Start Saving Money On Groceries Today (2024)

How To Save Money On Groceries

An average family of four can spend $800 on grocery and household products a month. That’s a lot of money in the big picture of things. You may be spending this amount or a large portion of your paycheck on groceries and the price of food is going up. In an effort to help you save money on groceries we have compiled 30 money saving tips.

30 Tips To Help Cut Your Grocery Budget And Save Money:

1. Grocery shop with a list and stick to your list

Create a grocery list before you head to the grocery store. It may seem like a crazy logical thing to do but it is proven that shopping without a list can cost you more money in forgotten groceries and additional items added to your cart.

Your list can include your usual weekly or biweekly items like milk and eggs. It can also include a list of ingredients required for your meal plan dinners like honey for your honey garlic stir fry. It can also include notes of store sales and possible savings.

2. DO NOT grocery shop while hungry

I have done this so many times. Everything looks so good and gets added to your cart, the grocery budget goes out the window. If you have to shop around meal time grab a snack first. Pack a few granola bars or protein snacks in your car or purse to tide you over.

3. Use a meal plan

Meal plans are amazing! They give you the freedom to schedule and select what’s for dinner all while staying on budget. We do a combination meal plan in our house. We stock pile groceries so we can plan meals based around what we have on hand.

I also meal plan using a service that provides me with recipes, grocery lists and instructions on creating freezer meals. I can fill my freezer with 10 meals in under an hour.

Making busy nights a breeze with simple dump and cook Instant Pot meals or one tray wonders. I love the money saving aspect as well as all the time I save. My boys love the yummy meals. So it’s a win-win.

4. Enroll in multiple store loyalty programs and redeem your rewards for free groceries

Free is great. Locally we have four grocery stores and two big box outlets that sell groceries. Four of them use loyalty cards that give the user perks. It maybe day of shopping freebies if you spend so much. Or maybe you collect points and can redeem them for free groceries.

No matter the style of the reward as long as you are not paying for the perk and its a bonus to your everyday shopping, free groceries are great.

5. Don’t be food store specific about your grocery shopping

Deals are to be had at all stores. Shop around make note of what you are paying where. Keep a price book for each of your stores or mentally make note of what you pay at each store. Shop where the deals are.

For example SunButter costs me $10.49 at one store but on Amazon it’s under $6.00 per jar. If you have an Amazon Prime Account (if not, get a free 30-Day trial right here), plus you can save even more money by using their Subscribe & Save Program.

6. Cut coupons, print coupons and download money saving apps

Coupons are a great way to save money on groceries. You can get coupons in the mail, at the grocery store or in your weekly newspaper.

If you are short on time and have a smart phone you can download the Rakuten money saving app to help you save on your regular everyday purchases. Try Rakuten and receive a $10 gift my treat.

7. Grocery Shop online

Order pantry staples and groceries online through various websites and get them delivered to your door and save both time and money. Did you know you can order coffee, pasta, pastries and more through Amazon? If you have an Amazon Prime Account (if not, get a free 30-Day trial right here).

Save even more money on all your online purchases with Rakuten. Try Rakuten and receive a $10 gift my treat.

8. Shop your local dollar store for grocery savings

You may be surprised what your local dollar store keeps in stock. Some even stock milk, bread and vegetables. Shop around and see what you can buy at your local dollar store or discount outlet to save money on groceries.

9. Stockpile on your savings

Grocery store sales have a cycle and a method behind them. Most items go on sale every 6 weeks. This means you can stock up on soup and toilet paper at the low price every so many weeks. Track your store sales, match up your coupons or the Ratuken money saving app for further discounts.

Frugal Living Related Posts:

75 Items You Can Freeze To Save Money
Secret Must Haves Of A Frugal Home
Frugal Living Surviving On One Income

10. Eat less meat based meals

Meat is expensive even cheap cuts of meat. Going meatless or vegetarian one or two meals a week can help in cutting your grocery costs. If you are wondering what types of vegetarian meals to cook these cookbooks may help.

11. Stock up and use rice, beans, pasta and other dried foods for your meals

Dry goods like rice, pasta, beans and flours have a long shelf life and they are cheap to buy. You may also notice they are the base for most vegetarian or meatless meals.

Stockpiling different flours and sugars also means you can bake fresh bread and baked goods in a pinch.

12. Eat more homemade meals and less processed foods

Today versus ten years ago you will find more processed ready made foods in the grocery store. One might use this to determine how busy people are. But we are a society driven by convenience. This is why drive thru’s are so popular.

If you were to only buy ingredients for meals and invest in home cooking for two weeks versus filling your cart with processed foods like pizza, canned soups, cookies and etc. You would save a ton of money.

13. Buy frozen vegetables and fruits when fresh produce is too expensive

Seasons change, food prices go up. If your fresh produce is too expensive checkout the frozen food aisle to stock up on savings.

14. Eat what’s on sale, base your meal planning on seasonally cheaper foods

Grocery store sales and locally available produce and meats can save you a bunch money. If you were to run your meal plans based on store sales and seasonally available produce you would eat well and save money on groceries.

15. Buy cheaper cuts of meat and use your slow cooker and marinades to make great meals

Shop your local meat department or talk to your butcher. Cheaper meat cuts, plus spices and marinades cooked low and slow can make for amazingly frugal meals.

16. Shop bulk stores for deals

Note, not everything in a bigger quantity is a deal, shop smart. If your family uses lots of eggs, milk and flours stock up during your next bulk buy. Bulk stores are great for seasonal deals and produce sales as well.

17. Track your spending

Spending can be impulsive and rushed at times. Review your last few weeks of receipts or financial statements. See what you spent your hard earned money on. What could you decrease or eliminate to save. We stopped buying these 21 things to save over $1000 a month.

18. Know what you have in your pantry

Being aware this is an amazing savings tool. Shop your pantry first you may have just what you need.

19. Shop store brands and generic brands versus name brands

Store brands and generic foods are cheaper and at times better quality than brand named items.

I will never forget the time a sales representative for a brand name product let slip that the generic item contents were exactly the same as the brand name contents of a certain item. The only difference was the packaging and the price.

20. Request free samples from brands you are loyal

Brands love to hear what you think of their products and various brands will send coupons and free samples to their users.

21. Submit your mail in rebates

Lots of people buy items based on mail in rebates but don’t follow through for the cash back. It’s free money, fill out the form and collect your cash.

22. Shop your local farmers market

Buying local is a great way to save money. Shopping seasonal produce, local bakeries, butcher stores and handmade retailers help support your neighbors and helps you save money.

23. Growing a garden can save you amazing amounts of money on produce all year round

Seeds cost you pennies. Gardening costs you time. The bounty of your harvest could save you a ton of cash. Learning how to preserve your food could supply you with produce all year round. Learn all the things you can freeze to save money.

24. Buy what’s in season and freeze it

You can save a bunch of money by purchasing what’s in season and what’s on sale and freezing it. A popular example is the price of strawberries in the summer versus the price of strawberries in the middle of winter. Stocking up and freezing items can save you money all year.

25. Barter with your friends, exchange your homemade goods

Do you have friends who bake, make, grow and cook? Barter with them to save money. Exchange skills or items to save.

A friend gave a great example the other day. She needed to borrow a tall ladder to change some light bulbs. She offered up two dozen homemade cookies to whom ever would loan her the ladder.

26. Participate in U-pick or gleaner programs in your area

Locally we live in farm country so gleaning or field clearing is popular. A gleaner helps pick the produce and gets to keep a portion of the pick for free.

U-pick is also a great way to save on produce. You are skipping the labor and middle man and picking your own produce straight from the farm. The quality is great and so is the price.

27. Divide and share

Have you ever considered buying large volumes of food and splitting it with a friend to save costs. Ask your local butcher or farmer about butcher boxes or quarter and half animal purchases.

Buying flats of produce or dozens of eggs or bread from a local supplier can save you money.

28. Buy bulk foods, divide and freeze for later use

We do this with meat, produce and pastries. We shop Costco or our local farmers market, divide it up and freeze for later use. You can also add to the savings by purchasing larger volumes when items are on sale.

29. Cooking once and eating twice

We are all super busy. If you can save time in the kitchen by cooking a whole chicken, a large roast or a full pot of rice and dividing it up or using in several meals you are saving cook time and essentially meal planning.

30. Check your grocery store flyers, shop and compare.

Watch your local sales, compare prices and shop to save. Keep track of what goes on sale when, stack your coupons to save more money on groceries.