Dear Parents: It’s Time to Stop Overspending on Groceries

When you go grocery shopping with kids, it's not uncommon to wind up walking out with a full shopping cart - usually with some mystery items hand-picked by your young ones. It happens to the best of us.

It may be chuckle-worthy the first couple of times this happens, but food quickly adds up and can become quite a hefty expense for the family if you don't shop cautiously.

If your wallet continues to empty trip after trip to the grocery store, consider utilizing some tools and implementing some habits that will help you to budget and cut costs while still ensuring your family is well-fed. These tips will both help you save money and make your trips to the grocery store more efficient:

Use an Online Shopping Directory to Find Flyers, Coupons & Promotions

If you consider yourself a professional grocery shopper, you've probably spent your fair share of afternoons cutting out coupons or going through promotional emails from brands. These methods may help be cost-effective, but they aren't time-effective.

Why spend hours sifting through emails or cutting coupons when you can utilize a shopping directory that aggregates all relevant coupons, online flyers, sales, and promotions. When you have advertisements or flyers for specific products or brands, you'll know exactly when to buy what - including your child's favourite treats.

These fantastic platforms can help you save a bunch of cash by giving you access to a wide array of digital coupons and flyers, letting you know which of your favourite brands are having sales, and helping you to make your shopping list based on current promotions.

Shopping directories frequently update their collection of flyers and coupons to give shoppers, like yourself, access to the latest deals at their favourite superstores like Walmart.

Create Better Shopping Habits

Having bad habits is just part of being human but, if you're trying to cut down on your grocery bills, you may want to reconsider any poor shopping habits that you may have.

Some common examples of poor shopping habits include:

- Not setting a budget for you and your kids
- Shopping on an empty stomach
- Going to the grocery store multiple times per week
- Shopping without a list
- Not shopping in bulk
- Not identifying and considering every item your child adds in

Dropping the habits listed above can help you save a substantial amount on your grocery bill and make you feel more productive, which will help you accomplish more tasks throughout the day.

ALWAYS Return Your Bottles and Cans

Do you throw out your empty beer bottles and cans? If you do, hate to break it to you, but you're missing out on a decent chunk of change.

Most major towns and cities have a designated area for your bottle and can returns. These establishments will pay you for your empty bottles and cans (based on the size). You may end up being able to pay for a significant amount of your grocery bill, depending on the number of empties that you have!

Aside from being beneficial for your bank account, returning your empty beer bottles and cans is also environmentally friendly. The Toronto Star reports that the average beer bottle is reusable approximately 15 times.

This form of recycling cuts down on the overall waste that accumulates in dumps and landfills and is a grocery hack where everyone wins. Returning your bottles and cans is an excellent opportunity to teach your kids a little something about recycling and taking care of the environment, while also saving some money. Consider giving your kids the option to choose a special reward based on the profits of what you've returned!

You don't need to spend a fortune to eat well - if you want to save money on your groceries, you can start with any of these helpful tips.