Want to eat better, save money, and meet your budget? There are lots of tweaks you can make to your meal planning and grocery shopping habits in order to spend less. Practice these smart ways to save money on groceries.
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Over the years you’ve probably heard some slick tricks to lowering your grocery bill. Shop the same store. Shop different stores. Do the 6-to-1 grocery shopping trick.*
There are all kinds of tips and tricks out there, but honestly? Let’s address the biggest issue: complicating things. Keep it simple instead.
When it’s simple, you’re more likely to do it. The more you do it, the more you save. That’s the name of the game, my friend!
While I do have lots of ninja level budget grocery shopping tips to help you maximize your time and money spent in grocery stores, I want to focus on this short list of smart ways to save money on groceries.
You know that cooking at home is probably the better way. Not only do you have a better chance of eating more healthfully, but you’ve heard that it’s cheaper, up to ten times cheaper than eating at a restaurant!
However, it’s not as simple as going to the grocery store and loading things into your cart. I outta know. In my newlywed year (circa 1994) I spent as much to feed two of us as I did to feed six of us, ten years later! I bought what I wanted when I wanted it, and ended up paying a heavy price.
The very act of grocery shopping and cooking isn’t what saves you money. It’s how you do it. You can save a lot of money cooking at home if you use some savvy planning.
So, instead of spending five times as much as you should, try these smart ways to save money cooking at home:
1. Plan budget meals.
The internet has no shortage of recipes and meal ideas, but not all of them are budget-friendly. To save money on groceries, plan your meals around what’s generally frugal.
While I am the first to choose prime rib or steak when it’s an option, I also know that a homemade burrito bowl tastes just as good at a fraction of the price. Save steak (and other high ticket items) for special occasions — and buy them on sale when you do indulge.
Check out this Budget Grocery List if you’re not sure what are cheap ingredients.
2. Plan to use leftovers.
Wasted food accounts for a huge fraction of the average family’s grocery spending. You’ll regain some cash if you reduce food waste.
Plan to use up leftover prepped food as well as leftover ingredients. Avoid leftovers in the first place if you’re not a fan of eating the same thing twice.
3. Shop your kitchen.
It’s easy to save money on groceries when you plan your meals based on what you have in your kitchen already. Don’t buy more; cook what you have.
By regularly cooking what’s already on hand, you’ll save money and be a better steward of your resources. A regular pantry challenge is a great way to curb your spending and avoid waste.
When you use up leftovers and shop your kitchen, it informs better grocery shopping. You learn not to buy a gallon jug of soy sauce or you realize that your kids no longer like boxed mac and cheese.
4. Shop the best store.
This new understanding of what your family likes leads to better choices of grocery store. If yours has moved from a large household to an empty nest, shopping at Costco may not be the best option for you.
Bulk buying can save you money sometimes, but not always. It’s not a good deal if you end up throwing most of it away.
Where you shop will make a big difference to your grocery budget. If you don’t need fancy brands or an olive bar, you can probably go with a low budget grocery store like ALDI in order to save money on groceries.
What’s the Best Place to Shop for Groceries? The one that has the best prices for the things you regularly buy.
5. Shop the sales and clearance.
One of the struggles of our modern generation is that we want what we want and we want it now. We need to stop with the Veruca Salt, and learn that to save money, we can’t always have what we want in that instant.
Don’t buy $6/pound chicken breast because that’s what you feel like having tonight. Instead, buy boneless, skinless chicken breast on sale — at about half the price!
Buy an extra pack to freeze so that you’ll have some on hand next time the craving hits.
Instead shop the sales and clearance so you can stretch your grocery dollar a little farther.
6. Cook food you love.
When you cook food you really love, you reduce or even eliminate the temptation to get take-out. Instead make your favorite foods yourself. Cooking at home can be therapuetic to both you and your wallet!
There are easy DIY convenience foods you can make to further reduce your grocery spending. Avoid bottled dressings, sauces, gravies, and salsas. Same goes for pancake, waffle, and muffin mixes.
These things are easy to make from scratch, taste better, and cost less. You learned how to measure in first grade math, so you can totally do this!
7. Cook extra to freeze.
When you make dinner next, make a double batch and freeze that extra for a future night. In this way, you can build a freezer stash so that you don’t have to cook every night in order to save money.
These are my favorite smart ways to save money on groceries and the ones I teach to the Good Cheap Eats Club. If you’re looking to level up your budget game, join us!
More Grocery Shopping Tips
What do you think?
Let’s chat in the comments!
This post was originally published on October 10, 2018. It has been updated for content and clarity.
* The 6-to-1 grocery shopping trick went viral in 2025. I’m guessing it suits the folks who go to the store without a shopping list? Buy 6 veggies, 5 fruits, 4 proteins, 3 starches, 2 sauces, and 1 fun thing. Apparently it limits your overspending.
Amber B.
Such good reminders! Following your principles really has helped me keep food costs down despite rising costs. I had time to stop by a Smart & Final first thing in the morning this week and found a bunch of meat on clearance that had a sell by date of the next day. One pack became dinner and the others went in the freezer to replenish my frozen meat supply. And I love Trader Joe’s – I would never buy meat there, but it’s cheap for pasta, greeting cards, wine, and pasta!
Sharon Johnson
I go buy all my at Sam’s. They seem to have the best prices. I buy ground chuck, BSChicken Breasts, a couple of small beef roasts (in a package) potatoes (they last longer in a brown bag) and milk. I only cook with milk and freeze. I buy all my trash bags at Sam’s and they last months and much cheaper than buying with coupons.
I stockpile vegetables, tomatoes, noodles, baking products, toliet tiissue, paper towels and all I need including toothpaste, lotion, etc.
I do not meal plan. When I did, I woke up NOT in the mood for what I had chosen that day. I cook for a month using what meat I have and think of something based on that. I always have eggs, vegetables and anything to go with it. I do the Publix BOGO’s with coupons.
While I stockpile, I’m not extreme. I use mustard on all my sandwiches (I hate mayo) and keep maybe 3 to 4 on had and by the time I’m low, there is another sale and coupons. I keep a couple of jars of mayonnaise for potato salad and two to three bottles of ketchup. I make everything from scratch.
And yes, I make a list and ONLY get what is on my list. I never move my eyes to the shelves.
Cory
I use my vegetable scraps & make my own chicken broth and veggie broth from scraps I would normally have thrown away. I freeze chicken carcasses and simmer everything together when I have enough discards in the freezer. I freeze it into muffin tins to toss in noodle/rice dishes & quart containers to use in soups or stews etc. *I find I waste very little. I also have a vitamix blender that makes short work of fruits and vegetables that might not get used in a timely fashion. They go into smoothies, and sauces. I also keep a well stocked pantry. I’ve made a beautiful cheesecake from items that needed to be used up by a certain date. I use dried beans to make hummus and freeze the unused portion of beans for future use. I make salad dressings, marinades, dips and spreads instead of buying them saving $ and using up everything.
Anna
The bulk buying can trip me up. I have learned that sometimes less is more, even with food shopping. My other thing is that I can really be impulsive while grocery shopping, so I need a plan and a list and to make myself stick to the list for the most part.
Micha
My mom and I were just talking about how expensive chicken used to be. When I was growing up we had four chicken recipes that we ate and those were only for special occasions like birthdays.
One way we save money by cooking at home is by eating at least one meatless meal a week. It’s normally some form of Mexican food because homemade bean burritos, refried bean quesadillas, or tostadas are favorites and super delicious.
Katie B.
Great tips! We “buy in bulk” by going in on most purchases with our neighbors. That way we can divide those huge packages between us and each save money.
Janet
If you have children you will have unplanned leftovers. One week they LOVE your homemade mac and cheese and the next week it’s yucky. Sigh. To use up those unplanned left overs we have a Penny Supper once a week. I pull all the odds and ends out of the fridge. Heat everything up and serve it buffet style. It’s an easy meal to prepare and it’s saves money and reduces waste.
Katie B.
I thought it was just my kids!