Stop the Grocery Store Monster - Effective Ways to Cut Food Costs

This post contains affiliate links. Please see the disclosure policy for more information.

After major expenses, like the mortgage and daycare, it feels like grocery bills are an out of control monster eating away at the budget.  Every day, every week, every month, the groceries seem to take over.  It never feels like there is enough food or at least not the right kind of food in the pantry or fridge.  Sometimes, even good food goes to waste when there isn't time to prepare and cook it.  Here are some of the ways I've have been able to curb food costs while maintaining my sanity.

Store Brands
I rarely buy branded items.  It used to be that branded items were superior or higher quality.  That doesn't seem to be the case anymore.  Oftentimes, the store brands are just as good or indistinguishable from the name brands.  I have also had good experiences at stores that stock primarily store brands, like Aldi and Trader Joes.  As with anything else, you need to know your prices.  Even if it is a store brand, you still need to have an idea as to the value of the items you purchase frequently.  If you have family members that are picky or brand loyal, it's best to just make the packaging disappear.  I love putting out my store brand items at parties, getting compliments, and just nodding and smiling (my little secret).

Shop In Season
You may have heard this one before.  But this is a hard and fast rule at our house, especially for fruit and produce.  My kiddos love strawberries, but guess what, no strawberries in the winter.  I only buy strawberries when they are in season and reasonably priced.  It's amazing how kids can adapt.  They also love clementines, which are in season in winter.  When all else fails, apples, bananas, and grapes almost always seem to be available.  But I always watch prices and never purchase items when too expensive.  I also am not shy about taking only the number of bananas I want or the amount of grapes I know we will eat in a week.  Stick to in season items and your wallet and taste buds will thank you.

Meal Plan

I can see the eye roll from here.  Okay, so I'm somewhat fibbing on this one.  All of the advice I have received on saving money and eating healthy relies on the idea that you meal plan all or most of your meals.  The problem with meal planning is (1) it's time consuming and I don't have a lot of extra time to waste; and (2) I don't always know what's on sale at the grocery store.  As to both of these points, I don't have extra time to scan ads or clip coupons (gasp, I know coupon clipping is often used to save money).  So my meal planning basically boils down to this: I have a number of easy go to meals in my mind and when I see those items at a good price at the store I decide to make those meals that week.  In other words, I see ground meat on sale or on clearance (my favorite) and I decide we are having Korean Ground Beef for dinner one night this week.  It's easy to scan the meat section and make those decisions on the fly based on the best prices.  If you have more time, of course, scan the ads and make your decisions ahead of time, but I have had the best success with knowing my cooking repertoire and scouting out the best deals in person.

Don't Buy It
This definitely saves you big money.  Just don't buy it.  I know it's easier said than done.  But it doesn't matter how good of a sale it is.  If you are spending money, you are not saving it.  I used to stock up on sale items, but then I realized they often expired before I used them or the items were specialty goods that we never ate.  The best way to save money is to not spend it.  Don't go to the grocery store hungry.  Keep your willpower high.  Don't get lured into sales and specials for items you don't use regularly or know you won't consume in the next week or so.  Avoid those end caps.  Stay strong and don't buy it.  You got this!

Rely on the Final Price Not Price Per Pound

Last but certainly not least, this is one of my favorites for keeping our food costs low.  I use to always shop based on price per pound.  I'd brag to my husband.  "Look at what a great price per pound I got on <insert meat>."  The problem is we didn't eat all of the meat and it went to waste.  So, now I look at the total price of the meat or produce.  My rule of thumb is max $5-6 total for a dinner portion of meat.  My personal goal is to keep dinner under $10 for our family of five.  I also only buy the number of meats we need for a given week (i.e., I'm only cooking three nights, I only need three meats, sometimes less if doing a meatless night or leftovers).  I have found that smaller portions of meat, even for a more expensive cut, is more than enough for our family of five.  I think portions in general have gotten out of control and everyone is more than satisfied with their smaller portions.  We try to have plenty vegetables and other cheaper options (rice and noodles are always a hit) if anyone is especially hungry, but we rarely encounter starving children or rumbling bellies.

I hope these tips help you save some moolah on your next shopping adventure.  Don't let the big, bad scary grocery monster eat away at your hard earned dollars.