How I Grocery Shop for 7 Adults on a Budget

Grocery shopping and meal planning for a large family is a lot of food to account for. Doing it on a budget takes it to the next level. Here’s how we manage:

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I regularly grocery shop to feed a large family of seven adults. On a budget.

To do one of those things would be challenging; it’s next level Ninja stuff when you combine them. But it’s not impossible! And sometimes it’s even kind of fun.

Over the years since we paid off our debt, we’ve continued to live debt-free, saving for big things like trips to Japan or replacing older vehicles. We also eat really well, despite that pesky limited budget thing.

I love having a large family, and I’m really digging having adult children live with us. This is California living in the 2020s.

Thanks be to God, I’ve been able to feed my current household of seven adults incredibly well while spending less than the USDA thrifty and low-cost food plans. How? The Good Cheap Eats System.

The System is simple: Plan, shop, and cook in ways that maximize your savings and purchase power.

We meal plan on a budget, of course, but grocery shopping is a key part in making the numbers work, broken down into some key steps:

• I shop the kitchen first.
• Then I shop the best store.
• Then I shop the grocery sales and clearance.

But how this plays out in real life has nuance.

There’s nuance based on current market forces, how much time I have in my schedule for shopping, and the luck of the draw at my local stores. Let’s be honest: your mileage may vary — and mine will, too! — based on where you live and what’s going on in a local store with its unique infrastructure and supply chain.

Here’s how I currently grocery shop to save money, feed my family well, and even enjoy some luxury items.

I know the prices of the groceries I buy.

How can you know if that sale on chicken breast is a good price if you don’t have an idea of what chicken breast regularly costs? You have to know your prices.

You don’t need to know the prices of every grocery item, but you should be familiar with the price range of the things you regularly buy. Once you do, you can easily identify a sale to stock up on as well as know when not to buy an overly priced item.

For instance, one of my sons who’s learning to be a grocery ninja recently showed me his grocery receipt at a store I regularly shop at. He paid $8 for a pound of ground turkey. Well, I know that this same brand of turkey regularly goes on sale for $3.99, and I can buy it for even less on clearance. We had a good chat about how he could essentially double his money buying ground turkey on sale instead of paying full price.

You can use a price book to track grocery prices, find an app that does the work for you, or just keep a mental note. I do the latter because I tend to have a nerd-like memory for this kind of thing.

I don’t shop at one single store.

There are seasons when I do all my shopping exclusively at ALDI or Walmart in order to save time, but when I’m not in a super busy season, I allow myself to grocery shop at more than one store during the month.

Since I know the prices of the things I regularly buy, I choose the best grocery store for certain items. I don’t go to every store every week, but I buy enough of that item to last me from several weeks to a month so that I can stock my pantry with the best priced items.

I’ve done a grocery store showdown before, comparing prices from the various stores along my regular route about town. There are some that I don’t even bother looking at their sales flyers because I know they just don’t compare to my winners.

Here are my grocery store winners, as of February 2026:

ALDI

When I did my first grocery store showdown back in 2015, ALDI was a clear winner. In fact, the first month that I did all my shopping exclusively at ALDI, I saved $500!

(I’d previously been shopping almost exclusively at Trader Joe’s which, while fun, turned out to be a waste of money.)

What we like to eat has changed over the last decade, so I do like to shop other places, but ALDI is still my first line of defense in saving money on groceries.

Caveat: there are some things I will absolutely not buy at ALDI, due to poor quality, price, or taste. These no-go’s include flour, brown sugar, pickles, sauerkraut, most yogurts, and most meats.

I do buy most of our produce, canned goods, and fancy cheeses at ALDI unless I happen to find it cheaper elsewhere which does sometimes happen. I’m partial to their produce while Bryan loves their chocolate. We typically buy milk and whatever bread I don’t bake myself or find on clearance elsewhere.

Fun fact: ALDI US is NOT owned by the same company as Trader Joe’s. There is a second ALDI company that owns TJs.

Walmart

Until ALDI moved to California, Walmart was not a good deal compared to other stores. But, they lowered their prices in my town in order to compete with ALDI.

As such, Walmart is the second store on my list of winning grocery stores. They carry many of the brand names I love and have competitive pricing to ALDI.

Another bonus is that Walmart has free grocery pick-up which has saved my bacon over the years, especially during very busy seasons. If I don’t have the time or mental energy for ALDI, I let a Walmart shopper take care of my list.

I don’t typically buy meat at Walmart because it’s so expensive.

Ralphs

I love Ralphs, a Kroger affiliate, with all my heart, particularly for their excellent clearance prices, weekly digital deals, and digital coupons. Their staff is incredibly kind and personable; I know many of the clerks by name and they know me!

I buy most of our meats here, either on sale or clearance, because the quality and price are the best bang for my buck. I buy some brand name items here as well as random clearance items. Coupled with coupons and sales it works out very affordably.

I often will shop Ralphs for the sales and clearance, with the Walmart app open. If there’s a non-sale item on my list, I’ll compare prices between the two and set up a pickup order for whatever Walmart has more cheaply and grab the rest while I’m at Ralphs.

Fun fact: The Kroger burrito tortillas are the best IMO for making freezer burritos.

Costco Business

Shopping at Costco has always been a key way we save money. In recent years, my loyalty has been swayed to Costco Business.

Costco Business Centers are not as ubiquitous as regular Costcos – there are 20+ in the US, but in my mind they are way better. While they don’t have the food court, gas station, or optical department, they make up for it with better prices and better quality on many grocery items.

We regularly buy pizza cheese, coffee, sparkling water, eggs, spices, frozen veg, and various specialty items at Costco Business. I miss the rotisserie chicken, but the prices really are better for most of the things I buy — and the parking lot is almost empty by comparison.

I’ve recently switched my allegiance from ALDI’s boneless skinless chicken breast to Costco’s.

Fun fact: You don’t need a special card to shop at Costco Business. Regular members have access. If you have a friend who’s a member and you’re not, you can ask them to buy you a Shop Card and you can enter as well. That’s what I’ve done for my kids instead of buying them a membership.

Vitacost

We don’t do a lot of health food items, but I regularly buy my flour for sourdough bread and pizza at Vitacost. It generally has the best price for Bob’s Red Mill compared to other stores.

I’ve found that the quality of the flour really does matter for my sourdough baking. My starter hates Gold Medal and ALDI flour with a passion.

I get a percentage back shopping through Rakuten and Vitacost offers free shipping over $50. I just have to make sure it’s not over the weight limit of 50 pounds which can happen quickly when you’re buying flour.

I regularly shop the grocery sales and clearance at Ralphs.

Since ALDI and Walmart don’t have regular “sales”, and the clearance sections at both my local stores are pretty crap, I mainly shop sales and clearance at Ralphs, which as I’ve mentioned already, is pretty fire.

Seriously, Kroger nationwide has a reputation for great clearance and sales for all their affiliates. If you have one near you, check it out!

I buy as much extra as my budget and storage space allow, stockpiling the best priced items so that I can do reverse meal planning.

I still clip coupons and use cash back apps.

Back in the day I was a Coupon Queen! While I no longer have my cute little-ginormous coupon box, I still clip coupons digitally via the Ralphs app, keep my eyes open for good paper coupons in the mail, and use cash back apps.

I’ve had a lot of success with the Ralphs app as well as Ibotta. I’ve tried Aisle but not found as many products that we would naturally buy.

Your mileage may vary.

This is how I shop for a large family of mostly omnivores in North County San Diego. There were some picky eaters once upon a time, but their tastes have evolved. We are particular about some items and eat most meals cooked at home.

Your mileage may vary based on where you live, what you like to eat, and who you cook for. This is what works for us.

Frugal Tips for Large Families