21 Super Practical Ways Frugal People Save Money On Groceries Without Feeling Deprived
These are too good not to share…
As someone who loves to eat but hates spending too much money, I have a deep and complicated love-hate relationship with the grocery store. I also love to collect money-saving tips and tricks, so when I came across this Reddit thread where frugal folks shared their favorite grocery-shopping strategies, it was too good not to share it. Here’s what people had to say:
1. “Get obsessive about unit pricing and make your meals around whatever you can buy in bulk. Some of the larger cuts of meat can also be really helpful. Sometimes I can get a 15lb loin of pork shoulder for as low as $1.30/lb. Basically, anytime you see something for well below market rate, just buy it and figure out the rest later.”
2. “Plan my meals around affordable staples (and stockpile on sale). Plan my treats around sales.”
3. “Buy what’s on sale but don’t have a fixed shopping list. Basically, whatever deals and coupons are on the front page of the flyer. Shop two stores. Stock up when things are on sale. Thats all.”
4. “Leftovers, leftovers, leftovers, learn to love them. We eat them all the time. I truly appreciate them. Grew up pretty hungry. I try to make a game out of using all of the leftovers. I’m not 100% successful, but it’s fun and frugal.”
5. “Look out for clearance items. Items which may be expiring soon are sometimes discounted.”
6. “For me, I shop at Trader Joe’s which is the cheapest in my high cost of living city. While I know many may frown on it as not frugal, buying a lot of frozen premade meals helps my family cut back on eating out due to being too exhausted to cook, so I’m willing to shell out more.”
7. “Only buy what you will eat. We all fall victim to the idea of getting healthy and eating a bunch of salad or whatever, only for it to go bad in the fridge and need to be thrown out. It doesn’t matter if it was on sale; if you throw it out, it was a waste of money. Be serious about what you will and won’t eat. My grandma taught me that anytime I throw food away, I should envision myself throwing out money instead. (All this is to say you should never risk eating potentially spoiled food; just make sure you aren’t letting things go to waste). Your freezer can be your friend, especially if you make too much or something is going bad before you can use it. Utilize pantry items that don’t spoil easily (canned goods, pasta, etc) and mix them in with some fresh or frozen produce.”
8. “I have a vacuum sealer and buy meats in bulk, especially when they go on sale. This past Memorial Day weekend, one grocery store nearby had these amazing American Wagyu burgers on sale for $1.50 each! I bought 16 patties, pre-seasoned them before sealing them two at a time, and put them all in my chest freezer in the garage. They’re easy to thaw and cook on the grill and taste a lot better than the 80/20 ground beef I usually get for burgers.”
9. “My wife and I build a grocery list on the Walmart app, and then take that list to Winco (local discount grocery store) and compare everything. We buy the cheaper ones at Winco and get the rest at Walmart. Typically saves us $30-$50 per trip ($200 budget each time we get groceries, family of four).”
10. “No single serve (like applesauce, drinks, snacks) things at home. Ounce for ounce, it always costs more.”
11. “We switched to a mostly plant-based diet. Dried lentils, chickpeas, beans, and some kinds of nuts are a lot cheaper per serving than meat. Or, you can significantly reduce your meat portion by supplementing with plant protein.”
12. “I have been using AI to help me meal plan and as a household of two, our grocery bill was $47 this past week. I use Snapchat AI because it is free and say, ‘I need help planning 14 meals and 7 snacks for the week. We are eating low-calorie, high-protein, and I would like to stay under a budget of ____. We do not like spicy food, and we have ______, ______, and ______ in our pantry that I’d like to use this week.'”
13. “I always buy generic. Some generics are exactly the same as name brands, and the majority of them are perfectly fine. Especially since the name brands have also declined in quality.”
14. “This one takes a little time, but I suspect it will yield results for everyone. Last year, I wanted to check my grocery spending, so I gathered data: I entered my grocery spending by receipt for each month into a spreadsheet and sorted by category: breads, fruits and veg, frozen, pantry, etc. (I did have to sort through a couple of receipts to figure out which categories would work best for me.) After a couple of months of tracking spending, I figured out which categories were higher than they needed to be and which strategies might make a difference. For example, I like Beyond Meat sausages for an easy protein but they are a little pricey, so I should buy those on sale or use in meals where it can be stretched into more portions. So my best tip is: knowledge is power; get the data!”
15. “Chest freezer. Start meal plans by looking at what you have and using that in meals the next week. Go through sales to meal plan based on that. Keep a running number in your head for your typical staples and buy as much as possible when it’s a good price or sale. Freeze it. Breads, pastries, etc, freeze wonderfully.”
16. “A few years ago, looking for tips brought me to Reddit, and I read about biweekly shopping and seasonal meal plans and, most importantly, cooking with ‘leftovers’ in mind. I was spending nearly $3,000 monthly, mostly with the ‘stock up’ mindset, which was leading to food waste and really felt like throwing away time and money. After some tweaks and trial and error, we made a 30-meal supper menu, Mediterranean diet, shop twice a month for seven extra large suppers, 14 breakfast and lunches, and fruit for snacks. I spend roughly $600 to $900 monthly for a family of five: two adults, two preteens, and a toddler. I only do Walmart pick-up orders and can just reorder previously saved orders with a small adjustment every other week.”
17. “Focus on proteins, whatever your choice is (plant-based, meat, etc). It’s the main focus of most meals. Then, raid your pantry/freezer for seasonings and side dishes to add to the meal. Protein helps you feel fuller, longer, and more satisfied, and a little can go a long way.”
18. “Making certain things from scratch (pizza dough, pasta sauce, chicken broth) can be a better bargain. Other times, buying it may save you time, effort, and ingredients (I tried this with pita bread and ricotta, and it wasn’t worth it).”
19. “Costco frozen chicken breast, Costco veggies like frozen broccoli or fresh green beans, and Costco potatoes or rice. Boom, dinner for weeks. If you’re feeling fancy, get some lemon pepper seasoning. Is it new and exciting every night? Nope. But it’s easy.”
20. “My best decision after having kids was getting a CSA (community-supported agriculture) box subscription. That’s a local farm box every week, with varied produce based on what’s growing that week. It’s an amazing value, and my local CSA didn’t increase prices in the past two years, which is amazing. I get to pay for the share amount that I want, i.e. a share for four to six people, and the produce is fresh and locally grown. I pay $34 a week this year for enough produce for four to six people, and that’s incredibly helpful for our grocery bill. We use part of our tax return to pre-order our share for the entire year, and it’s just an amazing financial benefit for our family.”
21. And finally, “Use the app at your grocery store — they have coupons they don’t show on the shelves!!”
Do you have any grocery shopping strategies that help you save money? Tell us what’s working for you in the comments!
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