Frugal Shopping: Grocery Edition

Grocery shopping anti-love...
Photo credit: Les Chatfield (CC-BY 2.0)

Grocery shopping: along with the dishes and the laundry, one of those depressing chores that is half necessary again by the time you've finished packing it away... and worse than the aforementioned, it requires the regular expenditure of fairly large sums of money!

Lots of us have experienced grocery shopping on a tight budget, especially near the end of the month. Lots of us have also experienced this curious phenomenon: when money is really tight, suddenly it is possible to spend so much less money at the grocery store than we previously thought possible. I thought I was buying only the bare minimum: but now it appears there is another minimum below my previous minimum - and I'm still perfectly well nourished. Magic!

Don't mess with my food supply!
Photo credit: Sodanie Chea (CC-BY 2.0)

But when frugality is a choice rather than a necessity, groceries and food are some of the most difficult and emotional things to save on. Why? Food is one of the essentials of life, so cutting down or changing diet (or even just brand) choices can feel like a drastic lifestyle change, even if the shift is relatively small. Fair enough: we have strong cave-man/cave-woman instincts to protect our source of nutrition! In addition, we often feel defensive of our food and grocery choices, because they are some of the most intimate choices that we make on a day to day basis.

However, just because our reluctance to make changes in this area is understandable does not mean we shouldn't make those changes: we need all the fuel we can get for the independence engine! We were already living fairly frugally, but in the six months after going postal on the Financial Independence Quest, we cut down our average monthly grocery bill by about R400. This may not sound like much, but remember: if we were to save that R400 per month, that is R4 800 extra to save every year. Assuming that this is sensibly invested and gains a quite achievable 7% above inflation for ten years, this could accumulate into R66 300! Maths evidence? Courtesy of the annuity formula (for regular savings invested in something that earns compound interest):

Okay, I hope you're convinced that it is worth trying to shave down your grocery bill, even by a couple of hundred rand. Here are some of the ways in which we managed to gradually improve our spending. Everyone is different, and so your strategies will be different to ours. But these might give you some ideas.

Regular Shopping Strategies

Go to the grocery store as seldom as possible. This saves petrol and time, but also means that you have to plan your purchases carefully to last till next time, and cuts down on the chances for impulse buying (mmm, that freshly baked bread smells amazing, let's just... sound familiar?).

Make a list, and stick to it. As mentioned above, impulse buying is the budget enemy. We are busy developing and trialing a Wunderlist shopping-list system, but pen and paper will do the same job.

Make a list. Stick to it. Even if there is a chocolate aisle.
Photo credit: hobvias sudoneighm (CC-BY 2.0)

Visit only the aisles necessary for your planned purchases. Although I do love wandering aimlessly through the aisles, this wastes time and increases the likelihood that I will spot something that I immediately need... but don't actually need. Like Ultramel custard on special. Stay away!

Use the reward cards... the free ones, obviously. But don't get suckered into buying things you otherwise wouldn't have. Redeem the points frequently: money saved this month is better than the same money saved next month. The money that stays in your bank account will earn interest :-)

Bulk Buying Strategies

Buy in bulk, but only when the cost per unit is genuinely better, and the increased bulk won't result in waste. Waste can be a result of increased usage (I have a huge block of cheese so I cut off a fatter slice for my sandwich) or expiration.

Buying in bulk can backfire...
Photo credit: Shlomi Fish (CC-BY 2.0)

Specials are brilliant but also dangerous. Make use of them only if you would have been buying the item anyway, and if the product won't go to waste (see above!). But do make use of them: buy lots!

Go to Makro. Yes, it's a mission, but once we've taken increased petrol consumption into account (our local Makro is further away than our local PnP) we usually save about 13%. We don't do this every five minutes, but stocking up on non-perishables and slightly-perishables once every few months is well worth it. Don't forget to follow the bulk buying guidelines though: we have been known to go a little Makro-mad and over-bulk (not a real word, but work with me here!).

Choice Strategies

Choose food that has a good cost per calorie, or, even better, cost per nutrient ratio. How much does each calorie of lentil cost, compared to each calorie of lettuce? Hint: much less. Mr Cent(ri)frugal has a spreadsheet (which he'll share with you in a future post), because he is a keen bean that way. It makes interesting reading. For example, although sunflower seeds are expensive per kilogram, they are excellent value per calorie, because you only need a few to get full. In fact, my school lunch of about 160 g of seeds, nuts and raisins, is both cheaper and more nutritious than a sandwich, though it obviously requires supplementation with vegetables and so on in the evenings. The basic principle seems obvious: choose items that are cheap, but rich in nutrients over expensive, nutritionally empty items. The detail, when you really work it out, is often surprising, and probably deserves a post of its own.

Don't be snooty. Pick and Pay or Checkers are acceptably close in quality to Woolworths for most items. The in-store brand is often indistinguishable from more well known brands. If you feel there is a real difference, actually work out exactly how much more you are paying for an equivalent product: in most cases it isn't worth it. (That being said sometimes the generic just doesn't cut it - but you first need to have really tested it before you cut it from your list.)

Keep your eyes on the goal: is the better coffee, the out-of-season fruit or the imported luxury item more important than financial freedom? Is it more important than being able to quit your job (or go part time) and spend time with your kids? Nope, I didn't think so.

Even if some previous shots have gone astray... keep your eye on the target!
Photo credit: Pete (CC-BY 2.0)

If you'd like to read more about this interesting topic, here's what Mr. [sic] Money Mustache [sic] has to say: shopping with your middle finger, and killing your $1000 grocery bill. He is the original, and always good value. (He also talks about cost per calorie if you can't wait until we get to it!)

May the grocery-force be with you!
jjdaydream