How to save money on your grocery bill amid empty shelves and higher prices?

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by TD Insurance

Personal Finance Family Finance

It’s a good idea to have some basic staples handy if you suddenly have to quarantine, but having enough to survive the zombie apocalypse might go a bit overboard

Publication date:

28 Jan 2022 • 18 Feb 2022 • Read 5 minutes • Join the conversation Disrupted supply chains and workplaces affected by Omicron have left empty supermarket shelves. Disrupted supply chains and workplaces affected by Omicron have left empty supermarket shelves. Photo by Peter J. Thompson/National Post

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As this never-ending pandemic continues to erode our optimism, we are now faced with rising food costs and many shortages. I can’t recall ever seeing so many empty supermarket shelves in my decades on this earth. With many of our supply chains disrupted and workplaces affected by Omicron, it’s a wonder there’s food in stores at all.

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Rising food costs and the short shelf life of perishables are likely to prevent something similar to the infamous 2020 run for toilet paper from happening in supermarkets today. However, before you panic and think that you should start using extreme coupons as a hobby to get your family the food they need, there are other more reasonable ways to save money at the grocery store.

Before you go to the store, you need to know what you throw away each week. If you find that the well-intentioned bagged salad is not being eaten, stop buying. Maybe it’s a different kind of fruit or vegetable that just goes from the cart to the trash. North Americans waste a huge amount of food every year, which can be avoided by admitting that we should stop buying certain foods unless we can commit to actually eating it.

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Then shop your cabinets, fridge and freezer. Make an inventory of what you have and create your menu from there. I’m bad at forgetting what I’ve kept in the freezer. It’s good to have some basics on hand if you suddenly have to quarantine, but having enough to survive the zombie apocalypse might go a bit overboard.

Once you’ve counted your food supply, create your menu based on things you already have on hand. Make sure to add some stews or soups to use up those sad neglected veggies that are still good enough to eat when cooked.

Shop your cabinets, fridge and freezer. Shop your cabinets, fridge and freezer. Photo by Getty Images/iStockphoto

Warm comfort foods are great for winter and an efficient way to use tougher, inexpensive cuts of meat. Preserved bones from a cooked chicken or ham make a wonderfully nutritious stock when simmered for several hours with some onion, celery and carrots. If you have a slow cooker, let it simmer overnight/all day. That will give you ready-made stock for a fresh homemade soup for dinner, or you can freeze it for future use — just remember it’s there.

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Be realistic when creating a menu. Don’t expect to have the strength to whip up a different gourmet concoction every night. If you cook in larger batches, you will have leftovers that you can use for an evening off. I often plan to have at least one or two leftover adventure evenings of my choosing each week. The cook is allowed to take the evening off and everyone can choose something they like.

There are also many great meal planning ideas online that call for cooking once and using the leftovers for something new the next day. For example, a roast can be turned into a quick stir fry with some frozen vegetables or fajitas with some sautéed peppers and onions in a tortilla shell. Creative and inexpensive meal planning inspiration is just a few clicks away.

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If you find yourself struggling to cut your grocery costs or even buy enough to feed your family, be sure to check the grocery flyers for sale items each week. There’s nothing wrong with planning your meals based on what’s on offer this week. Many stores will match their competitors’ retail prices, provided you bring the appropriate flyer with you as proof. That means you don’t have to visit five stores looking for deals to spend your groceries on extra gas for your car.

If a large portion of your grocery budget is spent on animal protein, consider introducing meatless menu days as an alternative. There are many great protein alternatives such as beans, lentils and tofu that are high in protein and less expensive. A chili made with beans and some ground meat is still an excellent source of protein. You can stretch it even further by serving it on a baked potato, grain, or pasta.

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After you’ve created your meal plan, make a list of what to buy. Think about every meal. Breakfast and lunch are just as important as dinner. The more trips a person makes to the grocery store, the more they will spend on groceries. If you can limit your shopping to once a week or 10 days, it can help keep your costs down. I don’t think I’ve ever successfully gone to the store to get some milk and bought extra items, which is why it’s so important to know your food supply.

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One last thing before you head out the door: a snack. Nothing kills a budget more than being hungry while shopping. Going early in the morning or later in the evening when it’s less crowded will make the experience less stressful and avoid panicky purchases. Also, at the beginning and end of the day, items such as meats and fruits or vegetables are priced for clearance. It’s an excellent way to save on groceries, as long as you plan to use or freeze what you buy right away.

Regardless of whether you use any of the tips above, one surefire way to help yourself spend less is to shop with cash. You’re less likely to go over your budget and buy things that aren’t on your list if you have a limited amount of cash on you. Spending with cash forges an emotional connection to where the money goes. When you shop with credit, you may be less emotionally involved in wasting food than when you physically hand over the money to make the purchase.

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Careful planning can help save a lot of time and money at the grocery store and reduce how much we waste. Give yourself the flexibility to shake your menu back and forth to eat what you feel like within your plan. We may not be able to control rising food costs, but we can control how we use our resources to make the most of our grocery budget.

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Sandra Fry is a Winnipeg-based credit counselor at Credit Counseling Society, a nonprofit organization that has helped Canadians manage debt for nearly 25 years.

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