Feeding a family can be very costly, how well I know. At the present time we have 5 children still at home. Only one of them would be considered a child. The rest are adults — 4 of them men!! It is almost unbelievable how quickly food can vanish from the cupboards and fridge. Here are a few tips that I implement to save on groceries and household items.
I was an avid discount store shopper before our move. Now there are only 2 discount stores that I know of within 40 minutes of our home. I have never been a fan of Aldi”s which is good because I would need to travel a ways to shop there, too. My closest stores to purchase groceries and household goods are Weis, Walmart, and Dave’s Super-mart.
So, how do I save on my grocery bill now? Grocery APPS! I have a smartphone and have downloaded a number of apps that I love. Here are my favorite grocery apps that I use all the time and a few other programs I use.
Also, remember that when you go from store to store it does cost you in time, gas, and wear on your vehicle. It may be just as cheap getting all your groceries in one store instead of running across the country to another cheaper store for 1 item. I do not shop at the same store every week but check the special to see where the best buys are.
IBOTTA–This app I use everytime I go shopping. There are many items I use for THM on this site right now. Almost all the time there is either a $.25 or $.10 rebate on a shopping receipt scanned. Just to list a few rebates on items that are on-plan–True Lemon, Kombucha, Bai, Turkey Bacon, Nutiva Coconut oil ($3.00 off), Celestial Tea Bags, Crazy Richard’s Peanut butter, and more. I often use this app to get rebates on household items such as soaps, toiletries, etc. Often times there are bonus rebates when you redeem several items. You can use Ibotta at over 200 stores such as Walmart, Giant, Wies, Whole Foods, Jo-ann Fabric, CVS, etc. I love this app and use it all the time. What you need to do is go to the app before you shop, select the store you are shopping, and activate any offers you think you may use. After the product is purchased, scan your receipt, and you may be asked to scan the barcodes. It’s very simple! You can cash your rewards out in actual cash NOT gift cards. Here is my Referral code feomrgs if you would like to try this app. I love it!
CHECKOUT 51–is another app I use. I don’t find as many on-plan foods on this app but I do use it for toiletries and household supplies. There is one product on this app that I am redeeming every week I go to to the grocery store. Heinz Mayo–there is a $2 rebate for it which brings the final cost to $1.38 for a quart. I realize this is a personal choice item and I do use it. Your rewards on Checkout 51 cash out in actual cash. I love that. You do need to have $20 before you can cash it out. Here is my referral code for Checkout 51 —https://checkout51.app.link/B5Ko4OG0ZR
Fetch Rewards–I use this app to scan my receipts. It only takes a few seconds to scan a receipt. You will get points from purchasing items from over 180 partnering grocery brands. I just scan my receipts and let the app do the rest. You can cash out your rewards for various gift cards (Amazon, VIsa, CVS, and many more) starting at $3. My referral code for Fetch Rewards is — R1RGV Note: if your account is inactive for 90 days you will lose your points.
SAVING STAR–this app is almost like a digital coupon site. You can also access this site on your desktop/laptop. I often will find rebates for fruit and veggies here, also. This site allows you to link your grocery cards which makes redeeming very easy. Scan your grocery card at the store and you will get an email telling you what items have been redeemed. To cash out you will need to have $20 in your account.
COUPONS.COM is an online site I do print coupons for foods, beverages, toiletries and household goods.
SWAGBUCKS–This an online rewards site that you can earn points when you purchase online. These points can be redeemed for gift cards or cash. starting at $3.00. I do use this site for items that have free shipping especially now that I do not have quite the selections of stores at my fingertips like I used to. It also saves me time, gas and wear/tear on my vehicle if I don’t have to go pick up the items. Plus it gives me extra points toward gift cards. Swagbucks referral code
Many foods companies will give coupons for you to try their products. For example Truvia.com will send you a free sample and a $2 coupon to try their product.
I will collect me rebates, cashbacks, etc and redeem them into Paypal or Visa gift cards to purchase specialty items that I need or add them back into our grocery budget.
We do butcher and process a lot of our own meats which does save from buy in small packages. If I am in town on Wednesdays, I will check the local supermarket for reduced meats to buy with the Wednesday coupon $5. off $25.00 purchase. It does pay to know your local stores specials. Our family is avid hunters. So we usually add a few packs of venison to our freezer over the winter.
I have a small garden that has paid itself off many times over. From 1 small packet of seeds I have at least 25 Spaghetti Squash and the 4 pack of pickle plants I bought yielded enough for 60+ quarts of pickles. Seconds in tomatoes are plentiful to purchased in some areas and are very easy to can. Check out these blog post–Diced Tomatoes and Tomato Soup. Even planting a few tomato stalk and pepper plants in a flower bed will save you in purchasing those items.
Dried beans are much cheaper than canned beans and you can control the sodium when you cook them yourself. I have found baking Sourdough Bread to be very economical and time friendly, too. Flour and Oatmeal can be purchased in 50 pound bags from bulk food stores which is more economical than small bags. Our family eats a lot of eggs and they can be bought for as low as $.49 a dozen on sale. When I see a good price I will stock up.
Our family very seldom eats at restaurants, coffee shops, ect because that can ruin a budget in a short time. We do reserve that for special occasions.
I hope this blog post give your ideas where to save on your budget. Food does make up a large part of our family and social life. Since we are living in another area helping with a mission church, I do not always take all THM foods to the social functions. For this simple reason…I prepare large amounts of food every week for our Fellowship meal. I always make sure there is at least 2 dishes that are sugar-free free and on-plan.
This post has affiliated links, if you purchase items through these links, I receive a small commission but your price doesn’t change. Your purchase help support this blog, keeps new recipes coming, and assist with our move to a mission outreach of our church. I want to thank each one who has purchased through these links. It has been a blessing to us. Below are a few of my favorite affiliate stores.
You will find over 500+ THM on-plan recipes in the spiral bound 600+ page Around the Family Table Cookbook. All recipes are sugar-free and label with the correct fuel. Books can be purchased using this link. You may also request a small jar of sourdough starter with the purchase of a cookbook. Buy It Now.
