10 Simple Grocery Store Hacks That Will Save You the Most Money

1. Shop alone

You don't want any distractions when you're grocery shopping; when kids are present, it is hard to stay focused. If you can leave the kids at home with your spouse, head to the grocery store alone.

If you cannot shop alone, make sure you have something for your kids to do while you're shopping.

2. Shop after breakfast or after dinner

In the mornings at some of these grocery retailers, they discount their meat and their produce in the morning hours, so during breakfast time. 

Go around 9:00 am or 10:00 am, and I'm sure you're going to find some great clearance fines. Also, your belly will be full, and you won't be likely to impulse buy; you'll only buy what you need for the week. 

3. Plan your meals for the week

Write a grocery list and then estimate how much each item is going to cost you before you go to the grocery store. 

That way, you go with a plan, and you know how much you will spend. If you see an item you want to buy that wasn't planned for, you can decide, do you have wiggle room in your budget to purchase that item? You can reevaluate your list and say, do I need whatever item? 

4. Shop the sales 

Shop the sales and switch up what grocery stores you go to based on the weekly sales. 

Most of us receive the weekly mailers on Tuesdays or Wednesdays that contain the sales for the coming week. 

There's always a loss leader on the front page of every grocery ad, so you need to find that loss leader. What's the best deal on that front page? Most of the time, it's a meat option and a produce option. Find the best sale and shop at that store that week. I like to change it up each week. 

5. Frozen fruits and vegetables are cheaper than fresh produce 

This will usually change only when that produce item is in season. Look for those sales for your fresh produce. Then if you want to buy produce out of season, go to the freezer section, where the frozen fruits and veggies are not that expensive.

6. Look at the shelves above and below eye level

Grocery stores put all of those popular brand items at eye level in their aisles. 

They want you to look straight ahead and grab from right there. I want you to look high and low for the generic brand items. Especially in your cereal aisle, look down below on the bottom or up high, and you'll find the store-brand boxes of cereal for so much cheaper. 

7. Stay away from prepared foods 

Grocery stores' most profitable items in their store are prepared food.

Instead of buying those, buy the ingredients and make the food yourself at home. This will require some extra steps, but if you are trying to save money this year on your grocery budget, then buy the ingredients and make it yourself. 

8. Pay attention to the price per ounce 

Pay attention to the price per ounce rather than the price per package. 

On the little shelf price label, you should be able to see the price per ounce and compare that price with the store brand or other brands to see if you're getting the best price. 

9. The most expensive items in the grocery store are alcohol and meat

It's time to cut back on those items. If you want to get into a better mindset of saving money on your grocery budget, then it might be time to reevaluate your eating habits and cut back on where the items are going to be the most expensive. 

You don't have to have meat at every meal. Look into some meatless meal options.

I have a lot of meatless meals because that's all I eat, but if you just want to cut back on your portions, then anytime you have a chicken recipe, only use one chicken breast or two chicken breasts for the whole family and substitute some white beans.

If you're cooking ground turkey or ground beef, substitute some of that for lentils and just halve the amount of meat that you're going to use. 

When you know these are the most expensive items at the grocery store, it helps you to be more aware of where your money is going. So change it up a little bit, and you will save money on your grocery budget. 

10. Use cash

Cash is the key to saving money because when I have to give these dollar bills up when I'm grocery shopping, I realize how much less I have to get through the rest of the month.

It keeps me focused because when I swipe the debit card, I will say things like, oh, I'll just figure it out later. It's okay; it'll be okay. Well, no, it's not going to be okay because, at the end of the month, you're not going to have any money when you keep saying that to yourself. 

Go to the bank and pull out the cash. It will help you be more mindful of your purchases when you go grocery shopping. 

Grocery store hacks

I hope these grocery hacks help you save money on your grocery budget this year. You can save a lot of money by making a few little changes. If you have any other grocery hacks that I did not mention please share them in the comments below.