The Rachel Cruze Show - Easy Ways to Cut Your Grocery Bill in Half

Episode Date: December 11, 2023

We all need to eat, but we don’t have to fall into the traps of spending too much money on food. When it comes to groceries, there are a lot of ways to cut back and create more room in your budget. I'll share my favorites with you today. Plus, you’ll hear my money (and food) advice that always stirs up the haters, and why I love Aldi so much.   What you get in this episode: ·     12 Ways to Cut Your Grocery Bill in Half ·     How Far Does $50 Go at America's Cheapest Grocery Store? ·     My Most Hated Financial Advice: Eating at Home   Helpful Resources:   ·     Start saving with my Meal Planner & Grocery Savings Guide. ·     Start budgeting for free with EveryDollar. ·     Get Tapple at Walmart or wherever you buy board games. ·     Learn more about Christian Healthcare Ministries. Sponsors pay the producer of this show, The Lampo Group, LLC, advertising fees for mentioning their services or products during programming. Advertising fees are not based upon or otherwise tied to any product sale or business transacted between any consumer or sponsor. The following sponsors have paid for the programming you are viewing: Christian Healthcare Ministries, and Op Games.   Learn more about your ad choices: https://www.megaphone.fm/adchoices Ramsey Solutions Privacy Policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

So if you're looking for a way to find more margin in your food budgets, hunting some sales, getting some coupons, and even making an effort to shop efficiently and cook at home more, all of that will save you a ton of money in the long run. Hey guys, welcome to the Rachel Cruise Show podcast. I'm so glad that you're here. In today's episode, we're going to be talking about how to cut your grocery bill in half. And one of the ways to cut your grocery bill in half is by breaking a half. habit that a lot of us, including me, have gotten used to doing often. It is one of my most

controversial pieces of advice that I'm given, so make sure to stick around until the end. Also, I'll go over how much you can get from America's cheapest grocery store for only $50. But first, let's go over 12 ways to cut your grocery bill in half starting this month. Take a listen. Hey, guys, today I want to talk about 12 ways to cut your grocery bill in half. So regardless of who you are or how much money you make, most people are looking for ways to save money on food throughout the year. And since it's one of your four walls, which is housing, utilities, transportation, and food, your essentials, this is an expense that everyone has to have. But there are definitely ways to cut back and create a little bit more margin in your budget.

So I want to share a few of my favorite money-saving tips for you to try on your next grocery run. And also, be sure to stick around so you can let me know. in the comments, if there are any grocery savings tips that you have that I need to try. All right, my first tip for cutting your grocery bill in half is to use the grocery store app. So the grocery store that you shop at more than likely has an app. Now, I don't recommend spending a lot of extra cash every single month for the convenience of grocery delivery services. Just downloading the grocery stores app can show you, though, weekly deals and coupons that will help you save money. So browse through what they have to offer before you make the trip in person and see if there's any specials that you can take advantage of or even work in to your meal plan schedule.

Plus, if you download a few different grocery store apps, then you can compare prices on staple items so that you can know which one is cheapest here or cheapest there. So never underestimate the power of switching over to Aldi and Trader Joe's. So speaking of, my second tip for cutting your grocery bill is to meal. plan. So this is something that I'm very passionate about. I think it's really key. And Sunday nights, this is where I do it. I look to see our schedule ahead. What nights do we have to cook? What nights are we going to be out? Take an inventory of what we have and create a plan. And having a schedule for each night of the week makes it so much easier when it comes preparing dinner, especially after a long day when you're mentally and physically exhausted.

So do some planning on a Sunday afternoon so that you can save that brain power for later in the week. And if you need a tool to try out this meal planning maybe for the first time, I will leave a link in the description for my grocery savings guide. All right, the third way to save money on groceries is to choose the generic brand over the name brands. Now, this may not sound like a big deal, but just selecting the Kroger version of your laundry detergent can save you. A couple of bucks here, couple bucks there. And then after a while, it adds up to $30, $40, $50, $60. So again, it's very small first, even like your sour cream or your eggs or whatever it is. But over time, you guys, it can add up to so much money that is being saved. So I'm all about the store brand. Do it.

And my fourth tip is to find cheap protein options. So I always love to find quality, budget-friendly meat at Costco. And it always helps me to buy meat in bulk, freeze it, and use it for later. And did you know if you call your local grocery store and ask when their meat is going to be marked down, they will tell you. Mm-hmm. And that great. So do a little prep ahead of time and know, okay, where can I save money when it comes to protein?

Because it's usually one of the big places that you spend a lot of money. All right, my fifth way to cut your grocery bill in half is to say no to anything you really don't need. So even though an item is on sale, avoid spending money just to save money. Because there's definitely a time and a place to experiment and pick up a few new things, especially if they're running a deal. But if you're tight on a budget, make sure that you're you're, you're you're, you're you're not going and just exploring and being adventurous on all the stuff because you will end up spending

so much money. So stick to your list and what you need. The sixth tip is to buy produce when it's in season. So did you know that produce is typically more expensive in the off season? Well, this doesn't mean that you never eat strawberries in the wintertime, but know that those kind of choices are going to be more expensive. So your fruits, your vegetables, even just do a Google list of say, hey, what are the best vegetables and fruits to buy in winter or fall or summer and just know ahead of time that if it's out of season, it's going to be marked up big time. All right, the seventh tip is to use breakfast foods to your advantage. So a lot of breakfast foods are usually cheaper than traditional dinner items.

So if you do breakfast for dinner once a week or if you work in some cinnamon oatmeal into the snack category of your budget, those kind of things thinking outside the box usually will help you with your budget, not just because it's cheap and it's, you know, not as fancy, but listen, it's delicious. My kids think that this is the greatest thing. If we make pancakes for dinner and some bacon, I think it is the funniest, greatest thing ever. And it's so cheap, it's so great. All right, my eighth tip for cutting your grocery bill in half is to buy things in bulk. So, when you go to a wholesale store like Costco or Sam's Club, be thinking through, okay, are we going to use that huge jar of peanut butter? Are we really going to use it? And for some of us,

yes, we will. So this could be a great time to do it. Or maybe you buy things in larger quantities and you're able to go and refill things throughout, right? You can do this with soaps or other things and it's great because whether it's food or shampoo, whatever it is, when you buy in bulk, usually in the long run, you're going to save money if you use it. All right, the ninth thing to cut your grocery bill in half is to make extra and freeze it for later. So this doesn't have to be every night of the week kind of thing. But every now, again, if you can double your recipe and save the other half for another night, it will save you some money. And your future self will be thrilled when you open up the freezer and you're like,

oh, that's so nice. I don't have to make that. I can just defrost it and it's great. Or again, maybe you cook a bunch of chicken, take half of it, put in the refrigerator for a salad or something the next night. So you go ahead and just food prep. And you can be able to say, you know, that you're going to cook larger quantities and use it for two to three days. And it helps with time and it helps with the budget. So buy large amounts of rice and chicken when they're on sale. Again, you can kind of switch it up to do some things throughout the week, but it'll save you time and money. All right, my 10th tip for cutting your grocery bill in half is to try to go meatless for a little while. So again, protein is usually where it's most expensive, but you don't have to

find all protein and just meat specifically. So if you're on a really tight budget, see what it could be to cut out meat just for a period of time. Now, again, don't get me wrong. A great steak is a great source of protein or a good burger is just delicious. But maybe take it down to once a week, it will save you money. Because on average, people can save around $1,200 a year by cutting meat from your diet. So this doesn't have to go on forever. But just keep in mind as a hack, if you're getting tight on your grocery budget for the week, maybe do like some pasta or some grilled cheese instead. Again, I know health is a big concern for a lot of people, but if you don't have the money for it, guys, you got to get creative. All right, tip number 11 is to use what you already have. So take

inventory of what's in your freezer and refrigerator and pantry because before you go out and buy a bunch of stuff, look to see what you have. And I can be really guilty of this. It's like we have sour cream in the back and I didn't notice. So I buy another thing. It's sour cream. We're like, whatever it is. Go ahead and look because when you do this, you're going to be able to challenge yourself, not just to meal plan around the ingredients that you have, but it's going to save costs when you go to the grocery store. And you'll be surprised about how much you can actually come up with if you're forced to get creative with ingredients you have. The 12th tip for cutting your grocery bill in half is to use every dollar. Yes. Okay, every dollar is a budgeting app and budgeting helps you so

much to know up front how much money you have to spend. And then you can take that money and build around it and be able to say, okay, you know, how much money do we have? And it helps you stay on course. And another huge benefit to every dollar long term over multiple years and months is being able to see trends from your spending. So it pulls together all these graphs. So you're able to look past like the last three years to see, okay, our food budget, how's it been month to month? So if you get to November and December, I know you end up spending more because you're cooking more at home, you're able to adjust and to know that. And you can shuffle things around. So again, being detailed when it comes to your money is key. And every dollar is one of those. So I'm curious

to know what tips have worked for you guys, any other hacks that you have, because budget-friendly grocery tips is huge. We all want them. Hey, you guys, so today I'm going to be putting America's cheapest grocery store to the test. An article came out recently saying that Aldi, which is a Ramsey favorite, is the least expensive grocery store option available in America. So my team gave me 50 bucks and I decided to see how many meals I could make for $50. How far would that go within Aldi? Okay, so I took my old trusty phone into Aldi with me as I went around shopping. So here is what I found. All right, you guys, here at Aldi, and I got my quarter to get my cart. We're going to see how many meals we can make here at this bargain grocery store. Okay, so for two of the meals,

I'm going to do the pizza nights and the Italian night. I'm going to want some sour. So here are some bag salad options for $3 each. All right, for Mexican night. We've got some tortilla chips that are $2. And the salsa, that's two at 19. All right, so we got marinara sauce for $2 each. We're gonna get two cans, one for spaghetti nights, and one for our pizza.

Got some spaghetti for $2. Here, we got taco shells for $2, and then some beans for a dollar. Okay, so we have some cheese for our pizza. for our tacos or cassidias for $3. And then some mozzarella for $3.69 for our pizza. We got meat for tacos and spaghetti sauce, which is $12.43 for sure, the most expensive part.

All right, got my pizza dough for $1.29. Pretty good. All right, back in my car. Three meals for $42 and $35. Look at that. Okay, so as you can say, guys could see. I mean, it's pretty amazing. Less than $50. In fact, $42, to be exact, I was able to get three great meals for under $50, which is amazing. So again, you got your ground

beef with some spaghetti sauce and noodles and a salad. You have some tacos with some chips and salsa and meat and shells. You have pizza night with, again, another salad, some pizza dough and some more of that cheese with some sauce on top. All of it together. It's amazing. And Again, you could even go more limited. You could just do, you could do cheddar cheese on your pizza. Instead of buying mozzarella, you could have taken that out. Like, there's even some swaps in here. You could have done.

And we still had $8 left. So it's an amazing thing. The food budget is always one that we end up busting. So the fact that we could get three great meals under $50 is great. So let's talk about how Aldi is able to pull off this because they are so inexpensive. So according to this article, Aldi is a German-based company, specifically designed to minimize the cost for the customer. Audi claims that 90% of its products on the shelves are private label brands,

meaning Aldi has control over things like supply chain, simplistic branding, and pricing. Other things like the 25 cent shopping cart fee, which I had to find a quarter to get my cart, and having customers bag their own groceries, not playing licensed music on the overhead speakers, all decreases the store's overhead costs, which helps keep. the prices low for us shoppers out there. Thank you, Aldi. And if you've ever shopped there, you'll notice that they don't spend a lot of money on merchandising, like, you know, making the shelves, look all pretty and strategically putting things in certain spots. All these things are really small decisions that they have made, and it makes a big difference at the register.

So keep in mind that sometimes stores like Aldi or Trader Joe's, they can cut out the middleman and do things a little differently. So it could take a few trips to actually get the hang of it, but once you do it, it's actually really quick, in and out experience, and very efficient. Even the cashier was lovely. The people around the store were all smiling, probably because I had my phone up talking to myself, and they probably thought, oh, there's a 20, 23 blogger.

There she is on her phone. But everyone was kind and great. It was a nice experience, and honestly not having a gazillion options for every single item, you're able to kind of get what you need and you leave. So there's a time saver there as well. So the bottom line is, you guys,

the little stuff does make a difference. I'm making a small change to your grocery budget, hunting some sales, getting some coupons, and even making an effort to shop efficiently and cook at home more, all of that will save you a ton of money in the long run. So if you're looking for a way to find more margin in your food budgets, check out my meal, planner, and grocery savings guide because it can help.

So I'll put a link in the description below so you can check it out. And my favorite budgeting tool is the every dollar app. It lets you tailor your monthly budget to your specific spending needs. And it keeps you on track throughout the month so that you always know where you stand financially. So again, this is a big conversation, constant, especially on the holidays. But think about this, you guys. Your food budget is huge, so be smart with it. Hey, you guys.

So today I'm going to be sharing one of my most controversial takes. Yeah, apparently this really gets people going. And that is to eat at home. instead of spending money eating out at restaurants while you're on a budget, apparently is outrageous. Unbelievable. People get so mad at this. But this isn't the only thing that I teach about money. That gets a lot of criticism. So you're going to enjoy this episode. But be sure to comment on which teaching you think that I need to defend next is I think we're going to make it a series because there are some principles that I stand by and the haters are going to hate. And that's okay.

That's okay. But for today, we're going to chat about why eating at home is a non-negotiable especially if you're trying to pay off debts or build your savings, because these are key, you guys, key to saving money, especially when you're in that season. All right, first of all, let's talk about why eating at home should be a no-brainer if you're trying to save money. Well, for starters, studies show that restaurants mark up their food anywhere from 28 to 32% on average. Because listen, you guys, they got to make a profit or they close their doors. they have to have some level of making it an income off of what they buy.

So they're going to buy food. They're going to cook it. They got to pay. There's cooks and their servers. Their bartenders, like all of that. They're rent for the restaurant. I mean, you think about everything that goes into running a restaurant, and they have to be able to then make a profit under that to make money.

And so it's really important. And of course, they're going to mark up some of the food because, again, they're a business. But listen, specifically, the food that tends to be marked up the highest are chopped or cubed fruits and veggies. So this is one reason I love our garden so much. We did a garden, and I did an episode about this, I don't know, a few months ago. And it's been really great, and it saved us money over the long run on so many things that we were using. So I'll make sure to put a link in the description in case you want to check that out.

But it's always the little things you guys that add up over time that can put a big dent in your food budget. So don't underestimate the power of shopping or growing your vegetables, your fruits, your green, your herbs all yourself. And then there's the issue of tipping, which I think we can all agree has, well, maybe gotten a little out of hand, even if you're going to pick up food. They turn that little screen around. And there's a little bit of that guilt tipping that pops up on the screen and you're trying to figure out, oh my gosh, should I tip? Should I not? So, for example, this is crazy. A recent Forbes article says that people between the ages of 27 and 42 are most likely to tip 25% on average. Y'all, it's pretty good. So millennials,

specifically tend to get heat from the older generations about not being respectful and all this stuff. But look at us. We're so generous. Because again, 18, 20% is like a great tip, but on average, 25%. So let's not get carried away. Obviously, you want to take care of the people that are serving you, but also that's going to add in the cost of your food and what you're spending out of restaurants. But listen to this. Apparently, men are twice as likely as women to tip between 21 and 25%. Women tend to tip between 11 and 20%. So whatever your tipping tendencies are, again, keep in mind that this is a battle that you don't have to fight if you're just eating at home. So tipping goes on top of what you're buying. And trust me, there are other ways that you can be generous on a budget. Also, did you know that

most people eat fewer calories when dining at home? It's actually healthier. Edna recently published an article explaining that restaurant meals are often loaded with excess butter and salt to add to the flavor and long-term preservative power. But when you buy food at the grocery store each week and make it at home, you are more likely to consume fresh products with less sodium and additives. There are even some creators on TikTok who documented their wellness journey just by switching up to eating at home. So not only is it good for your budget, but also for your health. Now, another thing that I've noticed with cooking at home is that you can, you know, have fun with it. It's kind of a creative outlet, especially for those of us that are.

in the office all day, or maybe you're on Zoom, doing work, but actually doing something tactical with your hands can be very therapeutic after a long work day. Now, don't get me wrong, if you're working multiple jobs, you have kids, like, it definitely can be a struggle, right? But if you can get yourself in a place that there's a little bit of peace, you may actually enjoy it the process. And I have found some intentionality on the front end, kind of like that Sunday reset where you can prep for some meals and know exactly what you're going to cook, you can actually get excited about the process. So those of you on baby steps one through three, I would really recommend eating at home. It will save you money. If you are trying to save up your emergency fund, you're getting out of debt, these are times that it is go time.

It is taking any extra money you have and throwing it at that. And then once you have that stable position under you financially, where you're then saving for retirements, you know, maybe you're funding kids college, paying the house off. Like, when you get to that point, you can loosen the purse strings a little bit and go out to eat and enjoy your money, right? It's not saying you can never go out to eat, but especially if you are trying to get out of debt and save up an emergency fund, any extra money you have that can go towards that process is key.

And finally, I'm going to share the number one tip that has helped me over the years when it comes to cooking and eating at home. All right, so my biggest tip when it comes to saving money, you guys, is meal planning. Look at your week. Look to see, okay, do we have sports this night? It's got to be a quick dinner.

Are we going out with friends? this night, are we home this night, be looking at your schedule, because that's going to dictate so much of what you're going to be eating, what dinner's going to look like, and you can plan ahead of time. Because if you don't plan and you get in a rut and you may be like, oh my gosh, we're squeeze for time, you're going to end up picking up food. And that's going to be more expensive as we talked about. So make sure to know what is going on in your schedule and plan around that. Okay, I know we've covered a lot today, but I hope you walk away knowing that eating at home, it doesn't have to feel like a punishment. So give it a try for a week or

even a month and you'll be shocked at how much progress you're able to make with your finances and your cooking skills. Well, you guys, one of the best ways to get the word out about the show is to send these episodes to a friend, talk about them maybe on your social media, leave a review, anything you can do to get this message out because we want to help people when it comes to their money. So it is so helpful when you, as the listener, take those actions and I just so, so appreciate it. So thank you guys so much for listening to this episode. And remember to take control of your money and create a life you love.