Stocking Your Kitchen – Saving Money

If you’ve stuck with me this far, you’ve read about the general idea of how to stock (or restock) your kitchen and we’ve talked about how to set your budget for the trip to the store. If you’re like me, the second step was kind of a downer. You know all the food you want to buy for your kitchen…but it’s going to cost way more than you can afford. I know, I told you to be patient and plan on taking months to stock your kitchen. But let’s face it, if our attention spans were that long then 15-second commercials wouldn’t have an impact. We want everything now.

While I could go on about delayed gratification, that’s not the point of Hectic-Kitchen. I nag people over on Hectic-Dad, if you’re looking for badgering pop over there. Here we’re about making it fun and interesting in the kitchen. So it’s time to get our hands a little dirty and figure out some tricks and hacks to save money at the store. I mean, who doesn’t like to save money?

I started out researching this post by Googling saving money grocery shopping. That search returned 3,830,000 results! Holy Crap…that’s a lot of info to slog through. I filtered to items created in the last year, but that wasn’t a whole lot better with 10,500. The worst part is, almost every one of those articles is a listicle. Each one contained anywhere from ten to one hundred (!) tips. As if anybody has time to read one hundred tips, let alone implement them all!

But fear not, dear reader, I’m a glutton for punishment. I slogged through a heap of those articles and gleaned what I could. I wracked my brain for additional ideas. Finally, I won the award for most annoying person of the 2017 Holiday Season by asking my friends and family for their best tips. While it was a great conversation starter, I did create some contentious discussions. Tread cautiously if you’re going to bring it up. A vastly safer route is to just read the rest of this post…

While it wasn’t exactly scientific research, I was able to gather a bunch of information that should be useful. Bits and pieces will resonate with you and other things will seem just dumb. Use what you like and ignore the rest. I’ll get over it!

Actually, most of what I read and heard was common sense. But as Voltaire said, “Common sense is not so common”. The collective wisdom included things like:

• Don’t go to the store hungry
• Shop with a list
• Stick to your list
• Shop only once a week
• Buy the store brands, unless the name brand is vastly superior

I’m guilty of going to the store hungry a lot. I know from personal experience that I’m asking for trouble when I do that. I’ve been known to look like the poster child for Frito-Lay with bag upon bag of snack chips. While I’m pretty good at making a list, I’m not the greatest at sticking to it. I’ve gotten better over time, but sticking to a list means passing on things that look delicious or seem like awesome buys. But having a little bit of self-control is a good thing. At least that’s what my Mom keeps telling me!

There were some tricks I’d never really thought about, some of which I use and some which were new to me:

• Shop with your own soundtrack
• Leave the kids at home
• Look high and low, not just at the eye-level shelves
• Buy seasonal produce
• Know where the clearance aisle is
• Only buy what you will need
• Compare unit prices
• Avoid convenience foods

Nowadays I listen to my own music when I’m shopping. I’ve actually tried Focus@Will too, and that made for some very rapid and focused shopping trips. The point is, the annoying music the grocery store plays isn’t accidental. Grocers have done research on what types of music will influence your buying behavior…and they use that to decide what to play. While it’s not quite the mind control of the Galactic Empire, it’s kind of creepy. Plus I don’t like grocery store music, so I’d rather listen to my own.

When it comes to the kids, that’s a bit tougher. Let’s face it, sometimes you can’t leave them home (Home Alone anyone?), but it’s also pretty obvious that taking your younger kids to the store isn’t exactly quality time. If you can do it, get to the store without the kids for a faster and less irritating grocery trip. As they get older, get them involved…I’ll be writing about that in a future post.

As a taller person, I’m used to looking on the upper shelves for items. While I’m not as adept at looking on the lower shelves, I have discovered the best deals can often be found above and below eye level. Remember to look up and down and you may be surprised at what you discover.

It used to be universally true the larger the container, the better the value. I remember my Mom and Dad impressing that on me as a kid. “Big buys are better” was something my Dad said a lot. So imagine my surprise comparing the cost of laundry detergent and discovering smaller bottles were several cents cheaper per ounce. That might not sound like a big savings, but at Hectic Manor we go through laundry detergent like crazy. It doesn’t make any sense to me the way different sized packaging is priced. But I’ve learned to look at the price per unit, which lots of grocery stores now put right on the shelf label. If they don’t, whip out the calculator on your phone and do some quick math.

Finally, the old adage goes “you pay for convenience”, and that’s no joke. Buying cut fruit adds to the cost dramatically. Pre-portioned or pre-cooked products can eat up your budget in nothing flat. I’m not saying to never buy convenience items. Sometimes the time savings are well worth the value…but make a decision about what your doing. Don’t just pounce on the easiest solution. Honestly, this is one of those areas where a meal plan and shopping list can really help out.

There were also some areas that I didn’t realize were so controversial:

• How to navigate the grocery store
• Buy in bulk, never buy in bulk
• Couponing
• Plan meals then shop vs buy what’s on sale then make your meal plan
• Be loyal to one store vs playing the field
• Buy only fresh produce vs buying frozen
• Get deals from the drugstore vs staying away from anything but a grocery store

Over the holidays I was a spectator in a huge kerfluffle amongst some friends about grocery store navigation strategies. On the one hand, were proponents of shopping the outside of the store where all the fresh items were first. Then you supplement with things from the interior. On the other side were vocal proponents of starting in the interior and working your way to the edges. It was almost comical how vociferous these two groups got. At one point I was worried they were going to start World War III over grocery store navigation!

Likewise the “buy in bulk/never buy in bulk” and “couponer/no couponer” discussions nearly got out of hand. At Hectic Manor I tend to fall on the buy in bulk side, but that’s partly because we were feeding eight hungry athletes. They ate enough for a small army, so bulk was a very relative term. Now we’re down to fewer at home and I find buying in bulk isn’t as efficient. And while I would like to use coupons more strategically, I go hot and cold. I’m pretty good with the digital coupons, but paper coupons and I simply don’t get along. Since there are entire sites and communities dedicated to couponing, know that there are all sorts of opinions on their usage.

As you can imagine, since we developed Hectic-Meals, I fall on the meal planner side of that argument. I’ve always found that I spend a lot less money when I’ve got a plan accompanied by a very specific list. I’m often guilty of having great ideas for a meal while I’m in the store, and I’ll even buy the ingredients. Then I get home and stare at the mix with no freaking idea of what I was going to make. It’s the equivalent of walking into a room and not knowing why you went in there…only with food that will spoil. It’s just not smart!

Since we live in a small town, our store options are pretty limited. I do find myself buying certain items at one grocery store and others at the big discount store, so I guess I play the field some. On the other hand, it took me nearly ten years to convince my Mom that she could buy any groceries at Walmart. It simply wasn’t something she had considered. If I lived in a bigger city with more options I’m not sure what I would do. I’m pretty cheap when it comes to gas though, so I’d likely limit the number of stores I use in any month. I’m not sure what to tell you about whether to buy at different stores or just stick to one.

Finally, there were some tips and tricks that I’d never thought of:

• Know the rock-bottom price, especially on your family’s staples
• Create a price book
• Use apps to save money, get money back, and make your shopping easier
• Don’t shop on the weekend or in the morning
• Some splurges are worth it

As I was doing my research, I discovered the concept of the price book. Essentially, it’s a list that has the normal and lowest price for items. At the extreme there are lists that are designed to help you track everything that you might buy. Those overwhelmed me! But keeping a short list of the most common food items might make some sense. Honestly, do you know if that sale price for a half-gallon of milk is a good deal or not? I only buy milk in gallons, so first I have to do the math…assuming I even know what milk normally costs. Around here a gallon of milk runs $2.20 – $2.29, but I’ve seen half gallons under $1. Frankly I didn’t know that until I wrote this post. If I had an accessible, up-to-date list of the Hectic Manor staples I’m sure I’d be a better shopper. I would be able to take advantage of true deals when they arise, rather than thinking that something is a good value.

In a future post I’m going to write about different apps that you can use, if you’re so inclined. There was so much information I can’t even begin to delve into it here.

Finally, one of the articles I read spent a ton of time talking about splurging. At first I was very defensive about this idea. Splurging in my book means unnecessary expense. I hate those. But the point of the article was that life is meant to be enjoyed. If everything you buy at the store is utilitarian, your food’s going to feel that way. And nobody wants that. Despite the fact that this post is about saving money at the store, it’s reasonable to take a little bit and buy something fun. Seriously, the character-shaped mac ‘n cheese is only a tiny bit more expensive than the straight noodles. If your kids will get a kick out of the Sponge Bob shapes, isn’t that worth something? If you really want that one chocolate bar, buy it without the guilt. I’m not saying drive yourself into bankruptcy by splurging, but recognize that life is meant for living, so ease up a bit.

I hope your found a few strategies you can use when grocery shopping now and in the future. Let me know if I missed any or if any of these worked for you. Feel free to use the comments on this post, I’d love to start a conversation.

And as always, make it a great day in the kitchen!

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