One of the most common questions I get on a daily basis is about How to Eat Healthy on a Budget, this is something that most people just automatically assume doesn’t exist. But the truth is there are some really EASY ways that you can save money on produce and today I’m going to share my Top 3 Strategies for Saving Money on Produce!
TIPS FROM THE PROS
Download the Ibotta App to get Awesome Savings on Produce! You can get rebates on everything from Oranges to Bananas, Milk and Eggs! It’s one of my favorite apps ever! Click here to sign up!
This week I was able to grab $33.94 worth of Produce for only $12.94! That’s a HUGE Savings of over 60% on all the Produce I bought this week and some of it wasn’t even on Sale! This isn’t a one time thing, I consistently save 60% off or MORE by implementing 3 simple strategies.
There are a lot of great ways to save on Produce, we do occasionally see Printable Coupons on Produce and we always make sure we post those for you, but if you don’t see any coupons to print then you can almost always use these 3 strategies to save 40-60% on produce!
3 SMART Ways to Save Money on Produce
1.) Shop the Loss Leaders
So many of us shop out of habit, we walk into the stores, fill up our carts and walk out. This mindless way of shopping could actually be COSTING you so much money without you even realizing it. One of the best ways to save on Produce is by Pro-actively shopping for the best deals, at the best times, at the best stores. What that means is having a strategy can save you BIG!
Most stores have what they call Loss Leaders, These are items that are designed to get you into the store so that you will buy more of other items, these items are often marked down so much the store doesn’t make much and you’ll typically find these items on the front or back pages of the local grocery store ads. Produce is one of the items that you will see a lot of Loss Leaders on. If you find an item marked down significantly that’s the time to stock up! Remember that a lot of produce will Freeze really well, so if you find Fruit Marked down you can cut it up and make Smoothie Bags, if you find produce like Bell Peppers & Onions marked down, cut and freeze those for Fajitas! I take Avocados and make Guacamole with them, then freeze the Guacamole, Avocados don’t freeze as well by themselves, but guacamole freezes perfectly and that saves me from having to pay full price each week.
Seasons are important when it comes to loss leaders, Almost every type of Fruit or Vegetable has a “Season” Where it’s supply is high and it’s price is low, knowing when an item is in season will help you know what to buy. My kids could eat me out of house and home when it comes to Fruit & Vegetables, for that reason we only eat Fruit that’s in season. In the fall when Apples and Oranges are on sale frequently, that’s what we eat! My kids may prefer strawberries and blueberries, but Strawberries will fluctuate from $1.29 in the summer – $2.98 in the winter. That’s a HUGE Difference, I’m talking 50% or more! So I always make sure that I’m buying what’s in season because that affects the price and saves me BIG!
2.) Price Match, Price Match, Price Match
One of the things I love to do that saves me both Time & Money is Price Matching. I typically price match our Local Grocery Store and Aldi’s when I’m at Walmart. This lets me take advantage of the loss leaders from all 3 stores at one place :) Now that’s working smarter not harder!
For example, this week Blueberries were on sale for $1.69 for a pint at Aldi’s, Walmart had Blueberries priced at $4.46 a pint! That’s a HUGE Difference, I saved over 60% just by Price Matching!!! Then I stocked up, I grabbed 5 pints so we could eat some and freeze some! I may even go back and get more at this price!
Oranges were another great example. Aldi had a 4 lb. Bag of Oranges for $1.89 and the Walmart Price was $3.98 at my store. That means I saved over 50% just by Price Matching!!!
TIPS For Price Matching –
- Download the Flipp App for your phone. This app lets you see all the ads for the stores in your area, you can easily flip through the ad and see all the prices, You can also zoom in and see all the details on the item so that it’s easy to read. I just show the Cashier the ad on my phone and I’ve never had an issue because the official Walmart Price Match Policy says you don’t have to have the ad with you, but I do find it makes the checkout process smoother to have it with me, so the App is a great solution!
- Make sure you have the same Size/Quantity. This is really important if you are price matching a store like Aldi’s. Sometimes they sell things in packages of 3, if Walmart sells the item individually then you probably can’t price match it. But for example, the blueberries the price was for 1 pint, so I just looked for the 1 pint blueberries at Walmart to make sure that I was price matching the same item & quantity.
