It’s no secret that grocery prices are going up a lot… they will likely keep rising. So what’s a growing family supposed to do? Keep reading for a bunch of practical ways to save (without stressing about your gigantic grocery bill!)
It’s alarming to see prices that are double, triple, and even quadruple what I’m accustomed to paying for foods my family eats every day (ahem… eggs, milk, bacon!)
Yup, my grocery bills just keep rising — partially because of inflation, but also because we have 4 growing kids who insist on eating multiple times every day! 😂
Is there a trick to save on groceries these days?
I’ve gotten dozens of emails asking for tips, ideas, or secret solutions to save money on groceries while prices continue rising…
The honest truth is that I’ve intentionally chosen NOT to stress about grocery prices.
Yes, you read that correctly!
I am not actively looking for ways to cut costs at the grocery store, nor am I worried about the total cost of our grocery bill!
How I Save Money on Groceries
Of course, I don’t intentionally try to spend as much as possible on groceries. There are still a few things I do to stretch our food dollars…
- I shop almost exclusively at Aldi — along with a monthly Costco trip.
- I shop less often to (hopefully) avoid impulse purchases at the store.
- I scan the shelves to see if an “off-brand” item is cheaper or if there are any obvious sales.
- I shop with a list and buy what I need to buy — sometimes with a few fun extras.
- I spend time prepping food each week so it’s washed and ready to eat.
- I cook mostly “from scratch” so I’m not buying tons of pre-packaged foods.
- I buy in bulk when that makes sense.
- I try my best not to waste any food — I repurpose almost all our leftovers and freeze anything we won’t eat right away to use in future recipes.
But aside from trying to be a good steward of the food I buy each week, I have intentionally chosen not to worry about grocery prices, not to stress about how much more I spend on food these days, not to force my family to only eat beans, rice, or other lower-priced foods, and not to complain about something I have little control over.
Relate Reading: 10 Practical Ways to Slash Your Grocery Bill
So where are the extra grocery funds coming from?
No, we didn’t win the lottery, inherit a large sum, or strike it rich on the internet!
Instead, we decided (years ago) not to spend money on a long list of non-grocery expenses that aren’t a priority for us. As you’ll see below, these non-grocery cut-backs save us significantly more each year than I could ever save by scrimping on groceries every week.
How We Save Without Worrying about Grocery Prices:
These are a few of the ways we save big on non-grocery expenses — this might change over the years, and certainly, your list may be different.
- Travel / Vacations — We rarely travel outside of visiting family or a day trip here and there. According to recent stats, this saves our family of 6 more than $10,000 per year (way more than I could save by cutting out our favorite grocery store treats!)
- Vehicles / Insurance — We’re not “car people” so we are very content to drive older vehicles that are still fairly reliable… which also saves us a bunch on car insurance.
- Entertainment — We prefer to hang out at home and have friends over here instead — saving us hundreds of dollars each month.
- Restaurants — Aside from using gift cards, we rarely eat out (saving thousands of dollars each year — based on the average American’s spending habits).
- Clothing — Dave wears mostly new clothing (he’s a hard size to shop for) but the rest of our family wears used clothing almost all the time (usually purchased on “dollar days”). We also have fairly small wardrobes compared to many.
- Extracurricular activities — Aside from a few local sports, our kids mainly participate in free sports and activities through school, church, and the community.
- Haircuts / Color — I’ve always cut everyone’s hair (even the dog!) saving hundreds of dollars each year. And no one in our family colors their hair.
- Debt / Interest — It’s been years since we’ve had any debt, saving us thousands in interest.
These bigger savings really add up!
With a bit of quick mental math, it’s clear that we save significantly more by cutting back on vacations, restaurants, and all the things listed above then we could ever save on groceries.
Even if I spent hours clipping coupons and driving to multiple stores every week, it would never compare to skipping a vacation, buying used clothing, or cutting our hair at home.
I love that instead of feeling anxious about the rising prices on groceries (and gas, and clothing, and everything else) or stressing about ways to stretch a small grocery budget, we’ve simply decided that my grocery spending is a “non-issue” for our family because we save more in so many other areas.
BOTTOM LINE: Our income is still more than our expenses… even if I’m spending three times as much on groceries these days!
NOTE: I realize not every family has the luxury of grocery shopping without worrying about going over budget. We are very grateful for this privilege and make sure our kids know how blessed we are.
If you’re in a position where you absolutely must save every penny, I am truly sorry you must carry that stressful burden, and I hope some of the grocery savings tips I shared at the beginning of this article might help you.
For the rest of us, whose stress is caused mostly by getting caught up in news about inflation and media hype about rising grocery prices, I challenge you to stop worrying about $4 eggs and $6 bacon and instead, consider more practical ways to save on things other than groceries and restore more balance to your budget and your life.
This simple, yet intentional, change in your perspective has the potential to alleviate so much stress and anxiety from your weekly grocery shopping… and you’ll probably end up better off financially at the end of the year!
After all, nixing one vacation will pad your savings account a lot faster than finding the best price on beef or chicken.
A Few Other Money-Saving Ideas
If you’re still looking for ways to cut back on your expenses, here are a few ideas that have worked for our family over the years.
- Implement an “eat from the pantry and freezer challenge”. Get creative in the kitchen and make meals and snacks from whatever you already have in the pantry and freezer… see how long you can stay away from the grocery store!
- Meal plan and cook from scratch (or mostly from scratch).
- Shop thrift stores or Facebook Marketplace before heading to the store.
- Consider “doing without” instead of buying more (it’s amazing how many niceties we really don’t need).
- Forgo big birthdays, anniversaries, or other celebrations and instead, choose little ways to “upgrade the everyday”, as I like to say!
- Make it a practice to “use up” everything you have before buying new (clothing, toys, toiletries, cosmetics, food, etc.)
- Give used (but still thoughtful) gifts — or make food gifts for those on your list.
- Vow to only buy things you can pay cash for (even if you use a credit card to purchase them).
- Hold off on a house or yard project or a big-ticket item for a few months (or a few years).
- Cancel subscriptions and memberships, and eliminate extra utilities (like cable).
- Wait 24 hours before buying anything — that amount of time will often help you realize you don’t really need the item in question.
- Skip seasonal expenses like annuals in the summer and holiday decor in the winter.
And here are a few more “drastic” ideas that might work for your current season of life:
- Become a one-car family (or no cars, depending on where you live)
- Downsize your home — or opt for a camper, RV, duplex, or apartment
- Stop trying to “keep up with the Joneses” and worrying about what others might think if you live more simply.
- Don’t gamble or play the lottery.
- Choose one month every year as a “no-spending month” (read how we do this)
- Enjoy a staycation or local day trip instead of an expensive vacation (they can be even more relaxing at a tiny fraction of the cost!)
Of course, if grocery savings is your “thing” and you just love doing it… then, by all means, keep it up!
However, if grocery shopping already feels like a burden for you, I encourage you to alleviate the extra stress of trying to stick to a strict (and possibly unrealistic) grocery budget and instead, look for alternative ways to save money this year.
Then, enjoy your next trip to the grocery store without worrying about rising prices!
Moira says
I completely agree about buying the best quality food possible and finding other ways to save. I credit my sister’s and my childhood and teen health with our parents’ giving us the best food they could buy. That saves on all the costs of being sick, including driving costs and parental work-time lost to care for a sick child (both our parents worked).
Mim says
Travel is a way to educate and get a perspective. Our chikdren and ourselves have benefitted. How can you understand the world or new perspectives it you never go anywhere. Recommend saving for that one!
Moira says
True, actually being there is wonderful. However, my family never had the money to travel and we are all big readers, so we learned a lot about other places from books and documentaries, and our parents did not have the distress caused by constant childhood illnesses because we were fed high quality food.
Andrea says
Yes, traveling is definitely one way to educate and get perspective… certainly not the only way though.
The point of the post really has nothing to do with travel though — it’s simply to point out that we all have options when it comes to budgeting. If grocery shopping feels stressful, a simple perspective shift and re-working of the rest of your expenses could likely alleviate that stressful pain point. We choose to cut back on travel, you choose to cut back on something else.
Paulette says
Andrea, I do believe you are one of the most positive thinking people I know. We do follow a lot of your suggestions. We eat out rarely, save on insurance, buy in bulk, grocery shop with a list and only once a week, and eat leftovers. This helps tremendously. However, it is so easy to get caught up in the negative. Thank you for your encouragement and example!
Andrea says
Thanks, Paulette. I guess I’m just SO tired of hearing people in my everyday life complain about the price of grapes or eggs or strawberries. Yes, groceries are expensive, but not compared to a new car or a vacation or a giant house. Put it in perspective and it’s not something to get stressed about 🙂
Nana says
Without really thinking about it before, I think that was really our approach throughout our long marriage. And I think that was my parents’ approach, too, looking back. Any sense of lack came from the circumstances outside their control–depression years, World War II and all the changing things in the world that have happened since. But we always had good food, and treats although the treats were not always available to buy during the war years when rationing was present. Our mother made the four girls’ clothes–one normal sized, one short-waisted and 2 long- waisted–so essentially we wore much better fitting clothes from better material than “store bought” ones” would have been, and she later repurposed them into aprons, Quilt blocks, etc. Occasionally she made something for the two sons, but boys’ clothing was very sturdy. So we never went on a real vacation trip, but often went with our dad (in business for himself) if he went somewhere to purchase a part or equipment especially if it was a new place to see or where some relatives lived. There was a state park locally for weekends and summer. So that was probably why our mother never worried about grocery prices–she said our dad said you either spend it on groceries or you end up spending it on doctors and medicine. This was before garage sales and thrift shops, but once they became popular I bought most clothing there, too, for myself and our four children, since I had rather alter and mend than make from scratch. We never budgeted at all for groceries but did stock up when sales were on–not too hard to do since the sales tend to rotate. My husband could fix things on cars so we always bought used–newer cars are harder to do that. So saving on the more expensive things is easier and more effective than trying to save on essentials like groceries.
Andrea says
thanks for sharing all of this — life sure was different “back then”.
Sally Kurjan says
Thank you for this encouraging post Andrea! Great ideas and I appreciate your wisdom.
Blessings!
Andrea says
You’re welcome, Sally!
JJ says
We also have 4 kids, and we do have a budget(some people would gasp at how high it is, but it works for our family). For us, I found that grocery shopping twice a week helps me stretch the food. My kids are like Beagles. They will eat ALLL the food. So by making two trips, it keeps the food in the house and helps set healthier boundaries without me making a fuss. We use Kroger delivery(no Kroger near us), and we are impressed with the quality and quantity we get. We also get about $1.00/gallon off our gas every weekish(through Kroger rewards at Shell gas stations). So it’s been a win-win! I love how you present it to not be stressed. Our relationship with food and money absolutely is learned and often continued with our kids. You model how to behave with both food and money in such a balanced way!
Chris says
A tip to add about saving gas at Kroger. I like to buy gift cards there that I will use, especially when they have the 2 times or 4 times the amount of gas points. I use Lowe’s gift cards. I like to buy plants there and I get my well filter there. Sometimes I buy restaurant cards like Cracker Barrel as well.
Andrea says
great tips 🙂
JJ says
That is an awesome tip! We shop at Lowes, too. I have taken plants back with their one year to return policy. I keep the receipt saved in an album on my phone, since the ink on receipts fades. Chris, you have opened up a new world for me, haha! I wanted to get gift cards for presents. Now I know where to get them! Thank you!
Paulette says
eat like beagles…sooo funny!
JJ says
Paulette, I am glad you got a laugh!
Linda B says
You are so right about saving money on the big ticket items like vacations. My husband and I traditionally do one big trip a year and it’s usually $12,000-15,000. Since COVID, we haven’t traveled and realize we don’t miss it that much. We also rarely eat out now, which is a big savings. Frankly, our dining out was becoming a very expensive habit prior to COVID. Since we haven’t been spending that money our savings have naturally increased dramatically. We decided to have our deck redone, which is something we’ve been thinking about for years. We’ll be able to enjoy that every day and increase the value of our home while decreasing the stress, expense, and exposure of travel and eating out.
Andrea says
yeah, I know it’s not for everyone, but Dave and I would much rather spend money on our home and yard (things we can use and enjoy every day) versus one week of vacation that ends up feeling stressful to plan and exhausting to recuperate from 🙂
Our pool will be enjoyed for many summers for the price of 2 big family vacations…yup, I’ll take the pool every day of the week!
Amanda says
I’d love to hear tips from you about shopping at Costco. Do you save a lot by shopping there? Maybe you have a blog post on it?. We are a little distance from Costco and we’ve been debating whether it’s worthwhile to pay the membership if we have to drive 45 minutes. We have 6 children, so of course, go through lots of groceries! I found it interesting that you go monthly. Any tips you have would be great!
Sue says
Honestly Amanda if you want a big club store membership yes they can be helpful. But shop around.. I know right now we are looking at getting Sams… and they have a deal for $45.00 for a membership and they give you a 45.00 Store credit… so basically it is free.
Andrea says
Hi Amanda, I’m not actually sure how much we “save” by shopping at Costco — it’s more that they have things we can’t get anywhere else for a pretty good deal. Plus, we love going and trying all their samples! It’s more of an experience for our family:)
Here’s a post I did about the things I regularly buy at Costco.
Shelly Smith says
One other benefit of a Costco membership is a discount on rental cars! We are a family of 5 and often drive to a location for our family vacation (versus flying, though we occasionally do that too.) My husband prefers to rent a van for our travels rather than put the miles and wear on our already “older” personal vehicles. He has done a lot of research to find the best deals on rental cars over the years and almost every time, Costco has the best savings and best rate! The savings over the other rental car options (even using other discount codes) has more than paid for the membership every year, and we even upgraded to the “executive membership” which gives us a percent of cash back based on what we spend in a year. Our Costco is not located very close to where we live (we live in a rural location and drive about 35 minutes to Costco) so I tend to only go about once a month also. But not everyone knows about the savings on car rental, so I like to share this info with other families!
Andrea says
yes! There are so many random things you can save money on with a Costco membership!
Kimberly says
I’ve gone back to monthly meal planning that I used when all my babies were still at home. I did it to save time and money and it still works for us today. My monthly meal plan is very simple and flexible. I use the same meal plan every month, shop my pantry and then make my list. We do a once a month Costco trip and then I shop weekly for fresh produce. I typically will purchase a few convenience items for those days when my husband is doing the “cooking” or I just flat out don’t want to. I love the tips on saving in other areas…..food for thought!!
Michelle Bonk says
Couponing, etc. isn’t the same up here in Canada so that’s never really been an option for me. As another mom of 4 (13-20) we have HUGE groceries bills. But it just is what it is. I do the best I can with what I’ve got, following many of your tips!
There is zero point in “stressing out” over things we cannot change!
Katie says
For those who are consistently watching their spending and trying to stick to a budget, they may be doing better than they think. I have been really diligent this year with meal planning and the grocery budget. I track our spending and I went back and looked at the first 4 months of 2021 and I’ve actually spent $400 LESS so far this year compared to last. I will admit I had gotten a little lazy with the grocery budget because we had the money and it wasn’t a big deal. I use Walmart grocery pick up because that’s really all we have around here and it is nice because I can see my total before I check out. So if I want to decrease I can go back through and remove things that may be aren’t really necessities or maybe see what can wait. there are probably some items we are now doing without or maybe have found a lower cost alternative. For example, I used to always buy bagged salad. But a head of iceberg lettuce is $1.50 so I just switched to that. We have done a couple of meatless meals too- Red beans and rice and cheese quesadillas. Everyone liked it!
Andrea says
This is great Katie — thanks for sharing a bit about what’s working for you! I’m a huge fan of tracking our expenses and love looking back on previous years!
Ashley Urke | Domestic Fashionista says
These are such wonderful everyday tips! A good reminder of how to live all the time so that when things are tight, they are not such a burden. I am a newish reader (found you from Sarah of Clover Lane) and it has been so refreshing to follow your blog! I am a mom of three littles under six and I have found you at the right time for some much needed encouragement!
Andrea says
HI Ashley — welcome! Sarah and I have been online friends for 12 years! It’s fun to “share” readers 🙂
I’m glad today’s post resonated with you and your current stage of life!
Chris says
If anyone lives near an Amish location,there seem to be a lot of salvage grocery type stores. I went to two recently while visiting my family in Pennsylvania. They had tortilla chips 5/$1 and also taco kits 5/$1. They have ourstanding prices!
Summer says
My niece does Instacart at Aldi’s and I have noticed she is paying more than walking in the store. I don’t know about all stores, but it’s something to check if you are that budget conscious.
Tamara says
As retired missionaries our income is much lower than most people. One thing I always try to do is to pray before heading out to the store. I ask God to give me wisdom on what I purchase. To purchase only what He knows we need, to keep me from buying things that we don’t need, and to lead me to good markdowns. I also do all the normal things before heading out; make a meal plan and grocery list from sales ads. When we lived near an ALDI I loved shopping there. And then I try to remind myself that God is my source. He knows that the prices are rising and He wants to help us through this trial like any other and draw us close to Himself through the process.
Andrea says
This is a great point, Tamara — often, we don’t think to pray about our everyday mundane duties like cleaning, cooking, or grocery shopping — thanks for sharing this here today!
Chris says
What a great post! I do intermittent fasting sometimes, not all the time. When I do, instead of having 3 meals and 2 snacks a day, I have 2 meals and 1 snack. This saves quite a bit of money although my main reason is for health. I am a very conservative Christian and because of my beliefs, I do not spent money on haircuts or makeup. That has saved a ton of money. We also do not have cable or TV. Every once in a while we will get a monthly subscription to Hallmark or Amazon Prime or something like that to watch movies on our computer. We also have older cars. However, we DO enjoy our vacations. It is a privilege to have extra money to be able to choose what to spend our “extra” income on and I do feel for those with tighter budgets, but i did want to share these tips.
Andrea says
I’ve looked into intermittent fasting quite a bit over the last few months and I told Dave that when our kids are all out of the house, we need to do it — simply so I don’t need to cook as much or spend as much on groceries 🙂 So it’s funny that you brought that up. It would be a huge time and money saver (and calorie saver)!
Enjoy those vacations!
Ashley says
What a great perspective Andrea, thanks so much! We’re thankfully in a similar place to you in that we don’t have debt (other than our mortgage, so close to getting that paid off!!), and we live very simply. It certainly helps to have a community of like-minded people to be surrounded by so there’s not the “keeping up with the Joneses” pressure. Enjoy your yard work and pool! It’s not nearly that warm here yet. In due time 😉
Mary says
I’m only feeding two of us and our retirement income is more than sufficient for our needs. But it’s always been in my nature to be frugal. My idea of meal planning is somewhat different from what I think most people do. I am always planning several days out based on what we have in stock and what needs to be used up and what was on sale and/or looked good when I do my weekly shopping. I’m fortunate to have plenty of space to buy in bulk when things are a good deal. Other items like fresh fruit and vegetables, I don’t care about the price if they look great.
Right now I feel for people feeding large families.
Andrea says
Thanks for sharing what’s working for you in a different season of life — it’s good to hear what works for others too!
And I agree with your produce comments — if it looks good, I’ll buy it!
JJ says
I’ve been stocking up when things are on sale(especially meat), cooking it, and freezing it so it’s ready to use for future meals. I got that idea from one of your posts!
I also use Instacart for pickup. The stores I use do not charge a fee for pickup. I purchased the Instacart Express a few months ago for $50(normally $99). Every order gives me 5% back which is applied to my next order(so it paid for itself quickly). I like seeing my subtotal so I know where I’m at. This has helped us stay in budget.
Chris says
Oh wow! So interesting. I may have yo look into that!
Summer says
My niece does Instacart at Aldi’s and I have noticed she is paying more than walking in the store. I don’t know about all stores, but it’s something to check if you are that budget conscious.
JJ says
Yes, some of the prices can be higher on Instacart for some items. I went into the store after a pickup order one time and found that I had gotten a sale on strawberries on Instacart that wasn’t in the store. Items are even higher if choosing delivery versus pickup. With a baby and 3 kiddos that I homeschool, it is such a convenient way to quickly get groceries but keep me in budget. We did use the delivery option when we had Covid, and that was the biggest blessing! We use a separate debit card that is only for groceries, so we transfer money each week into that account(keeping an alloted extra for the amount they hold while the order is pending). That forces me to stay in budget. One time I was able to do an eat from the pantry type week before we went on vacation. That ensured we weren’t leaving behind food that would spoil, and I used the normal grocery money for eating out while on vacation. It was awesome! I have successfully used Walmart pickup and Aldi pickup. My biggest reason besides convenience for using Instacart is how they handle spoiled food. If I have damaged/spoiled food that I physically purchase in the store, I have to go back to the store for a refund. With Instacart, I can get the refund right through the app.
Andrea says
oh yes — stocking up on meat and pre-cooking it for the freezer is a HUGE game-changer for me in terms of saving money, time, and stress. I just defrost some cooked meat, add it to a soup, stew, casserole, or quiche recipe and dinner is served! Also, way to go on your instacart savings!
Claudia says
Hi Andrea,
The prices are up and going up every week here in Canada also. I try to stick to the list and make a weekly menu. We don’t have Aldi here, but I try to shop at less expensive stores, and only shop 2 times a month for our family of 5.
I’m running out of ideas for our weekly menu. I would like to ask you if you could write your weekly menu for us, for inspiration, in your weekly letter. Thank you very much.
Chris says
I would really like that, too
Lynn says
Andrea, yes please! That would be a great help!
Andrea says
Yes, shopping less often is a great way to save — fewer “temptations” for impulse purchases 🙂
As for weekly mean plans… I still sort of stick to my “theme nights” which I shared MANY years ago on the blog.
Also, here are 30 meal ideas you can make in 30 minutes or less!
Lisa says
Hi Andrea!
How do you make the “candy countdown chain?” Basically what do you use for the clear stuff that encloses the candy? Thanks!!!
Andrea says
Hi Lisa, I just use plastic wrap (like for food). I roll out a LOOOONG piece on the floor, lay all the candy about 1 foot apart, and then tie in between with ribbon or string.
Chris says
Thank you!