Anyone who’s interested in this topic will likely already know the basic strategies of planning your meals based on the grocery store flyers. There is also, of course, the classic trick of shopping around the edges of the grocery store, which is where you will find what should ideally make up the core of your diet – the staples of fruits, vegetables, meats, dairy, and breads (remember Canada’s Food Guide).
Reebee is an app that delivers all the current week’s flyers right to your smartphone. No need to pore over paper copies any longer.
Couponing (I love how this word has become a verb) can also reduce your grocery bills. However I find that the time invested in finding, clipping and organizing the coupons has to be considered as an off-setting cost to using them to save on your purchases. Plus I find most coupons are provided by manufacturers of the most expensive brands of prepared foods. This means if you shop the basics and cook from scratch, there are relatively few coupons that are worth your while. Although in Ontario at least the egg farmers have for the past couple of years been sponsoring coupons for eggs. And who doesn’t need eggs regularly? Coupons for bread and milk are also sometimes available.
If you have a tendency to be a food hoarder, like me, another option is to shop at home. I will caveat that by saying I’m not a classic food hoarder in that I don’t hide food in unusual places where you don’t expect to find it. I just always like to know I have spares on hand of those foods we use regularly – peanut butter, soups, pasta and the like. Whenever we re-organize our pantry or freezer, we find items that were purchased, stored and then promptly forgotten. If you’re looking for a way to cut down on your grocery bill for a short period of time, say if your cash-flow is a bit lacking, then shopping at home can be a revelation. Take a look at what you have on hand, figure out what recipes you’ll use them in, and write your grocery list only for the perishables or other ingredients necessary to the recipe to ‘top up’ those that are already in hand. This is useful to ensure regular rotation of foods as well, which can be a bit of a problem for people who buy in bulk during the sales and stockpile products (read: food hoarder).
But don’t worry too much about how long your food has been in hiding. It turns out that food best before dates are primarily a guide to how long the food can be kept while still retaining its intended taste. Or, according to Health Canada “It is important to know that a best before date is only meant to indicate how long a food will retain its normal wholesomeness, flavour, and nutritional value when stored under normal conditions.” Please note also according to Health Canada, that there are a few exceptions such as infant formula which actually have a firm expiry date and should not be used after that date has passed. In actuality, it’s somewhat shocking to learn just how long food can remain safe to eat beyond the indicated best before date. There is even a new grocery business opening up that will specialize in foods that have slightly exceeded their best before date.
Ultimately I find the best frugal grocery shopping strategy to be planning my shopping trip to the store or stores with the best deals that week in their weekly promotional flyer. By the way, there is an app for that. Reebee is an app that delivers all the current week’s flyers right to your smartphone. No need to pore over paper copies any longer. Pick up meats, vegetables and fruits that may be on sale and then prepare your meals based on those as central ingredients. But while you’re out, always bear in mind the staples that you use regularly – canned items, juices, and coffee or tea for example. Then when you spot those on sale, you can pick them up at a discount. Just make sure you haven’t already stockpiled too many of those same items. The title of food hoarder is a tough one to shake, believe me!