With grocery prices rising and package sizes shrinking, it can be difficult to stay within your grocery budget. Here are 35 steps towards improving your grocery budget and making the most of your money.
1. Buy the least expensive ground beef and rinse the meat instead to reduce the fat content.
2. Stop buying baby carrots and chop the carrots yourself.
3. Milk your milk budget by using powdered milk when the milk prices are too high.
4. Try making your own coffee syrups and coffee creamers to help save on your coffee expenses.
5. Dispose of the disposable items and switch to cloth napkins, washcloths, and and microfiber cloths to replace your paper napkins and disposable wipes.
6. Try making your own bread using a bread machine or making bread the good old-fashioned way.
7. Start keeping a price book to cash in on the best deals (you can download a free one here).
8. Take advantage of grocery delivery services or free in-store shopping services to help avoid impulse shopping.
9. Give wholesale club shopping a try for items that you use frequently, just be sure to use your price book to compare the prices.
10. Start making your own homemade cleaners.
11. Learn the art of stockpiling and create a system for storing your stockpile that works for your family.
12. Create a series of menu plans that you can rotate so you can make your grocery shopping easier and keep yourself under budget.
13. Try using coupons and utilizing free coupon services to help you score the best deals for your money.
14. Start gardening with simple foods that are easy to grow like tomatoes, herbs, cucumbers, and squash.
15. Try canning items from your garden to help cut costs in the winter months.
16. Make your own baby food or find a way to buy it cheaper.
17. Give cloth diapering a shot! They have come a long way and can save you hundreds and hundreds of dollars.
18. Sign up for free samples of food and toiletry items. You will waste less money trying new items out and these samples can help get you by when times are more lean.
19. Make your own mixes instead of buying them.
20. Try shopping at a less expensive supermarket.
21. Bring your own grocery bags for a grocery bag credit at most supermarkets.
22. Shop at stores that will double your coupons.
23. Bring cash and a calculator instead of using your debit card. This will help you to stay on budget better.
24. Utilize a slow cooker so you can buy cheaper cuts of meats and use the slow cooker to tenderize them.
25. Try making your own condiments like pancake syrup, croutons, and salad dressings.
26. Take inventory in your fridge, pantry, and freezer before shopping to avoid buying repeat and unnecessary items.
27. Try replacing one evening meal with breakfast foods instead. Most brunch dishes are less expensive and you can omit or stretch meat in these dishes a lot further.
28. Instead of buying prepackaged bagged ingredients, try packaging your own ingredients once a week instead. It will help get dinner on the table faster and it will save you money in your grocery budget.
29. Make a homemade pizza instead of buying pizzas in the frozen section.
30. Schedule a day in your kitchen every week to make cooking easier and to help save on the cost of buying convenience foods.
31. Feed your freezer and/or give once-a-month cooking a try to save on time and money.
32. Eliminate meat or make one night a meat-free night.
33. Make snacks items convenient so you don’t have to buy the prepackaged goodies.
34. Buy and prepare whole chickens instead of buying
chicken breasts as a meal or shred this meat for your casseroles.
35. Buy your meat in bulk.
(Photo Credit: WhamBam Pam)
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22 Responses to “35 Ways to Save on Your Grocery Budget”
Love these money saving tips. We use a lot of them already, but it’s always nice to have a reminder!
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Thank you Amy! You’re list is so comprehensive and different than what I’m used to reading about cutting your grocery budget in that there are things in this list I can actually do. Because I almost exclusively shop at Aldi, I consider myself to already be saving money, but these tips in your list will help even more!
I especially appreciated Stop buying baby carrots. My husband loves carrots and we’ve spent so much money on those baby ones over years. On our last trip to Aldi, I thought hmmm, why don’t I just buy these regular carrots and cut them myself. Light bulb moment!
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This is an awesome list! I need to remember to buy the least expensive ground beef and rinse to reduce fat content. For some reason I just instinctively grab the 97% lean pack, even though it costs more.
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These are fantastic tips, Amy! And there are actually some “new” things in there, unlike so many of those magazine articles I seem to read…
Thanks so much for putting that together… it must have been a lot of work with all those links!
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Thank you so much. This was a TON of work and I spent an entire evening working on it. I didn’t want it to be one of those lists where they say things like, “Shop when you are full.”
I hate those kinds of lists! I really hope there is one new tip in there for everyone since I know we are all struggling with our budgets!! I really appreciate the feedback!
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These are great tips – thank you! I’m going to go to an Aldi next week!!!
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I had no idea about number one. That’s genius! I can’t wait to tell my husband. Although, I loath the slow cooker so I might not share the entire list.
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Thank you for sharing this. I have 4 children still at home and I already do some of the things you have listed, but I did see new things to try. Every little bit helps, Iris
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Amy,
What a great post–so many resources in one place! Thanks for your efforts in putting this together.
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Thanks for the reminder, Amy. I do many of these already with the exception of purchasing the higher fat content ground beef. I’ll have to start using that one.
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Great list, Amy! We recently got an Aldi in our area, and I need to stop in and see what I can start saving on there!
Do you have a Cub Foods in your area? I wanted to mention this for anyone that does – they sell 93% lean ground turkey from the meat case that is REGULAR PRICE $1.69/lb. We have substituted ground turkey for ground beef in many of our recipes, or where we want some beef, we split the meat 50/50.
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#5–I've been doing this too. I've been using towels & washcloths for cleaning & instead of buying swiffer cloths, I use a bounty paper towel.
#8–I make a list & stick to it! And leave everyone else at home.
#10-I tried making my own cleaners, but didn't like the vinegar smell & stickiness. But I use Windex w/vinegar for 99% of my cleaning..including my floors.
#20–I'm an aldi lover too!
Thanks for the freezer cooking tips!
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Great ideas! Many of these things I have done in the past, but then stop for some reason or another. With rising prices it is time to get back at it. Thanks for the motivation.
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What a great list!!! I’m constantly cutting back, but this list has inspired me to go even farther. Got to go and read those links! Thanks
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I can’t wait to try all of these out! Wonderfully done I might add!
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These are great money savings tips, but there is one more that is a huge saver in my mind. The next time you run out of a spice don’t throw away the jar, instead go to the bulk foods section of your grocery store or your local health food store. The last time I bought chili powder I was able to get 2 ounces for less than $1 – rather than paying $3 or $4 for it. Plus not only are you saving money, but you are getting fresher spices as well.
This is also helpful when you are making a new recipe that calls for a spice or herb that you normally do not keep stocked. Rather than purchasing a full spice jar, you can purchase just what you need.
If you have a local tea shop that sells loose teas, some also sell bulk spices.
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I love this! It’s not very often that I find tips I didn’t already know about, since I am always looking for ways to save. I’m totally excited about this. I hope you don’t mind if I share this on my blog and link back to you?
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Thank you for the article. My wife recently quit her job and these are all great tips to help us save money!
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What fantastic tips for those of us tightening our budgets!
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great tips!
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I was looking at the link to your homemade mixes. For your seasoning like onion soup mix, how long will they stay fresh?
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Agree with Christi
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