If there’s one area of our personal expenses that deserves our time and attention, it’s our food budgets. Groceries are often treated as an expense you cover with whatever money is left over, but it’s worth the effort to create a food budget and stick to it. Without a budget and a plan when we head to the grocery store, expenses add up quickly. We can end up buying too much, which means food waste and money waste. Or we buy too little and end up eating out, which increases the cost to feed our families by a lot! Learning how to spend less on groceries is one of the simplest ways to free up room in a family budget.

Grocery prices keep climbing and healthy options like fruits and vegetables cost more than they used to, but it is possible to spend less on groceries. Here’s how to spend less on groceries with a few small tweaks to your shopping habits: simple, effective tips that help you eat healthy, rein in impulse purchases and feel confident about your total when you get to the checkout.

How to Spend Less on Groceries

It’s possible to spend less money on food without giving up healthy meals! Here are the practical tips that help our family save money on groceries while sticking to our food budget.

1. Create a Meal Plan

While creating a meal plan might not seem like it has anything to do with your personal finances, it’s an important step in cutting down on impulse purchases (here’s how I meal plan). By first shopping your fridge and pantry, you’ll know which items you have on hand, which ones you need to use up and which ones you need to buy. This makes your shopping trip much more focused. Instead of wandering up and down the aisles, you know exactly what you need.

Meal plans also cut down on food waste, which helps your grocery budget because you only buy the food you know you’ll actually use. Less food waste and less money waste.

2. Make a Grocery List and Stick to It

Making a grocery list (and sticking to it) goes hand in hand with meal planning. Take an inventory of your pantry to see what you already have, and look in your fridge to see what fruits and vegetables you’ll need to buy. Then, when you get to the store, stick to your list! I’ve been guilty of impulse buys too, but keeping them to a minimum, or shopping online so you aren’t tempted, really helps keep your spending in check.

Tip: If you can, organize your shopping list by area of the store, grouping items by the aisle you’ll find them in. This way, you won’t wander down the cookie aisle if it’s not on your list!

3. Spend Less by Shopping the Sales

When it comes to saving money on groceries, it pays to shop around. Discount grocers like Aldi often have lower everyday prices, many stores offer digital coupons in their apps and others will price match. As long as it’s not too far out of your way, you can save a lot by buying at the store that has the best price. Set aside a few minutes once a week, when you’re coming up with your meal plan, to note which stores have sales on the ingredients you need for this week’s meals.

Or, if you have a favorite grocery store, look over their weekly sale flyer before you shop your pantry and fridge. You’ll know what’s on sale and can plan your meals for the week around those items.

4. Make One Grocery Trip a Week

When you make one focused grocery trip a week based on your meal plan, what’s on sale and the list you made, your grocery bill will reflect that. If you’re running out every day or two to Trader Joe’s to pick up forgotten items, you’re exposing yourself to frequent temptation and impulse purchases that end up on your credit card. (Curious whether Trader Joe’s itself saves money? Here’s what I found shopping at Trader Joe’s.) Get your kids and family members to tell you what they need ahead of time, and stay firm on not running out to grab what they want in the moment. This brings your whole family into the budgeting, meal planning and grocery shopping conversations so you’re acting together as a team.

It also can be a fun challenge to make things stretch until the next grocery day. I shop on Fridays, so Thursday nights are often Eat the Fridge nights, where we make a buffet out of whatever happens to be left in the fridge. It’s an easy night for mom and makes sure we reduce food waste, since we eat up whatever needs to be eaten.

Tip: If the budget causes conflict, learn how to talk to your spouse about money without fighting so you can get on the same page! Being able to talk openly about personal finances with your spouse is an important skill to have, both for your budget and your marriage.

5. Buy in Bulk (Only What You’ll Use)

Buying in bulk is a fantastic way to save money at the grocery store, and it doesn’t have to mean processed foods. Rice, oats, pasta, coffee, cheese, spices and more can be bought in bulk and will last long enough to work through with proper storage. Here’s how to store rice long term.

Retailers often reward you for buying in bulk with lower prices per pound or per ounce, which helps you spend less on groceries over time. It’s important to note that you’ll only save money by buying in bulk if you purchase foods you know you’ll eat before they spoil! Buying food that ends up in the trash means you spend more money on food, not less.

6. Focus on In-Season Produce

When produce is in season, there are often sales and lower prices, since in-season produce is plentiful and can often be sourced closer to home. Buying in-season produce is an easy way to spend less on groceries, and it also keeps your meal plan fresh, since the produce you eat changes throughout the year.

7. Don’t Shop on an Empty Stomach

You’ve probably heard that it’s not good to go to the grocery store on an empty stomach, and it’s true! When you’re hungry, your stomach tends to make the buying decisions, not your brain. If you want to make healthier choices and avoid extra items on your credit card, have a snack before you shop. I’ve learned this lesson the hard way!

8. Buy Generic to Spend Less on Groceries

Name brands often cost a lot more than store brands, and there’s not always a difference in quality. A lot of the time, we’re paying for the name on the label, not the food inside. Experiment a little by putting a few of your favorite brands up against the store brand, comparing ingredients and taste. Not for everything, but for many items it’s hard to tell the difference. Being okay with buying store brands is one of the easiest ways to lower your grocery bill and honor your food budget.

9. Shop Alone to Spend Less

I don’t know about you, but when I take someone along to the grocery store, I always end up spending more. Whether it’s a new food a friend says I have to try or little fingers adding items to the cart, shopping with another person can wreak havoc on sticking to your list. That said, once kids are old enough, it’s helpful to bring them along so they can learn the tips and tricks of navigating the grocery store and comparing prices.

10. Plan Leftovers So You Spend Less

Cooking once and eating twice is one of the easiest ways to stretch a grocery budget. Double a soup, casserole or batch of grains, then plan the leftovers into lunches or a second dinner later in the week. Every planned leftover meal is one less trip through the drive-thru.

11. Stretch Meat with Beans and Grains

Meat is usually the most expensive part of a meal, so stretching it goes a long way. Swap half the ground beef in tacos for beans, add lentils to a pasta sauce or plan a few meatless dinners each week. Beans are one of the most budget-friendly proteins out there, and these recipes with pinto beans and pinto bean and cheese freezer burritos are easy places to start.

12. Use Your Freezer

Your freezer is one of the best tools for anyone learning how to spend less on groceries. Freeze bread before it goes stale, overripe bananas for smoothies and baking, extra meat you bought on sale and leftovers you won’t get to in time. When you see a great sale on something your family eats often, the freezer lets you stock up without the risk of it going bad.

13. Track Your Grocery Spending

You can’t cut what you don’t measure. Keep your receipts (or check your bank statement) for a month and add up what you actually spend on groceries. It’s often eye-opening! I’ve shared our own monthly grocery budget and meal plan and what I learned from our grocery budget if you want a peek at how we approach it.

Best Apps to Spend Less on Groceries

If you want to spend less when you’re buying food for your family, downloading a few simple apps can help you find discounts and deals, depending on the stores you shop and the brands you buy, and put a little cash back in your pocket.

Checkout 51

Checkout 51 is primarily a cashback app. You add offers to your list each week, buy those items at the store and then upload a photo of your receipt to earn cash back. It now offers cash back on gas too. Once you reach $20 you can cash out.

Ibotta

Ibotta offers cash back on generic and name-brand items at hundreds of retailers. You add offers before you shop, buy the items and then submit your receipt (or link a store loyalty account). Once you reach $20, you can withdraw your earnings to your bank account or as a gift card.

Tip: It’s helpful to make your shopping list ahead of time so you don’t get enticed into buying something just because Ibotta shows a rebate for it!

Flipp

Flipp helps you find deals and sales when you’re buying groceries. You can use it to browse the flyers of nearby stores and even favorite the stores you shop at most. If you don’t want to scan every flyer looking for the best deal, Flipp has a tool for that too! Simply type the item into the search bar, and Flipp will show you the nearby stores that have it on sale that week. This is a great way to shop the sales and save money on groceries.

Receipt Hog

Receipt Hog is another cashback app, but it’s not limited to grocery stores. You can upload receipts from almost any store, in person or online, and earn coins. Coins can be redeemed for PayPal cash, Amazon gift cards and more.

Spend Less on Groceries: FAQs

How much should I spend on groceries each month?

It depends on your family size, where you live and how much you cook at home, so the best starting point is your own numbers. Track one or two months of grocery spending, then set a budget slightly below that and use the tips above to hit it. Adjust as prices and your family’s needs change.

What is the fastest way to cut my grocery bill?

Meal planning around what’s on sale and what you already have is the quickest win for most families. Pair it with a list you stick to and one shopping trip a week, and you’ll usually see a difference within the first month.

Coming up with a food budget and saving money on groceries doesn’t have to be hard, but it does take a learning curve and some practice. Pick a few of these tips and download one of these apps to see if it can help keep more money in your wallet and less on your credit card! Let me know in the comments which tips your family found most helpful and if you have any others I should include!