94% of Americans Are Worried About the Cost of Food. Here’s What to Do if You’re One of Them

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The cost of food is a major concern for many people. Learn the steps to take to save money on your grocery purchases. 

Buying groceries has become a financial nightmare for many people. The cost of food has surged in recent years thanks to inflation and supply-chain disruptions from COVID-19. And with grocery prices up so much, it should come as no surprise that 94% of Americans recently indicated that they are still worried about the cost of food and beverages.

If you are one of the many people who is worried about running up big credit card bills to pay for groceries, there are some possible solutions. These tips could help you keep more money in your bank account while still letting you serve delicious and nutritious meals for yourself and your loved ones.

Figure out which stores are cheaper for you

Shopping at stores with lower prices can help you spend less on food, so spend a few weeks writing down the price of staples at your local grocery stores as you shop. If you find that the items you are buying every week tend to consistently be much cheaper at one store than at another, make that your home store.

Tracking prices may seem like a lot of effort, but the reality is that this doesn’t have to take much work if you just try out different local stores for a few weeks and keep your receipts or write down prices in a notebook or your phone’s notes app.

You may be surprised how big of a difference there is between different stores in your area — and you may be dismayed to find the store you shop at out of habit has been overcharging you. When I did this exercise, for example, I found that Walmart was consistently cheaper than my local Giant store. A gallon of milk was costing me $3.99 at Giant, but it was just $2.62 at Walmart. That’s $1.37 in savings on just this one item!

Buy in bulk when things go on sale

Buying in bulk when items you regularly buy go on sale can also help you save. You’ll want to try to buy enough to last until the next sale. Most stores put items on sale around once every six or eight weeks, but you can find out your store’s schedule while you’re tracking prices.

If you discover an item goes on sale every six weeks and you go through one of them every two weeks, just buy three each time it is on sale so you never have to pay full price.

Make a meal plan around the sales flyers

Planning meals in advance can help you save by avoiding waste and also disincentivizing you to eat out since you already have a meal lined up — and the ingredients on hand for it. If you can use the sales flyers when making your plans, you’ll save even more.

Get your flyers for the store where you’ve discovered staples are the cheapest, then plan your big meals around whatever proteins and veggies are on sale that week.

Use coupons

Store coupons and manufacturer coupons can both save you money. Check the Sunday paper for coupons and your store’s sales flyers to see if you can combine deals to get food very inexpensively. You can clip coupons from the paper or buy them online for affordable prices.

You can also visit manufacturer websites and even write to manufacturers to ask them to send you coupons so you can save even more.

Look into government benefits

Finally, if you are truly worried about being able to put food on the table and you don’t think these options will help you, you should look into government benefits such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). You can find out on the USDA website if you are eligible for SNAP benefits, as well as how to complete the application process.

Taking some or all of these steps can help you make groceries more affordable. Remember, if you are struggling, you are absolutely not alone — 94% of your fellow Americans are there with you, so don’t be afraid to look into all possible solutions to cover your food costs without giving up your other financial goals.

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The Ascent does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.Discover Financial Services is an advertising partner of The Ascent, a Motley Fool company. Christy Bieber has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Walmart. The Motley Fool recommends Discover Financial Services. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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