With food inflation wreaking havoc on budgets throughout the country, Americans are looking for ways to save money. This is especially true for those of us also managing chronic health conditions like IC. On top of our usual costs of medications, co-pays and other treatments, we also have to figure out how to stretch our dollars in the midst of rising grocery costs.
Food expenses are certainly on the rise and a major budget issue for many families. Buying special ingredients and foods to fit into the IC diet can add additional costs as well.
But, there is hope to be found. For years IC patients have been making ends meet in creative ways. Just a little planning can help even the most strained budget, no matter what is happening with the economy.
Be sure to also check out 10 Tips for Managing Medical Costs.
1. Make a Meal Plan.
Planning ahead for meals is a great way to cut food costs. Meal planning doesn’t have to be complex or complicated. It can be as simple as making a list of dinner options you have on hand or as detailed as planning each meal for the day.
Meal planning has a few benefits. It helps you stay focused when grocery shopping to get only what you need. Plus, planning ahead for at least a week at a time reduces random trips to the grocery store for dinner ingredients that usually result in extra purchases as well.
As you plan your meals, you can also plan around the food you already have at home, so you don’t end up with as much food waste and reduce your costs.
Having a meal plan also makes it easier to avoid eating out. Not only is eating harmful for your waistline, it also increases food costs dramatically. You can definitely plan for eating out, but having a meal plan keeps you on track so you aren’t tempted to order in or go out when you are tired at the end of the day.
In order to plan for days that you might not feel well, be sure to have some easy prep meal ideas on hand. You can cook in batches and freeze things on days you do feel well or keep simple meal ingredients around for things like sandwiches, oatmeal and canned soup.
In having two kids at home and busy schedules, I like to meal plan one week at a time and use a calendar to track our activities and dinner plans for the week. It makes life so much easier and allows me to stay more in budget with our food costs.
Download the free weekly meal planner I use!
2. Grocery shop online.
One savvy grocery shopping tip works that well for multiple reasons for us IC patients is to utilize grocery pick-up. Most grocery stores and big box retailers offer free curbside pick-up with a minimum order (usually around $35). It’s incredibly convenient to let someone else shop for your groceries and then load them into your car for you!
But along with the convenience, shopping online for groceries gives you an opportunity to easier make price comparisons and take your time making decisions. For example, each week when I grocery shop online, I pull up the sites for two stores I shop regularly and compare prices. Often I’ll do a pick-up from each store because one will have better prices on certain items then the other.
This works with the size of my small city and being out with my kiddos regularly. However, if you can only do pick-up from one location, you can even build carts at more than one place and see which comes up cheaper. I’ve done that before, too!
Online grocery shopping helps you avoid impulse purchases as well as stick to your list and budget. Plus, if you do go over your budget, it’s easier (and less embarrassing) to take items out of your online cart than to pull them out at the checkout in the store.
And, finally, some grocery stores actually offer extra discounts to customers utilizing pick-up. Even for stores that don’t do this per se, sometimes the online prices are cheaper than in-store prices.
I had this happen recently at a mega retailer with an item for my son. I had the item in my online cart to get with my next order, but we were in the store for something else and picked it up. It was $4 more in-store than it was on the store’s online app. I asked for and received a price match.
This has happened a few times, so if you are shopping in-person, be sure to check prices in the store online as well!
3. Join the grocery store rewards program.
More and more stores are moving away from printed coupons and keeping everything digital. Joining the free rewards programs most retailers offer these days makes that easier.
Target, for example, has recently started just auto-adding digital coupons to members of its Circle program. Other retailers require you to digitally clip coupons in order to receive the discount. And still others only apply advertised sale prices when you use your reward program card at checkout.
No matter what, the rewards programs are beneficial in saving you money with exclusive coupons and discounts. Two of the regional stores I shop will actually tailor coupons to me based on my past purchases, which is nice because they are usually items I buy regularly.
Yes, they’re getting my information, but I’m at benefitting from it, so it’s worth it to me.
4. Don’t stress about coupons.
Digital coupons through rewards programs certainly come in handy, but you’ll do much better on your grocery budget by shopping the weekly ads. Don’t buy food just because it is on sale, but be on the lookout for items you regularly use that are 30 to 50% off their regular price.(1)
Surprisingly, some stores considered more expensive often have the best prices for items in the weekly ad. I utilize this strategy for meal planning as well. I check the weekly ad for my local grocery store, meal plan around it and order everything from there that is cheaper than the big box store where I get other items for less.
If you can combine coupons with sales, then that works really well. But if you have time or energy to pick only one option between shopping the weekly ad or using coupons, go for the weekly ad.
5. Create a stockpile.
As your budget allows, when you find favorite items on sale, buy extra to keep on hand. Remember that items like bread products, cheese and meat freeze incredibly well.
If you are able to slowly buy extra, then you will build your options for food at home so later on, you actually end up buying less and can meal plan from what you already have on hand. Plus, you’re getting things at their best prices.(1)
Typically sale cycles run about every six to eight weeks, so if you are going to stockpile, you only need to keep enough to last for that amount of time. It doesn’t need to be anything dramatic in large amounts to make a difference for your budget.(1)
6. Try generic products.
Much of the time, generic products are as good as their name-brand counterparts. In fact, they can even be made in the same location and just packaged differently.
If you’re trying to reduce your spending on food, try out some generic options. The generic selection is usually at least $1 cheaper, which adds up over numerous items.(2)
Sometimes, you might learn you prefer the generic brand over the name brand. That’s happened in my family twice recently, in fact!
7. Buy produce in season.
Produce that’s in season is not only fresher and yummier, it’s also usually the cheapest time of year to purchase it.(2)
If you’re not sure what produce is in season, then just look for the cheapest options in the produce department to get an idea. You can check out these IC friendly spring produce recipes and summertime fresh fruit worth trying.
8. Skip pre-packaged items.
Prepared and pre-packaged food costs the most. You don’t have to make everything from scratch, but a few easy options to skip on pre-packaged items can make a difference in your budget.
For example, buy a large bag of potato chips and sort them yourself into serving size zip-top bags for lunches. Or buy a head of lettuce to clean and tear apart at home versus salad mix.
If you need additional motivation to skip on pre-packaged items, check their ingredients’ lists. Many pre-packaged foods outside of produce are full of extra preservatives that can be irritating to IC bladders. And they are generally not as healthy compared with fresh foods you manage yourself.
9. Reduce how much meat you eat.
You don’t have to go fully vegetarian, but cutting back on the amount of meat you eat can save you money at the grocery store for sure.(1)
Start with easy options to make without meat such as pasta with white sauce, vegetable soup, macaroni & cheese and low-acid veggie pizza. Add in other less expensive protein sources like beans.
Or if you’d rather not go meat-free a couple of nights a week, look for less expensive cuts of meat or reduce the amount of meat you put in recipes. I do this regularly just because my family prefers less meat.
Try making a casserole with half the amount of meat called for. Or use less filling in chicken tacos.
10. Make good use of leftovers.
Instead of tossing out leftover food (whether at the time or after it hangs out untouched in your fridge for a few days), make good use of it. Scrape toppings off your leftover veggie pizza with white sauce into eggs the next morning for a yummy omelet. Toss leftover taco seasoned ground beef from taco night into your salad and pair with tortilla chips for a taco salad.
Or just simply plan to reheat and eat leftovers for another meal in the same week. Not only are you keeping food from going to waste, you’re also saving on food you’d eat otherwise. It’s a win-win!
11. Check your debit or credit card for cash back offers.
Many banks and credit card companies off cash back or rewards for purchases at certain places. You may have to accept them or add them to your card, though.
The bank I use has offers tied into my debit card, but they’re only active if I click to add them. They rotate about every two to four weeks, so when I’m in my account for banking, I check to see what offers are available and add them.
These may or may not save you money at the grocery store, but most at least have offerings for dining out as well. So for the times you do eat out, you can earn some money back on what you spend. Every little bit helps!
12. Consider money-earning apps.
A variety of apps are available to earn money or gift cards on things you purchase. You can find them to use on your browser or as a separate app that you upload receipts to. Not all of them allow you to earn money on groceries.
The best one I’ve found so far has been Fetch, which allows you to upload receipts from pretty much any purchase you make. You earn points that you trade in for gift cards. Definitely do your own research and see if any would work well for you.
References:
- Soukup R. How to Cut Your Grocery Bill in Half. Living Well Spending Less.
- Bennett K. 17 Ways to Save Money on Groceries. Bankrate. Oct. 23, 2023.
