23 Ways to Save Money on Groceries
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Want to know some ways to save money on groceries? We’ve got you.
One of our major budget categories that we try to keep under control is that of food shopping. Why is it so easy to let it get out of hand? How can I save money on grocery shopping with a family of four hungry humans?
Firstly, let’s make sure you know How to Budget for Grocery Shopping (start there!). Then let’s implement some more ways to save!
Here are our top 23 ways to save money on groceries!
Budget Your Grocery Trip
Make a budget!! If you want to save money on groceries, a budget is essential.
Like I said above, start with How to Budget for Grocery Shopping. You’ll see exactly, step-by-step, how we budget for our weekly food shopping trip.
Eat Leftovers
Don’t you dare throw perfectly good food into the trash!
Unless it’s sweating, green, or growing hair, it’s probably fine. (I mean, maybe it’s more scientific than that but…).
My point is, I don’t care if you ate it yesterday. Eat it again! And bask in your bowl of leftover whatever with the satisfaction that your grocery bill is shrinking.
Keep a Frozen Meal in the Freezer
You’ve seen this movie before. The one when you’re not going to have time to cook.
That random day you stay late at work, the kids’ soccer game runs into OT, or you’re just too tired.
You’ll reach for the phone for takeout and drop $50 on a large pepperoni, chicken fingers, Caesar salad and 4 individual ice creams.
Instead, spend $12 stocking your freezer with the pack of frozen pizzas from Costco and $5 on a gallon of ice cream, and you’re ahead.
This pizza idea is from the phenomenal Frugalwoods readers, and it’s saved my household from takeout on more than one occasion.
Buy the Store Brand
Honestly, the contents of the store brand items are often the same as store brand!
Can’t live without Bounty or Dawn? Fair point.
Try sacrificing the items you don’t care as much about. Even if you switch on half of your usual preferred brands, you’ll still save money.
Stock Your Pantry
This is a great tip from The Tightwad Gazette. Rather than buying little portions for your weekly meal plan, keep an inventory of your go-to pantry supplies. That way, you’ll have meals on hand whenever you need them.
We keep things like tuna, tomato sauce, beans, and rice on perma-stock in our pantry. It regularly keeps us from going to the store for “just one thing,” you know?
By the way, The Tightwad Gazette is a delightful throwback book about saving every penny. Check it out!
Meatless Monday
…Or Tuesday, or Thursday, or whatever day of the week you can go without meat. Behold the magic of tofu and legumes.
Cutting meat from 1 weekday (as in, 1/5 days) will reduce your protein budget by.. yep, 20%!
Check out your favorite food blogs for help – I like Cookie and Kate for fresh ideas. Trust me, if you cut meat once a week, your grocery bill will shrink!
Pack Your Lunch
I know, it’s terribly un-fancy. It holds true no matter where you live: packing your lunch will save you money. While we’re here, pack your kids’ and spouse’s lunches too.
Don’t have time to pack them every night? Buy two lunch boxes and pack two at once. Then you only have to make lunches Sun/Tues/Thurs. Get me?
PS. Check out our favorite leak-proof lunch box!
Drink Water
Save hundreds by skipping the soda, juice, beer, wine, spirits, seltzer, and vanilla-flavored unsweetened half-oat half-almond milk. (How do you milk an oat, anyway?).
If you drink water instead of everything else, it’s better for your waistline, too.
Buy Produce in Season
Don’t complain when oranges are expensive in August, or apples cost double in February. Buy produce when it’s in season!
Check out the ever-trusty Almanac’s What’s in Season in Your Region? for more info on this!
Start an Herb Garden
Listen here – it’s cheaper to buy the $2 plant than to keep buying basil every week, only to have half the container rot in your fridge.
If you find yourself reaching for the same herbs repeatedly, why not grow them yourself? All you need is a small pot, a window, and water. Added benefit: your herbs will be fresh whenever you need them!
Plant a Fruit Tree
Behold, our peach tree, which one year – okay, bumper crop – yielded over 400 peaches! Why yes, I did figure out how to can, freeze, and consume these babies in large batches! There’s nothing like eating fruit during summer’s peak, right from the tree. Your taste buds will thank you – I promise!
No green thumb? Befriend a neighbor with a fruit tree. If you need peaches in August, give me a call. I’ll happily hand you a bag of fresh Jersey peaches!
Our neighbor has an apple tree, and each year, he saves us a schlep to an apple picking farm. We grab a bucket, hop over the fence, and our kids get their annual apple-picking experience.
Grow Veggies
Even a small little garden can reduce your food budget – and provide a really fun summer hobby! I’m no gardening guru, but I have successfully grown tomatoes, green beans, carrots, zucchini, and peppers!
Find the Manager’s Special
This is one of the best ways to save money on groceries and get a cheap dopamine hit at the same time.
In my ‘hood, if I show up to the grocery store at its opening minute on a Saturday morning, I can often find manager’s specials.
These are usually meats or breads at or near their “best by” date – just be sure to freeze or cook them right away when you get home, and you’ll have meats and breads at 30-50% discount! Boom!
Invest in a Deep Freezer
…For all the frozen pizza and manager’s specials! Seriously, having space to store your steals is a great way to save money in the long run.
We added a deep freezer as a big-ticket item on our baby registry. Loving grandparents recognized the status of our growing family and treated us! Win!
Related: Minimalist Baby List: What to Love or Skip in a Small Home
Shop the Unit Price
Now is a great time to mention that the unit price is super important. Let’s take shredded cheddar cheese for example.
Individual 8 oz. bags hover around $3.50 per pound. But the 24 oz. bag is as low as $3.00 per pound. Since I can freeze shredded cheese, I buy the bulk bag and freeze it into smaller portions.
Make Your Own Broth
I know, beef and chicken stock isn’t all that expensive.
But if you’ve already roasted a chicken, do not throw out that carcass! Same goes for the ends of carrots, celery, and onions post-chopping. Keep a freezer bag going full of these scraps.
Then, put the carcass in a giant pot, add veggies and water, and simmer it for a few hours. Strain, store, and now you’ve got free broth!
Make Your Own Condiments
Maximize your pantry’s potential. Keep a bulk oil and a bulk vinegar on hand for salad dressings, for example.
Check out our favorite DIY dressings from Eating Bird Food for ideas. You’ll save a fortune on condiments!
Make Your Own Bread
Remember that bread maker you just had to put on your wedding registry? Or that sourdough you perfected during the pandemic? Pull out the recipe and try again!
If you keep flour, yeast, and salt on hand (remember shopping your pantry?) you’ll always have the possibility of a loaf of bread. Added bonus? The delicious smell of bread baking in the house.
Here’s the breadmaker we use – it’s a one time investment for a future full of savings. (PS, we got ours at half price on eBay!).
Embrace “Crazy Dinner”
Did your family have “crazy dinner” growing up? My brother and I loved it. Instead of cooking, Mom would let us have anything we wanted for dinner. Frozen waffles! PBJ! A can of soup! Even a bowl of cereal was fair game.
Little did we know, it was my mom’s way of taking a night off from her chef’s hat. When she was a kid growing up in the Bronx, it was her mom’s way of stretching an empty pantry on a Friday night ‘til her dad got home with a paycheck.
So consider instituting “Crazy Dinner” night for both sanity and money-saving purposes. Ok, sure, it’s not the most nutritious dinner, but it’s only once in a while!
Buy in Bulk
Buying items like oatmeal or dried fruit in large quantities can be a great way to save money on groceries!
Not sure if you’ll use it all up in due time? Invite a friend or family member to split it with you. We use this approach when shopping Costco’s produce section.
Don’t forget you can freeze items like berries, veggies, or shredded cheese. Buy in bulk, freeze half, save on the unit price. Winner!
Coupon Apps
I remember (back in the 90s, now an increasingly longer time ago than I’d like to admit) watching my mother clipping coupons. She had a little fabric envelope to keep them all organized.
Fast forward to modern times, and you’ve got yourself coupons on your smart phone. For example, check out Ibotta (and get a $5 bonus sign up with our link!). Just upload your receipt and save on brand name groceries.
My favorite is the protein powder coupon – sometimes as high as $6 off my family’s favorite!
Get Delivery… or Don’t
There are two sides to this coin.
Get delivery: If you can’t stick to a budget when you go shopping in person, having someone else do your shopping and deliver it to your door will keep you under control.
Don’t get delivery: Having someone else do your shopping and deliver it to your door will cost you a premium for the service.
Decide which approach will best serve your needs.
Go Less Often.
There was a time in my life that I went to the grocery once per month. Yes, you read that right! I was also single, living on a small hourly wage, and perfectly fine with eating canned fruit on day 28.
These days, I don’t have the brain power to do the 1x/month thing with a family of four. But, I do only go to the store once per week. No more “let me just swing by” for an ingredient. We all know that entering a store for one ingredient means I’ll buy six more.
Can you consolidate your trips? Meal plan for a week or ten days at a time? It’s like clothes shopping – if you don’t want to spend on stuff, don’t enter the mall. Magic!
You’ve Just Learned 23 Ways to Save Money on Groceries
There you go, 23 ways to save some money on grocery shopping. Try one or try them all, and let’s all keep our food shopping on budget!
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