5 Tips To Help Shrink Your Grocery Bill

Posted on 15. May, 2012 by Rob Connor in Reviews & Advice

As I’m sure you’re very much aware, eating like a bodybuilder ain’t cheap. You need to consume large amounts of high quality fresh food every day. High quality fresh food is generally the most expensive so bodybuilders tend to have ‘scary’ grocery bills.

Follow these 5 tips to help to maintain your desired high level of food quality & quantity whilst not breaking the bank.

#1 Pounce On The Supermarket Deals

Generally speaking buying a larger quantity of an item usually means you get more for your money, i.e. the price per item is lower the more you buy. Bulk buying is particularly suited to bodybuilders as we tend to eat large quantities of the same food (chicken, tuna, rice etc).

Supermarkets are always running deals on selected items, it’s a common strategy to keep customers coming back, looking for the bargains. The offers are rotated regularly so pretty much every item will be on offer at some point.

Next time you’re in the supermarket, take time to look for the special offers & deals such as “BOGOF” (Buy One Get One Free, you’ve got love supermarket sales spiel) and “buy 2 and get 3^rd free” etc. Also keeps you eyes peeled for items being sold in the largest quantities and multi packs.

These offers and deals can often be a real bargain so take full advantage when you see your usual items on sale. Buy as much as you can affordstore as the offersdeals typically only last for a few weeks.

But be aware, just because an item is on offer doesn’t mean that it really is the best deal – don’t take the sales banner as gospel. It may actually be cheaper to buy several single items than say the ‘6 pack’ offer.

Here’s an example for you that happened to me a few weeks back.

I was looking to buy my usual tinned tuna (in brine) at my local supermarket and there was 3 different ways I could buy, as below:

Now you’d normally assume the larger multi pack (3x185g) to be the best offer but as you can see, it’s actually the smaller (3x80g) which turns out to be the better deal.

The largest buying option isn’t necessarily always the best offer, you’ll need to do some mental arithmetic to calculate the cheapest way to buy a particular item. If maths isn’t your strong point then do what I do, use a calculator. You’re mobile will almost certainly have at least a simple calculator installed or you can download a free one if you own a smart phone. I use mine whenever I go grocery shopping so when I spot a deal, I can quickly and accurately calculate the very best offer available.

By making the best choice in tuna from the example above, I saved myself 7p/100g. Not a huge amount of cash I know but given that I usually go through at least 1kg of tuna per week, that works out to be over £36/year. That’s a very welcome saving on just one item and all just by taking a little time to determine the real best offer.

To finish off my story, I was in the supermarket the following week, I wasn’t actually shopping for tuna but I noticed that the 1 x185g tins were on a “2 for 1” offer which works out as 51p/100g tuna. That’s a whopping saving of 37p/100g over the previously cheapest offer.

Needless to say, I bought in bulk, in fact 3 months worth!, (got some funny looks at the till I can tell you), and saved  myself some £42 on 3 months supplies – bargain!

Buying your regular food items in bulk may only save you pennies in the pound but given how much you spend on groceries, this saving can work out be quite significant. Although not a regular occurrence, offers such as BOGOF can present a considerable saving and are something you should be looking out for and taking advantage of.

#2 Strike a Deal with Your Local Butcher/Greengrocer

As good as the special offers from you local supermarket can be, they are only fleeting with any individual promotion lasting only a few weeks. I do advise you take advantage of these offers when they appear and buy as much as you can affordstore but these deals aren’t always around.

There’s generally no room for negotiating with the supermarkets, especially the larger chains. I’ve neither tried nor witnessed haggling a bulk purchase discount at the checkouts, chances are any such behaviour would only be met with disbelief!  The price you see is the price you pay, if what you want isn’t on offer – tough luck.

There is however, room for negotiating on price with your local family run butcher/greengrocer.

Sadly, independent local butcher/greengrocer stores are shrinking in number day by day, (mostly thanks to the aforementioned supermarkets). However, the good news for you is that these stores are usually are very keen for your business, especially if you’re buying in bulk.

First thing you need to do is sit down and work out just exactly how much of a particular item you generally go through in a given period (week, fortnight, month). Next, visit your local butcher/greengrocer and ask to speak to the owner/manager. Briefly explain your situation (bodybuilder, strict diet etc.)

Please don’t feel embarrassed about doing this, you’re not being ‘cheeky’ or ‘tight-fisted’. You’re offering to put a fair amount of business their way (at least compared to their average customer) and you’re simply looking for the best price.

Striking such a deal should easily result in shaving £50+ off your monthly grocery bill.

In my case, I was able to strike a good deal with my local butcher for the regular purchasing of some 15Kg of chicken per month. After explaining my situation to the owner and my expected monthly quantity, he immediately offered me a reduction of £1.50/Kg for chicken. So there was a saving of over £22 per month on chicken alone.

When I pop in every month, my butcher is always very pleased to see, serves me himself and usually throws in an extra chicken breast or two.

Now you’re unlikely to be able to haggle the same sort of bargain that you can find on offer at the supermarkets. The latter’s buying power give them huge negotiation advantage with the suppliers. But, if you cut a deal with your local butchergreengrocer, then hopefully it will be in place a lot longer than the fleeting supermarket offers.

Personally, I still prefer to source most of my bulk purchases from my local butcher and greengrocer.  The offers at the supermarket may be the best on price but I like knowing my produce is locally grown and should also be fresher (hopefully with fewer pesticides as it travels for less).

In part 2 of this article  we’ll talk about 3 more great tips including how to minimize the amount of food you waste.

Tags: daily calorie intake, egg whites, food choices, food options, grocery bills, jacket potatoes, lean protein, oil content, protein source, protein sources, savoury sauces, tasty meal, testosterone levels, tomato sauce