Are you looking to save money on groceries this month? I recently started buying my groceries online and absolutely love it! Here’s how you can save money with online grocery shopping…
Some women buy clothes. Some buy lattes. And some buy supplies for hobbies.
Me, I buy groceries.
Somewhere along the line, grocery shopping became less about getting ingredients and more about putting possibilities in my cart. It became an experience in and of itself.
I know some of you are laughing – but I also know some of you are nodding right now. You know how it feels. You wander aisle to aisle, finding hidden treasures, buying items that you would love to cook, forgetting that there are picky children at home who live on pasta and butter and no time for anything that requires simmering, so you can forget about all those recipes that talk about “resting.”
The point is that many of us love grocery shopping. However, like a shoe-lover at a footwear sale, we can get carried away, breaking the budget and even buying things that will go to waste.
Saving money is no small task, and as most parents can attest as their children grow, groceries become a bigger and bigger expense. But hungry kids aren’t the problem – or at least they are not something that we can change. So, how do we lower our grocery store bills if we still need the same amount of food each week?
Saving money with online grocery shopping
[Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links. Please see below for more details]
I decided to try buying my groceries online because it would help me save money in 5 basic ways:
- No wandering the aisles, finding all the things we “need”
- I could make my list while staring at my pantry, making sure I didn’t miss anything
- I could easily see everything in stock without having to search for it in the aisles
- It saves time since I don’t pick out the groceries myself, which in turn saves me money
- If I choose delivery, then I could save gas as well as time
So, here’s how each of these played out and how they save you money over traditional grocery shopping.
No more aisle wandering
Wandering the aisles of a grocery store is a surefire way for me to find things I think we need. And maybe we do, but not necessary right then and there.
Sometimes I stare at a bottle of ketchup and think, “Oh, we were almost out when we used it yesterday. I better get one.” Then I get home and see we had a full one in the pantry already.
You’d think a list would be helpful here, but even with one, I still find things I supposedly missed while compiling it. I can’t even tell you how many trips to Walmart for 10 items ended with me pushing a cart out the door that is filled to the brim.
Online grocery shopping is great because I can order what I need and not set foot in those tempting aisles, which no doubt have all the things I think I really really need.
Having a more accurate list helps me save money
If I make my list for online groceries, I can stand in my kitchen, staring into my fridge, freezer, and pantry. I can see what I have, how many I need, and how much it’s going to cost.
This is huge because I can make changes based on my actual supplies. I can read through my recipes for the week and my meal plan, adjusting in a way that’s really hard with kids hanging off the shopping cart in the middle of Aisle 7 as people try to get past.
I find that compiling my list for online shopping helps me miss less groceries, thereby saving me mid-week trips to pick up one thing (which somehow always turns into 5).
Less shelf-staring saves money and time
When I’m looking for items at the store, I spend a lot of time searching and it also gives me plenty of time to find something extra. When I look for things online, I can keyword search, mark things as favorites when I get them often, and easily compare prices and ingredients (super helpful when I have food allergies to deal with).
There’s also the bonus of finding things online that I wouldn’t normally have gotten. When I searched on Walmart’s app for gluten-free oats, I came up with a brand that I never saw on the shelves that would be even cheaper than the one I normally get (yes, I know oats are naturally gluten-free, but where they are processed sometimes isn’t).
Another bonus is that if something you choose is out of stock, they will substitute it. I actually received a 5-lb bag of frozen corn to replace the 2-lb bag that was not in stock – for the same price! #score
Time is money and this definitely saves time
I usually spend about 2-3 hours a week grocery shopping. I normally go to multiple stores on multiple days. Sometimes this is unavoidable because of special sales, or for specialty ingredients. So, there will always be times when I need to walk into a store for one or two things, but buying my groceries online saves me so much time.
It only takes me about half an hour to make my order. Then, another 20 minutes to drive to the store, collect the groceries that are wheeled out to my car by an employee, and then drive back home. By doing the bulk of my shopping like this, once a week or even every two weeks, I save tons of time – which for many of us, equals money.
If you get delivery, you can save gas (which costs money), too
Getting delivery can save money if it saves you the trip out to the store and back. Of course, this mostly depends on how far you’re driving, how much you tip your delivery person (please don’t forget this), and how much gas costs by you.
Delivery can also be a godsend when you have sick kids, work deadlines, or need something fast (as in the case of Amazon – we’ll talk about that in a sec).
Other money-saving bonuses with online grocery shopping
- Walmart – As I mentioned, they will substitute brand for generic is they are out of stock, as well as offer larger sizes if they don’t have the exact one you ordered
- Vons/Albertsons – I’m not sure if you have these stores by you, but here they often send emails that offer $20 off $75 online grocery orders, as well as first-time free delivery. That is free money because finding $75 worth of groceries is child’s play for this family of seven.
- Amazon Fresh. Amazon will deliver your groceries in two hours if you’re really in a rush. They also partner with Whole Foods if you prefer to get your food from there (though this may not save you much money #WholePaycheck).
- Coupons – Nowadays, many places are using online coupons connected to their loyalty programs, which you can still use without all the trouble of searching them out.
Downsides to online grocery shopping
It wouldn’t be right to not talk about the downsides because, of course, there are some.
- Manufacturer’s coupons – You can’t use these online, so if you are a coupon clipper, this is a big downer.
- Price match – I know a lot of people who love doing this at Walmart, but you have to go in person to get those price matches.
- No wandering aisles – While I know this one saves me money, I still like it and miss it, even as it helps my budget.
- You can’t pick your produce – I haven’t yet gotten any subpar produce, but it’s definitely possible for a busy store employee to grab some bruised bananas or overripe strawberries without realizing it. If you’re picky about produce, online grocery shopping (or at least produce shopping) may not be for you.
Overall, I think that online grocery shopping really does save us money. I feel more efficient, better able to plan and control my spending, and also appreciate the time it frees up. If you’re looking to cut down on your grocery bills, this might just be the way to do it.
Have you tried buying your groceries online? What do you think? Let me know how your experience went and any tips you can share in the comments below!
Interested in more posts on saving money and the best ways to grocery shop? Try these:
When is the Best Time to go Grocery Shopping
5 Ways to Save Money Right Now
Just a Girl and her Chicken: Adventures in Frugal Cooking
[Disclaimer: I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a commission, at no additional cost to you. All opinions are my own and I never recommend anything I haven’t used myself and loved.]
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