Are you searching for ways on how to save money on groceries? The increase in grocery costs over the last year has been a hot topic. Most of us have noticed the rise in food prices over the past few years—how could you not? Many families are finding it increasingly challenging to keep their grocery bills under control, feeling the pinch every time they check out at the register: “I just spent how much for those three bags of groceries?!?!”
However, even with the rise in food prices, there are some fairly easy strategies you can start incorporating today that will have a meaningful impact on your food bills. We’re not talking about resorting to a rice and beans meal plan or the extreme couponing craze. This is about eating well while still buying the foods you love but with some tweaks in how you plan and shop. Since food is often the second largest budget item for most families (after rent or mortgage), it is worth investing some energy into learning how to save money on groceries.
All 10 strategies listed below are tried and true tactics that will help you lower your food costs. Some require a bit more effort than others, and some might require you to adopt new habits, but they all work. We know this because these tips are what we use personally and are built into The Dinner Daily meal planning tools.
One more thing…like all new habits, consider starting small by selecting two or three of the tips to begin with. Once these tips become part of your weekly routine, gradually add more. You don’t have to use them all to see results. The key is just to start. Once you see the savings, we think you’ll be motivated to keep going and incorporate more, if not all, of these tips.
How to Save Money on Groceries- 10 Steps for Success
1. Commit to Making a Plan
Creating an organized and comprehensive plan is a foundational step in saving money on groceries. For clarity, when we say a ‘plan,’ we are talking about a weekly menu for all dinners and meals and the corresponding shopping list. You need both.
Aside from saving money, a weekly menu makes creating a precise and organized shopping list much easier. Having a list that outlines how much you need for each item not only saves money but also time in the store. And less time in the store means fewer impulse buys and unneeded items in the cart.
Also, while planning your meals, make sure you check what’s in your fridge that needs to be used up soon, as well as what you have in your pantry. Can you pull together a meal based on what you already have?
We have many posts and resources on our site about creating a meal plan that you might find helpful. You could also use a meal planning service (such as The Dinner Daily) if you want some help. No matter how you do it, if you are serious about lowering your grocery bills, you need a plan. As the famous saying goes, “Just do it!”
2. Use the Sales Flyer at Your Store
Another way to notch up the savings and still eat well is to build your weekly plan around what’s on special at your store each week. Those flyers you get in the mail each week (that may go right into your recycle bin) are full of ways to save money. This is particularly effective for pricier items like meat, seafood, and produce. This approach may also lead to trying new foods and recipes, adding variety to your diet.
If you haven’t used your sales flyer before, making this a habit might take some time. But once you start seeing how much money you save, you might even look forward to incorporating as many specials as possible. Our testing estimates that you will save between 20 and 25% on your food costs by using what is on sale at your store as the basis of your plan.
3. Shop Once Per Week
Limiting your grocery trips to once a week is a simple yet effective way to save money on groceries. Frequent visits can lead to extra spending on items you don’t really need. And if you follow Steps #1 and #2 above, you should be in good shape to get everything you need in one trip. Some of our members tell us they like to shop for two weeks at a time, which can also work. However, be mindful not to buy perishables that don’t lend themselves well to freezing, as throwing out food is a major source of overspending.
To make this easier, choose a consistent day each week for grocery shopping. This helps maintain a routine and ensures your pantry and fridge are well-stocked for the week ahead.
Of course, there are certain times when you just need to go back to the store. For instance, if you shop on Monday but plan to have fish later in the week, you would most likely buy that close to the time you plan to eat it. Just remind yourself to be disciplined when going back to the store and avoid picking up unnecessary items. Alternatively, you could go to the store with just enough cash to buy the seafood and not much else. It might seem old school, but it works!
Another tactic: If you need to replenish household staples like milk or bread, consider stopping at a local convenience store. While you might pay a bit more for these items, it prevents the temptation of turning a small purchase into a larger, unplanned shopping trip at the supermarket. How many times have you gone to the store to buy a gallon of milk only to come out with $40 worth of items you never knew you needed??
4. Make Use of Generics
Choosing generic brands is a smart way to save money on groceries. These products are typically much cheaper than their branded counterparts and offer similar quality. While the price difference on individual items might seem small, the savings accumulate when you consider the volume of items in your cart each week. It really does add up!
We’ve previously reviewed several generic vs brand name products and found that, in most cases, there was no noticeable difference in taste or texture. The store or generic brand is often just the brand name product in less fancy packaging. Do you really want to spend extra money to have a better designed label?? You can read our previous post on this topic HERE for more insights.
If buying generics is new to you, try experimenting with different store-brand products to find which ones your family enjoys. You might be surprised how much you can save without sacrificing taste or quality.
5. Take Advantage of Frozen Produce
In a previous blog post, we discussed why frozen produce is an excellent choice for both your budget and health. Contrary to the belief that fresh is always better, frozen produce can sometimes be the healthier option. Some fresh produce items lose nutritional potency and freshness between harvest and purchase. In contrast, frozen produce is often flash-frozen when picked, preserving nutrients. Frozen also helps minimize waste since you only use what you need, minimizing food waste.
Use frozen produce in soups, slow cookers, casseroles, and stir-fries. For dishes where the texture and crispness of fresh produce is important, such as when steaming or roasting vegetables, stick with fresh options.
Frozen produce is also excellent for smoothies, as a mix-in for yogurt, or your morning bowl of oatmeal.
6. Go Meatless Once a Week
Incorporating one or two meatless meals into your week can have a significant impact on saving money on groceries. It also is good for your health.
Going meatless once a week might encourage you and your family to venture outside of your regular rotation and try new veggies and other sources of protein. For instance, grain bowls with farro or quinoa, bean stews, portobello mushroom burgers, stuffed sweet potatoes, and stir-fries with tofu or black beans are all great options. Get adventurous, and you might find many healthy meatless options your family enjoys. You will save money and add some interest to your weeknight dinners at the same time.
If you are a Dinner Daily member and want to explore some vegetarian options, search for ‘Vegetarian’ from your menu. If you are not a member yet, check out these meatless options HERE.
7. Avoid the Bulk Buying Trap
Bulk buying can seem like a great way to save money on groceries, but it’s not always cost-effective. If you buy perishable items or products in bulk that you don’t use frequently, you might waste money instead of saving it.
Consider the shelf life and storage space before purchasing in bulk. Unless you have an extra large family or excess freezer store, buying large quantities of items that go unused or spoil is not a good strategy for saving money. Food waste is a significant source of overspending, and as useful as the warehouse stores can be, you need to be mindful of how much you are buying. These warehouse stores often tempt you as well. On the way to the produce section, you need to pass by a whole lot of items that have nothing to do with your groceries, such as clothing, toys, household gadgets, or a year’s supply of trail mix!
So, even though you might be getting some deals, do you end up walking out with items you did not need? If so, those warehouse shopping trips might be costing you more money, vs helping you save.
8. Do Some Prep in Advance
You might have seen tips on meal prep in relation to saving time or reducing stress. No doubt it does that.
However, advance meal prep can also play a major role in helping you save money on groceries. We have all been there…you plan to have Chicken Burgers and a simple salad on Tues night. It’s 5 pm, and you need to start dinner. But you just don’t have the energy to chop an onion, make up the burger patties, or even make the salad. When you are in this frame of mind, it is just too easy to abandon the plan for the day and call in for takeout or go out. Usually, this means overspending and less than healthy food.
However, if you have taken some time earlier in the day or on the weekend to prep a few things, you are already invested in eating at home, you are in an organized place, and the temptation to call out for takeout or eat out will be far less. In our house, we often make a big bowl of salad and some staple grains/starches (rice, quinoa, farro, lentils) at the beginning of the week and have it ready for the dinners during the week, replenishing as needed. We will also chop up the onions, carrots, peppers, or anything else needed for that week’s recipes and have them ready to go in the fridge. Not only does this make the dinner hour easier, but it also means I will be much less inclined to abandon my plan for dinner.
Also, when you create a meal plan for the week, doing some prep in advance becomes less daunting. When you know what you are making each night of the week, it becomes far easier to get some prep done when you don’t have to stop and figure out what you are making. Instead, you can look at your plan for the next couple of nights and quickly pick some things you can get out of the way.
This step is not about devoting the better part of your Sunday to prepping and cooking in advance. Although that’s a great strategy if it works for your life, we get that not everyone has the time or desire to do this. Whenever I did a full day of meal prep on the weekend, I found it exhausting and could never stick to it consistently. What I found worked was doing a few small things in advance, especially in the morning or earlier in the day when the house was quiet.
9. Have a Plan for Your Leftovers
Let’s start by stating the obvious: making use of leftovers is an excellent strategy for saving money on groceries. It maximizes the value of every ingredient and goes a long way in reducing waste.
Then there is the reality of day to day life. You make dinner, you put the leftovers in a container, and it gets stored in the fridge. Then, a week later, you wonder what might be in that forgotten container, only to realize it is leftovers that need to be thrown away. Sound familiar?
Here’s the thing…you need a plan for leftovers to ensure you don’t end up throwing all that food (and money) away. The good news is it usually is just a few organizational tweaks that can make all the difference. For starters, I keep a sheet of paper near my fridge, and each time I put leftovers inside, I note it on the sheet. This itemizes what the item is and when it needs to be eaten. This list then serves as a visual reminder of what is inside and what we should eat up first. This helps keep the food moving out of the fridge and into our bodies, not the waste bin.
Second, I have a designated space in my fridge where all leftovers go. When the containers are mixed in with everything else, forgetting you even have leftovers is much easier. Having all the items corraled in one spot also makes it easier for lunches at home.
Also, if you find you don’t have quite enough to make a complete meal, get creative with your leftover ingredients. Small quantities of veggies can be added to eggs for a nutritious breakfast or to a soup or casserole. Leftovers from a roasted chicken can be chopped up for chicken salad or made into chicken tacos with black beans and quinoa to round out the protein. There are endless ways to use up small bits of food. When you reduce your food waste, you save money and eat better at the same time!
10. Know What You are Spending
This might sound like drudgery, but this is a mighty step in saving money on groceries. Tracking your spending is a powerful tool in saving money on groceries. If you’re unaware of your spending habits, it’s more challenging to identify areas for savings. Whether you use an Excel spreadsheet, a budgeting app, or a simple notebook, the important thing is to start.
Record every grocery store visit and food-related purchase for the first month, including takeout and restaurant expenses. Enter the amount spent, what it was for, and the day of the week you made the purchase. The details will help you identify patterns and help you control unnecessary spending.
After a month, compare your spending to your budget. Are you over or under? If you’re over, review your habits to see where you can cut back. Did unplanned grocery trips or takeout contribute to the excess spending? If higher, what can you adjust? Are there steps here that you can implement to bring your costs down? For instance, did you order takeout cause you didn’t have a plan for dinner, or did you go to the store multiple times during a given week? Make a note in your tool what you did well and where you can improve.
In the second month, assess your spending mid-month. If you’re on track, great! If you’re close to exceeding your budget, plan more economical meals for the remainder of the month. Revisit the strategies above to find more savings opportunities. Are there patterns in your overspending that you can identify? This does take a bit of trial and error, and it can take time to make these habits stick.
Most importantly, don’t give up if you don’t hit your savings goal in the first month or two. With time and practice, you should expect to see results. And with results usually comes motivation to keep going!
Mastering how to save money on groceries might seem like an overwhelming feat. However, it is about getting organized (Step #1 is crucial) and being more conscious of how you spend your money and create meals. The 10 key strategies noted above we know work- we use them in our own lives and at The Dinner Daily for our members.
The key is to start taking action. You don’t have to do all these steps if you are starting out, but I will bet that even if you implement a few of these tips, you will see results and be motivated to keep going. You might find that the rewards go far beyond just financial savings…such as more time around the table with your family, healthier meals, and less stress. And that is worth all the money-saving strategies there are!
