If you’re looking to save money on groceries, you’re not alone. Going to the grocery store gets expensive.
Lowering your grocery bills may seem overwhelming, especially if you’re not sure where to start. But given it is a big budget item for most families – after rent or mortgage, food costs often take the next biggest chunk of our budget. And unlike fixed bills, our food spending tends to fluctuate, thanks to unplanned store runs, takeout orders, and restaurant meals.
But the silver lining is that if you want to trim your budget, focusing on your food spending is a great place to start. And with some simple tactics, it is very likely you can find substantial savings.
My journey to tackle this challenge for my own family actually led me to create The Dinner Daily. It all began when I faced two major issues in my family’s daily life: the stress of nightly dinner (what to make, when to shop, preparing a grocery list, finding meals we all would eat…it always felt like the task that took forever and a day) and our skyrocketing food bills. With three kids and a demanding job as a CPA, our weeknights were chaotic. And our grocery expenses were truly out of control. Our dinners were far from relaxing, we overspent due to disorganization, and I wasn’t always proud of the meals I served. I wanted so much better!
The turning point came on a chilly February snow day when we had no dinner plan, and going to the grocery store in a blizzard was out of the question. I decided it was time to finally solve this challenge once and for all. For the first time, I approached meal planning as a challenge, a game to make dinner not so stressful once and for all. It involved several layers, but it was tailored to my family’s needs and made use of local grocery store specials, a true money saving game changer!
The results after one month were thrilling! We saved a whopping $347 in the first month! More importantly, dinner times were so much happier, we were eating healthy meals consistently, we were all less stressed. My husband and I felt it, and the kids felt it too. Knowing what we were having for dinner from Monday to Friday, with everything we needed already in the kitchen, was just too good to go back to our disorganized ways. We also experienced the major benefit of sitting down to dinner at a reasonable hour with time to talk with one another in a meaningful way. I was hooked, and that’s when The Dinner Daily was born.
Below, I’ll share the exact strategies I used, which became the foundation for our meal planning software at The Dinner Daily.
Whether you’re a budget-conscious individual or a busy family, these tips are universally applicable. We all need to eat, and cooking at home is essential for our health. It also instills good eating habits for your kids by showing them cooking meals at home is part of normal life, and dinner cannot always come in a box delivered to your front door. By implementing these strategies, or even just a few of them, you might find yourself hooked on the benefits of meal planning too.
This was my exact process:
Step #1: The Turning Point: Getting Organized and Planning the Week
Creating a weekly meal plan is one of the most critical parts of saving money on groceries. If you are serious about lowering your grocery bills, you must embrace this step. If you have never been a meal planner (I certainly wasn’t before starting The Dinner Daily), it may feel daunting at first. But I’m confident that once you experience the benefits in your daily life, you’ll be as hooked as I am on the ease it brings. Here’s why:
- A well-crafted weekly meal plan not only saves you money but also time and stress. You’ll consistently enjoy healthier meals because you’ll steer clear of last-minute dinner chaos and the pricey, not-so-healthy takeout options.
- Having a plan also makes grocery shopping faster and less of a chore, whether in-store or online. Say goodbye to aimlessly wandering through aisles and tossing random items into your cart. Having an organized list saves a ton of time and money.
Compare this to the chaos of last-minute meal decisions (we’ve all been there at 5 pm, wondering, “What’s for dinner?”). Flying by the seat of your pants complicates life and usually ends up costing more. Why put yourself through that? While adapting to planned meals might take a little getting used to, remember that forming habits takes time – research suggests about 66 days. So, hang in there!
And if you are already a Dinner Daily member, you already have this step covered!
Estimated Savings: 2 to 4 hours per week, $100 to $200+ per month (or more depending on how often you resort to take out or restaurants. If you are coming from a place of winging dinner most nights, your savings could be substantially more.
Step #2: The Secret Weapon: the Sales Flyer
Next, since saving money on groceries was one of my main objectives, I pulled out the weekly sales flyer from my local grocery store and made it an integral part of the planning process. In the past, this was just thrown in the recycling bin without a second thought. Now, I saw that humble little sales flyer as a significant source of savings.
I opened Excel on my PC and started to plan, setting a weekly budget at $120 for five dinners for my family. I then started to plan our dinners around what was on special at my store, focusing on the healthy proteins and produce items in the flyer:
- Main Meals: the plan started with the proteins on sale. These are often the costliest items on your grocery list, so they formed the foundation of our meal plan. For example, if chicken breast, salmon, and pork tenderloin were discounted, those proteins became the main meals for the week. I also didn’t consider more expensive cuts of meat or fish, even if they were on special.
- Sides: I followed the same formula for selecting side dishes. If broccoli and asparagus were on sale, they became part of the plan, whether as sides or integrated into the main meal.
- Dairy and Grocery Items: And I didn’t stop after the mains and sides. I also incorporated dairy and grocery items on sale whenever it made sense. My goal was simple: maximize specials, have healthy meals, and save money all at once.
Plus, as an added bonus, choosing sides and veggies from the sales flyer often meant we were enjoying in-season produce.
But here’s the real game-changer: After The Dinner Daily came to life, our team measured the impact of the sales flyer. We compared the cost of shopping for a week’s worth of meals when a significant portion of the items were on sale versus when they weren’t. Without discounts, that identical shopping list of ingredients cost 20 to 25% more. Over the course of the year, this really can add up to meaningful savings for your family.
Estimated Savings: approximately $150 per month, which translates to an impressive $1,950 per year!
To break it down further: A $150 weekly grocery trip, predominantly composed of items on special, would increase to $187.50 for the exact same ingredients when those items weren’t on special. That’s a $37.50 savings for a single weekly shopping trip. And when you stretch those savings over the month and year, it totals a hefty $1,950 in estimated savings.
Step #3: Create a Money Saving Shopping list (and stick to it)
With my meal plan for the week in place (from Steps #1 and #2), I then created my grocery list. And this was not just ingredients randomly jotted down on a piece of paper. Four key components of the list helped me save money and made shopping faster.
- It was organized by department (that’s an obvious one)
- It noted the items on special and specific brands, so I did not miss them in the store. This also made shopping quicker since I didn’t need to decide in-store what to buy.
- I noted the exact quantity I needed for this week’s recipe so I did not overbuy (a significant source of food waste) or not buy enough (leading to another trip to the store)
- I also included a “Stock Up” section for any items on special that we used frequently. Note: I kept this section limited to things we use all the time (i.e., olive oil, coffee etc). The goal is to limit spending to only those items you know you will use in the short term, vs items that might come in handy down the road.
An organized grocery list with all the supporting details is a major tool in your arsenal for saving money on groceries. Instead of buying random ingredients that you may or may not need, or worse, trying to follow the ingredient lists from multiple recipes on your phone or paper while pushing a cart, you will buy the right quantities at the right time for this week’s meals. The list will also keep you focused in the store, saving you a ton of time.
And all of the above still holds true if you are shopping online. If you know what you need, it will be far easier to add what you need to your cart without the need to scroll through an endless list of ingredients.
Estimated Savings: we estimate that shopping without a list causes you to spend about 20% more. For a $150 weekly shop, this would result in spending about $30 per week, or $120 per month just from not having a solid list. On average, shoppers with a well-organized grocery list can complete their shopping 30% faster than those without a list. For a typical weekly grocery trip that takes 60 minutes without a list, this translates to a time savings of approximately 20 minutes. Over the course of a month or year, all those minutes add up.
Step #4: Leverage Your Local Convenience Stores
You might be raising an eyebrow at this step because, traditionally, local convenience stores are known for higher prices compared to grocery stores. But here’s how it relates to saving money on groceries:
When I found myself running low on essentials like milk or bread during the week, my strategy was simple: opt for the local convenience store whenever possible. Why? To put a halt to those budget-busting mid-week grocery trips that tend to end up costing more than the gallon of milk or loaf of bread I initially needed. This approach isn’t just about saving money; it’s about preventing that innocent $4 milk purchase from spiraling into a $40 spree of impulse buys you pick up on your way to and from the dairy aisle.
Estimated Savings: if you typically spend $30 to $40 during these mid-week trips to the grocery store, you could save approximately $20-$30 each time you choose the convenience store route. Added to that is the time saved- it is far quicker to pull right up to the convenience store and grab what you need, vs going to the grocery store, parking, navigating to the right department etc.
Step #5: Elevate Savings with a Few Homemade Staples
When I used to read these tips before the days of meal planning, I would think, “Too much effort, I’m too busy—I’ll just buy it.” But on my quest to save on groceries and simplify dinner, I decided it was time to reconsider.
I began with a few simple staples: homemade salad dressings, marinades for meats and fish, and pasta sauce from scratch. While this might demand a bit more time initially (try doing it once a month to ease into it), the benefits are two-fold and totally worth it:
- It’s Healthier: making your own staples means you can avoid artificial ingredients and unhealthy additives often found in store-bought options. If you’re dealing with allergies, you have full control over the ingredients, ensuring your family’s safety.
- It’s Economical: making a few staples yourself costs a fraction of what you’d pay for the store-bought versions. Our go-to salad dressing (olive oil, fresh lemon juice, balsamic, oregano, and crushed garlic) is both economical and delicious. Plus, since I typically always have these ingredients in my kitchen, there’s no “empty bottle of salad dressing” dilemma—we can whip up a batch in just minutes and avoid an unnecessary trip to the store.
Estimated Savings: homemade staples can save you 50% or more compared to store-bought equivalents, and in some cases, it can be pennies on the dollar to make your own. So, if you typically spend $50 on dressings, marinades, and sauces over the course of the month, making them at home could save you $25 or more. Over the course of the year, we estimate savings of $300 per year at the low end, and more if you are consistent. Add to that the health benefits of making your own, it is well worth working this into your routine.
Step #6: Assign the Right Meal to the Right Day
While this tip may not directly slash your grocery bills, it’s a valuable part of the puzzle when it comes to making your weeknight dinners flow smoothly, reducing food waste, and minimizing unnecessary spending.
As a final step, I’d review our weekly calendar and assess everyone’s schedules. When were my sons at hockey practice? Were there evenings when I’d be on the go during dinner time? Did my husband or I have unusually long workdays ahead? These considerations guided me as I assigned each meal to a specific day. I’d slot my make-ahead meals on hockey practice nights, the “pop it in the oven and forget it” dinner for my most demanding workday, and the recipes that might take a bit more time for days when I’d be home.
By syncing meals with your daily schedule, you set yourself up for success and alleviate the mental burden of last-minute decisions when you’re tired or low on energy. Plus, you’ll resist the temptation to opt for takeout when the evening gets chaotic. It might seem like a subtle shift, but as someone who has honed this routine over the years, I can attest that this small step can be the turning point between a healthy meal at home and a dash to the local pizza shop.
Step #7: Strategic Couponing
Once I had my shopping list, I had a clear vision of what I needed for the week. For one final push to maximize savings, I searched for online coupons, targeting only the items on my list. If the coupon related to an item that wasn’t on my shopping list, I moved on.
Using coupons, whether found online or from your store, can be a helpful tool when it’s laser-focused on the items you already plan to purchase. While this step may demand a bit more effort, it can result in real savings on groceries over the long term. I get not everyone will want to do this step and if that is you, just pass for now. I would suggest you focus first on making the planning part of your routine, and once you have those steps in place, you could revisit adding coupons.
At The Dinner Daily, we provide weekly coupon searches for items commonly used across all our recipes. Not all our members use this feature, but the ones that do tell us they shave another $5 to $10 off their weekly groceries.
Estimated Savings: assuming you use a few high value coupons each week that add up to $5 to $8, we estimate you could save another $20 to $32 per month, or between $240 and $384 per year.
In Conclusion: $347 Saved, One Month, and Seven Simple Steps
Here’s the seven steps I followed to trim a whopping $347 off my grocery bill in just one month:
- Plan meals in advance for the whole week (don’t skip this step!)
- Incorporate Your Store’s Sales Flyer into Your Plan
- Create a Money Saving Shopping List
- Use Your Local Convenience Store
- Make Your Own Staples
- Sync Specific Meals with your Daily Schedule
- Use Coupons When Only When it Makes Sense
By adhering to these seven strategies, I managed to reduce my grocery expenses by a remarkable $347 in just one month. And remember, you don’t have to use all of them to start saving money on your groceries. Even a few steps, especially Step #1 and Step #2 will make a big difference. And like most routines, it is best to start small to reduce overwhelm and set yourself up for success.
Whether you really need to save some money right now, or just want to focus on being smarter about your spending, incorporating these strategies can pave the way for saving money on groceries and making dinner easier at the same time.
If You Need a Helping Hand to Get Started:
And if you’d like some extra assistance, consider trying out our Dinner Daily personalized meal planning service. To give you a boost, your first two weeks are on us—completely free!
