With the rising cost of food, finding ways to save money on groceries has become more important than ever. Our family of eight has worked hard to keep our grocery budget under control while still providing nutritious meals for everyone.
Our household includes my husband, our two sons, my mother, my oldest son’s fiancée, and their child. With eight people to feed, our grocery bill can add up quickly!
Over the years, I’ve learned that saving money on groceries doesn’t necessarily mean buying the cheapest food or sacrificing nutrition. Instead, it’s about being strategic, planning ahead, knowing when to buy certain foods, and taking advantage of the resources available to us.
I’ve been grocery shopping and managing a household for about 30 years, and these are some of the best grocery budget tips I’ve learned along the way.
1. Shop Grocery Store Loss Leaders
One of my favorite ways to save money on groceries is to shop the loss leaders featured in weekly grocery ads.
Grocery stores often advertise certain products at extremely low prices to encourage shoppers to visit their stores. These are called loss leaders, and they can be some of the best deals you’ll find all week.
The downside? You may need to shop at more than one grocery store to take advantage of the best deals.
I actually look at grocery shopping almost like a part-time job. While it doesn’t earn me a paycheck, the money I save makes the extra time worthwhile.
And this strategy isn’t limited to processed foods. I’ve found some fantastic discounts on fresh fruits, vegetables, meat, and other nutritious foods.
If your grocery budget is tight, check your local weekly ads before you make your shopping list.
2. Learn Grocery Store Sale Cycles
Another great way to lower your grocery bill is to learn grocery store sale cycles.
Many grocery items tend to go on sale every six to eight weeks. Once you begin paying attention to prices, you can start recognizing these patterns.
I think of it a little like buying stocks:
Buy when the price is low.
For example, last summer our local grocery store had crab legs for just $5.99 per pound. We love seafood, and at that price, crab legs were actually less expensive than ground beef!
We bought several pounds and put them in our deep chest freezer.
This is one of the biggest grocery-shopping lessons I’ve learned: don’t just buy food because you need it today. Buy certain foods when the price is at its lowest and store them for later.
Of course, this works best for foods that can be safely frozen or stored long-term.
3. Meal Plan Before You Go Grocery Shopping
If you’re trying to reduce your grocery spending, meal planning is one of the simplest things you can do.
If you’re new to meal planning, check out our Meal Planning 101 post.
Planning meals in advance helps prevent those last-minute takeout orders that can quickly destroy a grocery budget.
Our family is constantly on the go. We have children involved in sports, which means we’re frequently running from school to practices and games.
It would be incredibly easy to grab fast food several nights a week.
Instead, we try to plan our meals and even our snacks around our busy schedule.
That doesn’t mean every meal has to be complicated. We keep some convenient foods, such as chicken tenders, on hand for those evenings when we’re rushing out the door.
The goal isn’t perfect meal planning. The goal is having a plan so that convenience doesn’t constantly cost you extra money.
4. Cook From Scratch When You Can
I still believe that cooking from scratch is one of the best ways to save money on groceries.
That doesn’t mean everything in our house is homemade. We absolutely use convenience foods when they make sense.
But there are certain foods that are much less expensive when you make them yourself.
We make homemade snacks such as protein balls and overnight oats, and we look for other opportunities to prepare food ourselves instead of purchasing individually packaged items.
My oldest son was adopted from Guatemala, and one of his favorite things to make is homemade guacamole. We have it almost every night!
He loves cooking from scratch, and thankfully, the rest of us don’t mind his favorite hobby either!
Cooking from scratch can also give you more control over the ingredients in your food, which can make it easier to prioritize nutritious meals while staying within your budget.
5. Use ChatGPT or Other AI Tools for Meal Planning
One of the biggest changes in grocery shopping during the last few years has been the availability of AI meal-planning tools.
I use ChatGPT to help plan our meals.
I’ll sit down at my computer, give it a list of foods our family enjoys, and ask it to create a weekly meal plan based on those preferences.
I can even ask it to create a grocery list to go along with the meal plan.
This has saved me so much time and money.
For example, you can ask an AI tool to create a meal plan based on:
- Your family’s favorite foods
- Your grocery budget
- Foods you already have at home
- Dietary restrictions
- The number of people you’re feeding
- How much time you have available to cook
- Ingredients that are currently on sale
There are so many meal-planning tools available today that simply didn’t exist when I was establishing my home 30 years ago.
Use the technology available to you!
6. Grow Your Own Food
If you have the space, growing your own food can be another way to reduce your grocery costs.
Last summer, blueberries reached $8.99 per pint in my area. That price motivated me to plant our own blueberry bushes and strawberry plants.
I also established two raised-bed gardens.
Now, I’ll be honest: starting a garden isn’t necessarily cheap. Depending on how you approach it, the initial cost of plants, soil, raised beds, tools, fencing, and other supplies can add up.
That’s why I recommend doing plenty of research before you start.
Follow gardening YouTube channels, learn about the crops you want to grow, and start small if necessary.
I consider our blueberry bushes an investment. They already produced a harvest this summer, and I’m excited to see what they produce in the years ahead.
Our garden has also taught me a tremendous amount. I still have plenty to learn, but I feel much more confident about growing our own food than I did when I started.
And there’s something pretty satisfying about walking outside and picking food from your own backyard.
We even have two large pumpkins ready for fall carving—and we didn’t have to buy them at the grocery store!
7. Use Digital Grocery Coupons
Digital coupons can take a little extra effort, but they can make a significant difference in your grocery budget.
I regularly use digital coupons at our local Weis supermarket, and I also use Target Circle offers.
My biggest tip is this:
Learn the rules before you shop.
Every store’s coupon system can work a little differently.
For example, our local Weis requires certain digital coupons to be loaded at least 15 minutes before checkout.
Knowing details like this ahead of time can prevent frustration at the register.
Before shopping, I recommend checking:
- Which coupons are available
- When the coupons expire
- Whether there are minimum purchase requirements
- Whether coupons can be combined with other promotions
- Whether the coupon must be loaded before a specific time
A few minutes of preparation can save a surprising amount of money.
8. Consider Meal Kit and Food Prep Services Carefully
This last tip may seem strange in an article about saving money on groceries, but meal kit and food preparation services can make sense for certain households.
If you’re single, have dietary restrictions, or frequently purchase more expensive specialty ingredients, a service such as HelloFresh may occasionally be worth considering.
Cooking for a large family can often bring the cost per serving down, but someone cooking for one or two people may find it difficult to purchase a wide variety of ingredients without having food go to waste.
Meal kits can also provide convenience and portion control.
However, do your homework before signing up.
These services frequently offer significant introductory discounts, but the regular price can be considerably higher.
If you decide to try one, make sure you understand the subscription terms and pricing. If you plan to cancel before the next shipment, set a reminder on your phone so you don’t accidentally get charged for another box.
Final Thoughts: Saving Money on Groceries Is Still Possible
These are just some of the ways our family works to save money on groceries while still eating nutritious food.
After about 30 years of grocery shopping and managing a household, I’ve learned that keeping your grocery budget under control isn’t about finding one magical trick.
It’s about making lots of small, smart decisions.
Shop the sales. Learn the sale cycles. Plan your meals. Cook when it makes financial sense. Use coupons. Grow some of your own food. Take advantage of technology.
And most importantly, pay attention to what you’re actually spending.
With a family of eight, I know firsthand how quickly grocery expenses can add up. But I also know that there are still plenty of ways to lower your food costs without sacrificing the quality or nutrition of what you put on the table.
If you’re trying to save money on groceries, reduce your food budget, or feed a large family on a limited budget, I hope these tips give you a few new ideas to try.
It is absolutely still possible to live within a grocery budget—even when food prices are high.
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