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First it was avocados, then eggs, and now beef is a luxury item that you can afford to have once in a while. Honestly, it wouldn’t surprise me if we needed a payment plan for a pack of steak soon. Even Costco’s getting ahead of it with those $1.50 hot dogs in four easy installments.
Last week, I went to the grocery store for almond milk and left $25 poorer. I wasn’t expecting to pick up some carrots, hummus dips, and ground beef along the way. Lesson learned: have a grocery list and stick to the list, no matter what you’re craving for.
Once I stopped overcomplicating meals and slowed down on trying new recipes every week, my grocery bill dropped by about 25%. It stopped me from buying random ingredients, like mirin, that I use once, forget about, and find months later shoved in the back of the fridge after it’s past the expiration date.
Although grocery prices are more expensive, you’re still better off than buying takeout or relying on DoorDash. There are many frugal grocery shopping hacks that smart shoppers use to stretch their dollars without blowing their monthly food budget. Here are the grocery shopping tips that people swear by.
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1. Make a Weekly Meal Plan
Not knowing what to cook will stress the crap out of you. You’ll keep asking yourself, “What should I make for dinner tonight?” and end up at Chick-fil-A ordering a chicken sandwich before you realize what you’re doing.
Meal planning not only saves you the headache of deciding what to make, but you’ll know exactly what to buy at the grocery store instead of roaming around the aisles. This simple hack will save you $500 a month on groceries and food.
Without a list, your stomach will automatically go for cookies, chips, and ice cream to deal with the stress. With a list, you get just the chicken, eggs, and wraps you need to prepare a proper meal.
No one is suggesting that you meal plan for the entire month. Just a week is a great start. Here, try starting with spaghetti, stir-fry, and tacos for the week. No more excuses.
2. Shop with a Detailed Grocery List
Before I had my grocery shopping system down, I would go to supermarkets, repeating the items I needed to buy: tomatoes, lettuce, mushrooms, cheese, potatoes, beef, salsa, oatmeal, paper towels, etc. Repeating the list and counting it with my fingers didn’t work. I ended up missing some things and had to make a second trip. Terrible system.
After that, I started to write a detailed grocery list on my phone. I don’t recommend jotting down your grocery list as items come to mind because you will waste time going back and forth between different areas of the store. Try grouping your items by category, like produce, meat, and pantry, since most grocery stores are laid out the same way.
If both your pasta and burger recipes use onions, figure out how many you need ahead of time. Jot down “2 sweet onions” instead of keeping it vague.
I know it’s hard, but please stick to your shopping list. The minute you deviate from it, your eyes will wander to the snack aisles, where you’ll be enticed by specials and sales on chips, chocolate, and nuts.
3. Buy Store Brands Instead of Name Brands
Did you know it’s a myth that store brands are lower quality than brand names? You’re just paying for fancy smacy packaging and the “feeling good” factor of a brand name. A brand name tomato is no different from a store brand tomato—it depends how you grow them, and companies aren’t giving you the best either way. Most value gained is growing produce or making bread from scratch yourself, but if you don’t have time, it’s fine to grab off-brand leafy greens, pita, noodles, frozen veggies, etc. As long as you stick to 1-ingredient foods, you’re fine. No Name black beans at $0.89 vs. $1.50 brand name—times 10 cans, and you’ve saved $6.10.
4. Shop the Sales and Flyers
Using my own experience, I eat almost the same foods every day but make different meals. That includes avocados (a beauty wonder for your skin), nuts, oatmeal, lean meat, and mixed greens. I check local apps to see which store has the best deal—unless I’m stopping by Costco, which is reasonably priced and convenient, though their avocados are expensive and not that great. For those creamy fruits, I go to my local grocery store for the cheapest deal. Same with nuts, meat, cereal, eggs, and more. If certain items aren’t on sale, I just grab sale ingredients and whole foods and make a meal out of them. Chicken, carrots, peas, seashell pasta this week? That’s a warming soup for the week.
5. Stock Up on Staples When Prices Are Low
When you shop a lot and make your own food, you build price awareness and know what’s truly cheap versus what’s just marked up and “on sale” as an illusion. If you buy the same foods often, stock up when they’re discounted. Of course, only if they’ll last until the expiration date. It makes sense to stock up on rice, beans, pasta, flour, and frozen veggies. By the way, did you know frozen veggies is said to be more nutritious than the fresh ones that most people buy? It’s no surprise since they are immediately frozen after being picked, retaining the essential vitamins and minerals. Can you talk about chilling out while eating healthy?
6. Use Coupons and Cashback Apps
Who said coupons are only for frugal people? No, I know what you’re thinking. You’re embarrassed to use coupons and cashback apps because you don’t want to look like a cheapie. But let me reassure you, you’re not. You’re just being savvy and getting the best bang for your buck. You’re better off saving money for something else, whether that’s funding your next vacay or adding to your investments. Treat it as bonus savings so it doesn’t feel like penny-pinching. Apps I like to use are Rakuten, Checkout 51, and Flipp. You can stack even more when the grocery store already has a sale. For instasntce, a $1.00 coupon on cereal + a store sale means you’re paying $1.50 instead of $4. That’s an instant 60% discount without even trying… proof that clipping coupons really cereal-ously pays off.
7. Avoid Pre-Cut or Pre-Packaged Foods
It’s crazy that 85% of shoppers are willing to pay for convenience. Most of us aren’t made of money and can’t afford maids to cook and clean, so why pay the same premium for pre-cut or pre-packaged foods? Whole foods are fresher, last longer, and cost less because 80% of the price in prepped items goes to labor. Not to spoil it, but you’re also getting subpar food. Think about those premade sandwiches: lowest quality deli, cheap tomatoes about to go bad, white bread close to stale, and iceberg lettuce with no flavor. You deseve better—you can make premium and tastier version at home. It doesn’t take much time, and it’s not worth paying someone else when companies pocket the markup while workers earn minimum wage for something they don’t even care about.
8. Buy Seasonal Produce
When it’s watermelon season, you’re darn right I’m buying lots of them and chugging them down as a refresher. Perfect for snacking, parties, barbeque gatherings, and even breakfast. Don’t forget about strawberries, melons, and other fruits and veggies. When they’re out of season, the food isn’t as tasty and costs much more—sometimes double—so why would you want that? Apples in the fall. Berries in the summer. Squash in the winter. Just remember that, because saving money is always in season.
9. Shop at Ethnic Grocery Stores
Growing up, my parents and shopped a lot at different international stores, with Asian markets being our most frequent stops. They specialize in the ingredients and foods we were looking for—and at much lower prices than big-name chains. We found produce and meat cheaper all the time, even when big chains had sales. Maybe your family goes through lots of rice, spices, international sauces, specialty bakery items, or unique produce not grown in North America that you don’t usually see in mainstream stores. Anyone here a bitter melon or jackfruit fan like I am? Oh, and I bet you’re familiar with that heavy 10lb bag of jasmine rice—$9 at an Asian market versus $14 at a big-box store.
10. Compare Unit Prices
No one’s got time to convert prices per unit, so luckily grocery stores already do that for you on their labels. No need to bust out your math skills or do quick mental math. Hey, this is good news for those who failed math in high school, right? I’m just kidding. But seriously, always compare different brands or no-name options to see which gives the best deal, assuming the ingredients are the same. Always check the ingredients to make sure you’re comparing apples to oranges. Most people love cheese, so here’s an example: a 500g cheese block is $7.99 ($1.60/100g), while a 1kg block is $13.99 ($1.39/100g). The bigger one actually saves you $2.
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