22 Ways To Save Money on Groceries

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Ever get that sinking feeling at the supermarket as you watch the clerk ringing up your purchase? Before you know it, the number on the register blows past your food weekly budget — even though there are still a ton of items on the conveyor belt.

What if we told you it’s possible to cut what you spend at the supermarket in half? If you follow these ways to save on groceries, you can do it today!

Here’s How To Save Money on Groceries

This shopping guide will help you with ideas to save more money and keep your grocery budget on track.

Best Ways To Save on Groceries: Table of Contents

  1. Change Where You Shop
  2. Buy Store Brands
  3. Make a Shopping List and Stick to It
  4. Plan Your Meals for the Week Based on What’s on Sale
  5. Know the Sales Cycle and Stock Up When Things Are on Sale
  6. Shop the Loss Leaders Each Week
  7. Check Unit Prices
  8. Find Coupons Before You Go to the Store
  9. Download Some Cash Back Apps
  10. Know How To Save Money on Organic Produce
  11. Buy in Bulk When It Makes Sense
  12. Check Your Receipt for Wrong Prices
  13. Get a Good Cash Back Credit Card on Groceries
  14. Check the Clearance Rack
  15. Shop During Senior Discount Days
  16. Break Packages at the Meat Counter To Save Money
  17. Shop at Salvage Stores
  18. Be Wary of Sneaky Product Placement
  19. Check Out Drugstores for Deals on Certain Items
  20. Use Pickup To Avoid Impulse Buys
  21. Buy Previously Owned Supermarket Gift Cards at a Discount
  22. Never Shop on an Empty Stomach

1. Change Where You Shop

You can save 30%-50% on groceries right off the bat simply by changing your routine.

Warehouse clubs, dollar stores, discounters and big-box stores are all options for saving on groceries:

2. Buy Store Brands

Kirkland Signature is Costco’s store brand

If you’re not willing to change where you shop, try changing what you put into your shopping cart. It’s one of the easiest ways to save on groceries. Buying the store brand will typically save you up to 30% without clipping coupons.

“Try a store brand just once the next time you’re at the supermarket. If you like what you buy, you save money that time and every time going forward when you buy it again,” money expert Clark Howard says.

If you don’t like it, go back to the national brand. Just about every store will give you a refund or exchange the store brand for the national brand.

3. Make a Shopping List and Stick to It

Impulse buys are the enemy of your wallet. All those extra items you grab on the way to check out are like small leaks that can sink your financial ship.

The remedy? Make a shopping list and stick to it.

You can always go the old-fashioned route and use a pen and paper. But if you prefer to go digital, there are a number of free apps that will get the job done including Out of Milk and Pantry Check.

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Robin H. tells us on the Clark Howard Facebook page that she likes to use the Pantry Check app at Trader Joe’s.

“I load my list electronically based on what I’m out of or I know we need. I scan everything before I put it into my cart and know my total before I get to checkout. If it’s creeping up, I start putting things back, but I mostly stick to my list. We have iPhones that sync so I can send my husband with the electronic list. We don’t end up at the store buying extra tomato sauce, etc. because I can’t remember if we have any or not.”

Another way to be sure you don’t buy anything extra is to go to a cash-only envelope system. Read our article on budgeting with cash and how to make the envelope method work.

4. Plan Your Meals for the Week Based on What’s on Sale

When you’re looking for ways to save on groceries, reading the weekly sales circular can be a huge help.

As Clark.com contributor Lauren Greutman notes, “If ground beef, bread crumbs, crushed tomatoes and cheese are on sale that week … Boom! You’ve got spaghetti and meatballs waiting to happen, probably a meatloaf, and most of the items you need to make homemade pizza.”

Using a recipe ingredient matching site (check out SuperCook.com) is also a great strategy as you look for ways to save on groceries. These kinds of sites help you with meal ideas based on what you have at home and what items are on sale in a given week.

5. Know the Sales Cycle and Stock Up When Things Are on Sale

Be sure to remember the regular prices of the 10 most common items you buy at the grocery store. That can help you identify sales cycles.

Facebook poster Kathy W. puts it short and sweet: “Know what prices typically are and know when to spot deals and when to stock up.”

6. Shop the Loss Leaders Each Week

Kroger sales circular showing loss leaders that can help you save money at the grocery store on a weekly basis.

Loss leaders are the items advertised on the front of the supermarket sales circular. Typically, they’ll be beef or poultry along with some produce.

No matter what grocery store you’re shopping at, the loss leaders change each week. But they all have one thing in common: They’re advertised and sold at a discount to get you in the door — in the hopes you’ll buy other things at full price.

The really smart shoppers might buy only what’s on sale as a loss leader. With a little meal planning savvy, this is a great way to save big money on your grocery shopping!

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7. Check Unit Prices

Paying attention to unit pricing in the supermarket is ground zero when you’re learning how to save money on groceries. Not sure what unit pricing is? We’ve got a quick guide on how to use unit price here.

Here’s a common supermarket scenario: You’re buying the store brand of napkins and you’re confronted with the choice of either a 250-count package or a 500-count package.

Which is a better value? Most people would think the larger package because you’re buying in bulk, right?

Not so fast. The 500-count package may have a unit price of 70 cents per napkin, but the 250-count package might have a unit price of 67 cents. In this example, the 250-count package has a lower unit price and offers more value for your dollar. You’ll find this happens a lot in the paper aisle and also with condiments.

8. Find Coupons Before You Go to the Store

You used to have to buy copies of the Sunday newspaper to get your grocery coupons. But now the Sunday coupon circulars routinely show up in your mailbox.

Just check those bulk mail circulars that you may be throwing away right now.

9. Download Some Cash Back Apps

Several members of Team Clark have experienced great success with cash back apps like Ibotta.

Here’s what you need to know to get started:

Of course, Ibotta isn’t the only grocery rebate app out there. You may also want to give these money-saving options a try and use them along with Ibotta, your grocery store’s app and paper coupons:

By combining the use of several apps, you can really speed up your efforts to save money on groceries!

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10. Know How To Save Money on Organic Produce

organic produce at a supermarket

If organic is important to you, it’s even more important to know what doesn’t have to be bought organic.

Each year, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) publishes a Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce, a reliable scientific measure of the amount of pesticide residue left behind on conventionally grown produce.

According to EWG research, it isn’t necessary to buy these fruits and veggies organic because they have very low levels of pesticide residue to begin with:

  1. Avocados
  2. Sweet corn
  3. Pineapple
  4. Onions
  5. Papaya
  6. Sweet peas (frozen)
  7. Asparagus
  8. Honeydew melon
  9. Kiwi
  10. Cabbage
  11. Mushrooms
  12. Mangoes
  13. Sweet potatoes
  14. Watermelon
  15. Carrots

Read more about the EWG’s findings here.

11. Buy in Bulk When It Makes Sense

Warehouse clubs can be a great place to do your shopping because of the value they offer. And there are certain items you can buy at a warehouse club and store for later use.

Products like honey, dried beans, maple syrup and rice are just a few things that are so shelf-stable that they never really expire. So those are no-brainers to buy in bulk when they’re on sale and then use as needed.

Here’s our full list of foods that never really expire.

12. Check Your Receipt for Wrong Prices

If you notice an error on your receipt after checking out, take it to the customer service desk and let them know. They’ll return your money if you were overcharged.

Some grocery stores are really generous when it comes to fixing a pricing problem. For example, if you find something that rings up at the wrong price when you’re shopping at Publix, the grocery chain will give you that item for free!

“Our Publix Promise guarantees that if during checkout, the scanned price of an item (excluding alcohol and tobacco products) exceeds the shelf price or advertised price, we will give the customer one of that item free,” the company writes in its customer service FAQs.

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13. Get a Good Cash Back Credit Card on Groceries

Did you know you can put hundreds of dollars back in your wallet every year just by changing the plastic you use at the supermarket register?

Here’s the Team Clark roundup of the best credit cards for groceries.

Of course, this tip is only for those who pay off their bills in full each month. If you don’t, you’ll pay more interest than you’ll get back in rewards.

14. Check the Clearance Rack

Talk to your store’s manager and find out where they keep the clearance items. Many stores will have a dedicated rack or shelf. It’s also helpful to know when new stock is added to the clearance rack or aisle. If you’re the first to find it, you can score some real deals!

15. Shop During Senior Discount Days

Senior discounts are a dying breed of savings, but some grocery chains still offer them. Ask your local supermarket if they give seniors a discount — typically 5% or 10% off the bill — for shopping on a certain day of the week.

Here are grocery stores that offer senior discounts. But the best advice is this: Call ahead and confirm before showing up and expecting a discount.

16. Break Packages at the Meat Counter To Save Money

Say you see a package of Italian sausages that contains six large links and is sold by the pound. But maybe you need only two or three of those links. Just go to the window at the meat department and ask the clerk to break the package for you.

You’ll get it repackaged and repriced at the meat counter, and you won’t end up paying for food that you don’t use.

17. Shop at Salvage Stores

Want to really learn how to save money on groceries? Then you should check out salvage stores. This unique category of retail sells canned food and other goods that are past their expiration dates.

That might sound gross, but many foods have longer lifespans than you’d think, and they sell at a steep discount after the official expiration date printed on the package. Find the salvage store nearest you in this directory.

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18. Be Wary of Sneaky Product Placement 

Retailers often place items with a high-profit margin at eye level. So if you look low on the supermarket shelves, you can find second tier brands that deliver more bang for your buck.

Retailers often put items with high profit margins front and center, right at eye level, on supermarket shelving. That’s because they know “eye level is ‘buy’ level,” as the saying goes in the industry.

So if you really want to be a savvy shopper, you’ve got to look up, down and all around as you’re walking the aisles.

That’s sometimes where you’ll find the store brand or just second-tier brands that deliver acceptable quality for a lower price than the big names.

Want to dig really deep into the philosophy of product placement? Check out our article on a little-known retail secret that may trick right-handed shoppers into spending more money.

19. Check Out Drugstores for Deals on Certain Items

Drugstores can be great for their sales: They sometimes offer big discounts on grocery and non-grocery items — ranging from $1 to a few bucks off what you’d pay for the same items at the grocery store.

But the deal here is, you have to wait for the sales! Most stores offer an email newsletter that will alert you to sales that week, and you probably already receive the mailers that highlight various promotions — so look through them before you toss ’em in the trash.

Here are some items you can often find on sale at drugstores:

  • Cereal
  • Dairy items
  • Eggs
  • Toothpaste
  • Toothbrushes
  • Makeup
  • Personal care items
  • Store-brand garbage bags
  • Store-brand diapers
  • Hair color

You should also sign up for each store’s rewards program and add a manufacturer’s coupon to save even more.

20. Use Pickup To Avoid Impulse Buys 

Parking for Krogery Grocery Pickup, which allows you to save money on groceries by avoiding impulse buys and sticking strictly to your weekly grocery shopping list.

Another way to prevent impulse buys is to stay out of the store altogether!

Grocery pickup services — offered by mainstream retailers like Kroger, Target and Walmart, to name a few — allow you to order your groceries online and then have them brought out to you while you wait in your vehicle.

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Team Clark Grocery Pickup Reviews:

21. Buy Previously Owned Supermarket Gift Cards at a Discount

Sites like CardCash and Raise are in the business of buying unwanted gift cards and reselling them at a discount from their face value. As of September 2023, here are some of the discounts being offered on CardCash:

  • Aldi: 0.5% off
  • Sprout’s: 4%
  • Walmart: 1.5% off

Note that these deals tend to sell out fast. Fortunately, you can set up alerts to know when a gift card for your grocery store becomes available.

22. Never Shop on an Empty Stomach

This is a classic tip courtesy of Facebook poster Ann D.:

“Never grocery shop on an empty stomach. Shop sales, use coupons for what you actually use…make a meal plan, shop during the week [and] look for the clearances.”

Money-Saving Grocery Tips From Clark.com Readers

Members of our Clark.com Community shared a few more tips to help reduce expenses at the grocery store.

  • Greta: Use digital coupons. “I use digital coupons, and the Kroger app will often have a 4 X fuel points on gift cards. You have to clip the digital coupon first, and they have to be a preset amount, like a $100 or $50 Visa gift card. So, I buy 2 $100 gift cards, each multiplied by 4, and that gives me 800 points. I then use the gift cards to buy my groceries on the same trip and that gives me 200 points. I now have a combined 1,000 points and that will get me $1.00 off per gallon if I purchase gas at Kroger or participating gas station.”
  • Den: Cut junk food. “I save lots of money on groceries by cutting out all junk food. No more cakes cookies or snacks for me. If I do want a snack it will be a healthy one like carrots and celery sticks or home made popcorn. I have also cut out fresh meat in exchange for beans and rice together for protein. I will have eggs for breakfast for my protein at that time.”
  • Wiseonthehill: Try the freezer diet. “I was in line at the supermarket when the cashier said she was on a ‘freezer diet.’ What’s that? She said you don’t buy anything till your freezer is empty.”

Read the full thread here and share your opinion!

If you’re looking for more ways to keep money in your wallet, check out our full guide to saving money and reducing expenses.

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