Are you tired of paying too much for groceries? Here are 14 amazing tips that will help you save money on groceries every single week.
If you’re anything like our family, you go through a ton of groceries every week—I’ve got two little boys, who eat a lot for their size and a husband that eats like a teenage boy.
With inflation and the cost of everything going up, I know we’re all trying to save a little where we can. Being able to save money on food every week adds up over time.
Simply by cooking and eating meals at home, you’re saving hundreds! Eating meals out at restaurants adds up so fast, plus, eating home-cooked meals is so much healthier. Here are my top tips on how to save money on groceries every week.
14 Simple Ways to Save Money on Groceries Every Single Week
1. Meal Plan Recipes in Advance
This is my number one best tip for saving money—plan your meals and pick recipes in advance. When you go to the store without a plan and start buying random stuff, you end up buying more than you need, and it often goes wasted throughout the week.
When you have a set meal plan, you know exactly what you need, and can make a plan for using up your leftovers throughout the week, or using the same ingredients in multiple meals so you have less, or even no food waste.
Grab my free printable meal planner here!
I also love meal planning because it saves me so much time and stress during the week. I just look at my menu, prep dinner with the groceries I purchase on Sunday and cook! VOILA!
2. Always go to the Store with a Grocery List of Items You Need
This is essential, going with a grocery list of items from your meal plan recipes makes sure you don’t forget anything, but also helps keep you from buying random stuff. After I meal plan, I make my list and always check the pantry and fridge to make sure I’m not purchasing anything we already have.
Having a list at the store keeps you on track, focused and more efficient. Do I go off list sometimes? Yes, I’m only human, but usually it’s because I see something and realized I meant to put it on the list but forgot.
3. Don’t Shop When You’re Hungry
This was a tip I got from my mom a long time ago—never shop when you’re hungry. I’ve done this before and I end up being so much random stuff, and honestly stuff that’s not that healthy because I was so hungry I didn’t care! Again, this is why planning meals and making a list is essential for saving money at the grocery store
4. Leave your Kids at Home
This tip is two-fold. One, shopping at the grocery with kids can be a nightmare, especially if you have little ones like we do. They want to push the cart, put stuff in the cart, pull things off the shelf—it’s chaotic for me and makes going to the grocery store more than I can handle. If your kids are older, or you don’t have a choice, give them a job to help with so they feel included.
The money-saving reason behind leaving your kids at home is because they often see things in brightly colored packages and ask if they can have it. And if you say no, that can end in a meltdown. Bottom line, leaving them at home can save you money and a potential meltdown!
RELATED: 10 Tips for Traveling with a Toddler
5. Utilize Grocery Rewards Programs
We love shopping at Whole Foods, I know, not the cheapest, but they are the only stop where I can get everything I want from my list. We’re also Amazon Prime members, which saves us money every single week.
And, on a random note, I actually don’t think shopping at Whole Foods is as expensive as people think because their produce and meat are both typically fresher than other stores and lasts us a lot longer. Which means less food waste!
One time at our local grocery store, my entire grocery bill was covered by Rewards points. I was so in shock I asked the manager, but she said I was good to go!
6. Take Note of Grocery Sales
Ever since Amazon bought Whole Foods, I’ve noticed a lot more sales, or maybe I’m just becoming more aware of them now that our grocery bill has gotten higher. But, they’ve got yellow signs all over the store for on sale items. Always pay attention to what’s on sale, even if that means tweaking your grocery list just a bit.
For example, I had Brussels sprouts on our menu one night, but got to the store and saw that asparagus was on sale, so I swapped that night’s vegetable for asparagus. It’s little swaps like this that can really add up over time!
7. Buy Bulk Items When it Makes Sense
I love the idea of Costco, but we don’t have a huge pantry, so buying tons of stuff in bulk doesn’t always make sense. But, for items that we use everyday, buying in bulk at stores like Costco or Sams can be an easy way to save a ton of money.
The trick here is only purchasing items in bulk that you know you’ll use, and making sure they are not going to go bad before you can go through it. You never want to buy bulk just for the savings if it’s not something you actually use!
RELATED: How to Be More Sustainable in Everyday Life
8. Take Advantage of Canned & Frozen Produce that Won’t Go Bad
Okay personally, I don’t love frozen vegetables, but frozen fruit for smoothies, and canned sauces, beans, tomatoes and chiles are all great, healthy foods!
Canned and frozen items are often really inexpensive too. Having some items like this in your pantry is a great way to create cheap, healthy meals for your family in a pinch.
9. Buy the Store Brand
Another reason I LOVE Whole Foods—I promise, this is not a sponsored post for Whole Foods—but they’re 365 Organic brand is great.
I know I can consistently count on it being great quality and a great price! There’s often sales on this brand too, which I love! We do this for all canned goods, nut butters, plant milks, spices dairy and frozen produce!
10. Only Buy Organic for the Dirty Dozen
If buying organic is important to you, but you’re feeling crushed by the expense, opt to only buy organic for items on the Dirty dozen list. This list is the top 12 produce items that have the highest levels of pesticides, which is why it can be smart to buy these items organic.
Here’s the list for this current year. Strawberries and spinach are often at the top of the list, but some items change year to year.
11. Compare Prices Between Similar Items
When you’re purchasing your normal items, take a second to price check the other brands that sell the same thing. Are you overpaying for something that’s essentially the same?
I’ve been doing this more recently as prices continue to increase and have found that simple swaps—different brands for spices can be wildly different prices and you’re getting basically the same thing.
12. Use Leftovers for Lunches or Other Meals
I always try to make sure that we use up whatever we cook every week. It’s not perfect, but I’m getting better at it every month. When we have leftovers, we typically send them with our kids to school, or eat them for lunch the next day.
Personally, my favorite leftovers are soups because they’re just as good, if not better, the day or days after you make it.
RELATED: 17 Easy Healthy Soup Recipes to Make this Fall & Winter
13. Cut Back on Canned Drinks
We love Spindrift and Topo Chico in our house, but they add up! Cutting out things like soda or sparkling water can cut down on your grocery bill a lot. A cheaper stand in for something other than water is tea! I love hot tea and iced tea, and tea bags are very affordable.
If you can’t part with your soda or sparkling water, buying these in bulk at places like Costco and Sams are totally worth it!
14. Avoid Grocery Delivery Whenever Possible
I know how convenient grocery delivery is when you have kids and a million other things going on, but they absolutely crush you on the fees and tips!
The best way I’ve found to avoid this is to have a shopping day and time built into your schedule. For us, that’s typically Sunday morning—I plan meals and make a list in advance and one of us will do the shopping for the whole week.
This not only saves us money, but also a lot of time during the week!
These tips will help you save money on groceries every week! Do you have any additional tips for saving money on groceries?
BTW, how to easily save money this month, and Thrive Market Review (& My Must-Haves).
