May Your Food Costs Be Lowered Despite Inflation? Some Tips

You probably don’t need me to tell you that food prices in the United States increased significantly recently.

Indeed, over the last year food prices may have increased the most on an annual basis since 1979.

“The food index increased 10.9 percent over the last year, the largest 12-month increase since the period ending May 1979” according to the July 2022 Consumer Price Index [1], released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on August 10th, 2022.

Despite the price increases, you may be able to spend less than you did last year on groceries.

Eat at Home

Despite the increase in grocery costs, preparing food at home is cheaper than eating out at restaurants.

Indeed, preparing an entire day’s food at home could cost less than one typical meal in a restaurant. And if you’re like me, you probably eat three or four times a day at least. But my daily food bill often works out to around $5-8 per day.

The United States Department of Agriculture “Thrifty Food Plan: U.S. Average, July 2022” [2] estimates weekly and monthly food costs for various persons. Its plan is based on a diet that is detailed in its “Thrifty Food Plan, 2021” [3]. As an example, for a male my age, the USDA estimates the weekly cost for food at $60 in July 2022 under the thrifty food plan. That’s a reasonable figure, but I often spend less.

Eat Whole Grains for Breakfast

Whole grains are cheaper (and healthier) than processed, prepared foods.

For breakfast, oatmeal you cook yourself is healthier for you than the processed, microwavable, sweetened types sold in stores. You can add your own fruit to it (bananas, blueberries, raisins, etc.) or nuts (walnuts, etc.).

I enjoy the taste and texture of Quaker five-minute oats. They only take five minutes to prepare after the water comes to a boil.

But you can buy generic brands that may save you even more if they meet your taste and quality standards. Furthermore, you can buy oats that cook in one minute instead of five.

When I’m in a hurry, I often settle for Cheerios with Silk brand enriched soymilk. If you’re not seeking to adhere to a vegan diet, cow’s milk works too.

Cheerios has several nutrients added to it, is lower in sugar than most processed, boxed cereals, and is made from whole-grain oats. Although it’s more expensive per serving than oatmeal, Cheerios is on sale in some local supermarket almost every week, and manufacturer coupons are often available. It will keep for months, so I recommend buying it on sale using a manufacturer coupon.

There are other whole grain cereals you can eat for breakfast such as Cream of Wheat and Bob's Red Mill 10 Grain Cereal, as well as muesli.

But I confess I too often indulge in less healthy options for breakfast. Seek to do as I say, not as I do. And I’m seeking to do better.

Whole Grain Flour and Cornmeal

Whole grain flour is cheaper (and healthier) than the processed, already baked products in stores. I prefer white whole wheat flour, which I think is tastier than the more common red whole wheat variety.

Bake your own biscuits, banana-nut bread, cinnamon-raisin walnut bread, chocolate chip cookies, etc.

Enriched, processed white flour is even cheaper than the whole grain flour, but not as healthy. Although processed white flour is enriched with certain nutrients, it lacks many of the nutrients that occur in whole grain flour.

Also, buy some whole grain cornmeal to prepare your own cornbread or corn muffins. Find the brand you like best that is available in your area. Personally, I buy Weisenberger Mill yellow, bolted cornmeal from Good Foods Market, a local Lexington, Kentucky supermarket.

Beans, Nuts, Seeds, Lentils

Dry beans are cheap to buy, can be stored a long time, and are nutritious. Pinto beans, lima beans, great northern beans, cranberry beans, kidney beans, black beans, red beans, and others are available.

Nuts, seeds, and lentils are other relatively cheap sources of proteins.

I’m not sure which supermarkets operate in your area. In Lexington, Kentucky, where I live, Meijer sells raw sunflower seeds and some tasty peanuts roasted in peanut oil. Aldi sells some tasty raw nut mixtures. Kroger carries a wide variety of dry beans.

If the gas from beans concerns you, consider adding ginger to the beans. I do, and it seems to reduce the gas.

Fruits and Vegetables

I love fresh fruit. Bananas are typically reasonably priced here at only 50-60 cents per pound, which is about 25 cents per average size banana. Buy other fruits on sale. And typically a few varieties are on sale every week.

Buy fresh vegetables on sale too. And keep a supply of frozen and canned ones too.

Fruits and vegetables are relatively cheap per serving, especially bought on sale. For example, last week I bought ears of corn in the husk at Meijer on sale priced at 5 for $2. I bought 12 ounce bags of mixed vegetables at Aldi for 84 cents each today. Frozen broccoli, brussels sprouts, and other frozen vegetables are reasonably priced there too. Meijer has some nice prices on frozen vegetables too, including squash. Kroger also does sometimes.

Fresh carrots are typically reasonably priced, and potatoes are on sale somewhere usually. Tomatoes are usually on sale somewhere too, but I prefer the taste of those from a local farmers’ market when in season.

Coupons and Weekly Sales

Aldi, Kroger, Meijer, Save-a-Lot, and other supermarkets run weekly ads. These sales allow you to buy products at relatively cheap prices.

Kroger also has online coupons you can clip and special prices for persons with Kroger Rewards cards (free cards). Kroger also puts deli items near the sell-by date on a rack. That can offer bargains.

Meijer has online mPerks coupons and sometimes mails coupons to mPerks members (join free).

Other supermarkets in your area likely have special offers of some type, possibly similar to those I just mentioned.

Some stores offer coupons that provide a certain percentage or dollar amount off your total purchase. These help too.

One Store Per Week

It takes time and money to travel from one store to another.

Personally, I don’t own a car, and to save time and reduce bus trips, I typically only shop at one store per week.

I may take a bus to Aldi one week, then Kroger or Meijer the next. Over the course of a month, I may visit each store at least once, and Aldi twice.

I sometimes go to Save-a-Lot, Walmart, etc., but less frequently. I’ve bought a lot of canned greens (collard greens, mustard greens, spinach, and turnip greens) at Save-a-Lot at reasonable prices.

Over the course of time, I can stock up on items from the different stores at reasonable prices.

Cooking in Batches and Reducing Waste

To save time, I often prepare food in big batches, even though I’m single. I typically refrigerate leftovers.

Expired food that is thrown out is a big expense item for many. I seek to eat leftovers before they spoil, and to rotate my canned and frozen foods to help me eat them before their use-by date. If it helps, put the date prepared on a food item or the date a bottle is opened on it. I do these things some, but I’m not perfect at it. I still waste some.

Snacks

Aldi store-brand bagels are reasonably priced ($1.99 for a six pack) and tasty. I often eat those as a snack. On a per serving basis, cookies and many other snacks are relatively cheap. But it’s typically healthier to prepare your own with less added sugar, fat, salt, etc. Popcorn is a cheap, healthy snack when air popped from kernels. I bought an air popper that I can use in my microwave.

Drinks

I usually keep water from my water faucet in my refrigerator. It is my #1 drink. But I also buy 12-ounce frozen concentrated orange juice enriched with calcium, Gatorade, and other drinks.

Gatorade in powder form is much cheaper than as a liquid. Meijer sells a resealable container of Gatorade powder for $8.99 that makes six gallons of Gatorade. That's about 1/4 the cost per serving of buying liquid Gatorade.

I also keep some cases of bottled water on hand for emergencies or travel, but I generally drink refrigerated tap water, and use refrigerated tap water to prepare my orange juice and Gatorade. I rarely drink decaffeinated green tea, but I might do well to drink it a bit more often.

Closing Thoughts

Each individual’s dietary needs and budget are different. I am neither a medical professional nor a dietician and cannot give medical or dietary advice. But I hope you find the information I’ve provided helpful. Enjoy quality, nutritious food in moderation.

DISCLAIMER:

I am a bivocational freelance writer, and my second job is as a part-time store clerk at a retail store. I took no payment from any store or product manufacturer in exchange for writing any part of this article.

NOTES:

[1] “Consumer Price Index Summary: Consumer Price Index--July 2022”; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; August 10, 2022; webpage accessed August 22, 2022; https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm#:~:text=The%20energy%20index%20increased%2032.9,the%20period%20ending%20May%201979.

[2] “Official USDA Thrifty Food Plan: U.S. Average, July 2022”; United States Department of Agriculture; August 2022; webpage accessed August 22, 2022; https://fns-prod.azureedge.us/sites/default/files/media/file/CostofFoodJul2022Thrifty.pdf

[3] “Thrifty Food Plan, 2021”; U.S. Department of Agriculture; August 2021; webpage accessed August 22, 2022; https://fns-prod.azureedge.us/sites/default/files/resource-files/TFP2021.pdf