I’ve Tried These 3 Ways to Reduce My Grocery Bills This Year — and None of Them Have Worked

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Sometimes, even the best-laid plans to save money don’t work out. See why one writer must adopt a new grocery approach — or simply accept higher bills. 

As inflation has started to cool, the cost of many common expenses has started to shrink. That includes groceries.

This past June, grocery prices were up 4.7% on an annual basis, as measured by the Consumer Price Index. Compare that to the June prior, where grocery prices were up a whopping 12.2% annually, and I can say that I’m noticing a modestly lower credit card tab these days than I was around the same time last year.

But still, groceries are a big expense in my household, so I’ve been trying to do my part to reduce my spending there. And I’ve pretty much failed, despite having done these three things.

1. Making lists

Shopping lists are great. They tell you what you need to pick up so you don’t end up having to make a return trip to the supermarket, and they can help you stay on track and avoid impulse buys.

Here’s the problem, though: Unless you consult every member of your family when making your lists, which I don’t always have time to do, you might buy the wrong items and then find yourself back at the store spending more money a few days later.

This past spring, my kids were on a huge sour cream and onion potato chip kick, so I went and bought a couple of bags to divide up for snacks. Only when I returned home and presented those bags, instead of a resounding “Thanks, Mom,” the response was “These again?”

Clearly, that was a fail, and seeing as how I’m a giant sucker who doesn’t like to disappoint my kids, I found myself back at the store the following day to stock up on that week’s preferred snack: cheese puffs. I suppose I could’ve returned the other chip bags, but the customer service line at my supermarket tends to be really long, and frankly, it wasn’t worth the 15 minutes of my time. But once again, list-making failed me.

2. Planning meals in advance

You’ll often hear that meal planning is a great way to save money at the supermarket. That way, you’re buying items you’re bound to use, as opposed to toss out.

But here’s one pitfall of planning out your meals: Unless you do so in conjunction with seeing what’s on sale, you may not end up saving yourself much. This is the trap I’ve fallen into many times over the past six months.

Not so long ago, I mapped out a weekly menu that included a pasta dish with mixed vegetables as well as salmon with broccoli and rice. Each dish was set to last for two meals, getting us through the workweek until Friday (otherwise known as “I’m Caving and Ordering Pizza Night” in my household).

I thought I had a good plan. But when I went to the store, almost every vegetable I wanted for my pasta dish was more expensive than I expected it to be, and it was hard to pivot on the spot.

Along these lines, at my supermarket, I can often find salmon for $8.99 a pound — sometimes less. That week, it happened to be $11.99 a pound. But at that point, I felt committed to the menu, especially after having gotten my kids’ buy-in. So all told, I didn’t reduce my grocery spending that week despite having seemingly gone in prepared.

3. Loading up on digital coupons

My supermarket offers digital coupons you can load to your store card so you don’t have to carry around tiny pieces of paper and hope they don’t get lost. I make a point each week to load up on digital coupons in an effort to save money on food. But often, I find that the deals my local store has available don’t align with the products I need.

If I were more organized, I could consider stocking up on certain items while they’re on sale and reserving them for later. But I’m admittedly not so organized when it comes to food shopping and all things related.

It’s tough for me to even do a week’s worth of meal planning at once. So even though I take the time to check out those digital coupons, they commonly don’t end up doing me much good.

I’m resigned to higher grocery bills

At this point, I’m not really sure what else I can do to spend less at the supermarket. Thankfully, there’s room in my budget to spend the way I do.

My husband and I intentionally keep our large household expenses, like our mortgage, on the low side relative to our income to allow for higher spending in categories that improve our day-to-day quality of life. And so if I have to cut back in other areas of my personal finances to give myself leeway to spend more at the grocery store, so be it.

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