could at the mall. Plus I got to enjoy a drive in the country with C on a sunny afternoon, and a visit with my grandparents along the way. This week I checked out the farmer's markets in town and found the prices were still very competitive. So the lesson here is, the closer you get to the source, the fewer markups there are, and thus the less you'll spend.
Another thing I've discovered is that if you shop at smaller stores with a smaller selection, you're less likely to make impulse purchases and more likely to just stick to your list. I haven't seen a big difference in price on staple groceries between smaller and larger grocery stores, but I have found that "extras" are more pricey at a smaller store. So I don't buy them. I get what I need and I move on. Less impulse buying = a smaller bill = happy me :)
Watch out for and stock up on loss leaders and buy one get one free sales. Check the flyer each week from the major stores and look for great deals on things like cereal, pasta and cans (things which won't go bad before you get to them), and meat (which you can freeze for later). Pick out the items you want to get, go get them, and buy nothing else in the store.
It goes without saying that you need to make a list if you want to avoid breaking the budget. Plan your shopping, make a list, and stick to it.
If you need to shop alone, then do it. Go shopping at a time when your spouse can take the kids to the park or when they can visit Grandma. If you tend to spend more when you have kids with you, or when you have your spouse with you, then leave them out of the trip.
Plan your meals. This takes a little more time, but it helps immensely in the long run. Plan a time each week to go through your cupboards, fridge and freezer, find out what you have, plan your meals, and then go shopping for what you need to fill in the gaps and for staple items.
Shop on the schedule that works best for you. Some people do well shopping once a week or once a month, buying lots of frozen food, pantry items, and prepare-ahead meals and just make quick stops in between for milk, eggs, produce and bread. Others find it better to shop every few days, planning ahead just a bit and buying lots of fresh foods. Do what works best for you and allows you to use up your groceries most efficiently.
Shop the clearance sections. If your pride prevents you from doing this, set it aside. Most markets have shopping carts or bin with markdowns, where you can get cereal, granola bars, etc for 50-75% off as they get closer to their best before date. Check the meat section as well. A few days before their best before date expires, meat will get marked down dramatically. If your store isn't open on Sunday, Saturday afternoon is a great time to check for this. Bring it home and put it straight into the freezer, or use it for meals within a day or two.
Build a pantry and a freezer stash. This is an on-going project. Buy a few extra things each week and don't plan them into your menu. Then if you have a bad couple of weeks, or if someone you know hits on hard times, you're ready.
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