5 Ways to Save Money as Grocery Prices Skyrocket

I don’t know about you, but we’ve been experiencing some sticker shock while grocery shopping. It seems like every time I grocery shop, the items I need cost more than they did the last time I shopped. Unfortunately, it’s not my imagination; prices have been steadily increasing.

Last year, the average cost of bacon in the U.S. was $4.72 per pound. Last month (May 2021), the average price was $5.11 per pound. In this same time period, the price of a pound of hamburger increased from $5.02 to $5.26 and the price of a loaf of bread increased from $2.44 to $2.66 (source). The prices of essential supplies (toilet paper, diapers, feminine hygiene products, etc.) have also risen.

We all need to feed our families, but how can we do this without breaking the bank? Here are some strategies that have been working for me.

How to save money as grocery prices increase

Comparison shop

Different stores in your community may offer products at vastly different prices. For example, the price of milk varies at the three stores closest to me. A gallon of store brand 2% milk costs $3.28 at HEB, $2.94 at Walmart, and $2.69 at Kroger. In other words, I can save $0.59 by getting my milk at Kroger instead of HEB. However, the prices on many items are higher at Kroger. It simply depends on the item—each store offers some items at cheaper prices than the other two stores. Thus, I can save money by making purchases at all three. Keep in mind that comparison shopping is easier now than it has ever been because of online grocery ordering. You don’t have to go into each store and look at the prices (which is somewhat ineffective anyway given how quickly the prices change). You can simply look online to see the prices.

There are a couple of things to consider when choosing to shop at several stores. One is that you either pay in time or pay in money. Though it saves me money, it takes more time to shop when I do so at several stores. To be clear, I’m not going inside three different stores to get my groceries. Since the pandemic began, I’ve been using online ordering for curbside pickup. It would take a bit more time if I was actually going into the stores, but it still takes more time to enter three grocery orders than it takes to enter one. If you are busy, then it may be worth it to pay a little more in order to save time. The second thing is that it costs money in gas to drive to the grocery store. If you live far away from the stores where you intend to shop, then the money you’ll spend on gas may equal or outweigh your savings on groceries. Thankfully, this is not the case for me because I live very close to all three stores, but it is something you’ll want to consider.

Avoid single-use ingredients

I love trying new recipes, so it’s not unusual for me to purchase a new item in order to prepare a particular recipe. These items often aren’t things I can use in my everyday cooking. Examples include rice vinegar, curry pastes, and poppy seeds. It’s great to try new ingredients, but right now, with prices being so high, it isn’t the best time to do this. Sticking with items I know I can use several times has helped me keep my grocery purchases within budget.

Use less meat

Meat is super expensive. Honestly, I think I could be perfectly happy ditching meat, but this is not the case for my husband. He likes meat and wants lots of it in our meals. However, I occasionally have success preparing meatless meals that he enjoys (for example, this Easy Tortellini Tomato Soup and this Creamy Mushroom Pasta). I have even more success simply limiting how much meat I put in a particular dish. For example, I’ll use ½ pound of ground turkey instead of the pound called for in the recipe. Likewise, I’ll chop up a single chicken breast instead of two. Using less meat means my husband still gets the flavor and texture he likes, but we can save a lot by purchasing half of the meat we would otherwise need.

Use coupons

Coupons are not a novel way to save money on groceries. However, for years I eschewed them. This is because they never seemed relevant to me. The coupons we got were for $1 off two boxes of a type of cereal that we didn’t eat, $0.75 off a bottle of shampoo that we didn’t use, $0.50 off frozen waffles that we don’t eat, etc. I wasn’t going to buy stuff we didn’t want or need in order to “save money.”

Though there are still many of these coupons around, several grocery stores have changed how they do coupons. Many stores now offer digital coupons that you can clip online and then use when ordering curbside groceries or they will link to your loyalty card or phone number so you can use them when shopping in the store. These coupons are often for a wider variety of products and sometimes even for generic products! For example, one store may have a coupon for $3 off your cart if you purchase $10 of fresh fruits and veggies. Because I’m going to purchase the fruits and veggies anyway, this is a great deal for me. Likewise, they’ll have coupons for $0.50 off store brand milk or 25% off certain canned goods. These types of coupons are really helping me save quite a bit.

Buy now for use later

Sometimes I’ll see items on sale for great prices, but I won’t need those items right away. We generally only have enough money in our grocery budget for what we need that week, so I’ve been unable to take advantage of those great prices. In recent months, I’ve planned and adjusted our purchases as one fits together pieces in a complicated jigsaw puzzle, in order to free up enough money to be able to buy some items I see at great prices, even though we may not use these items until next week or next month. Now, when I see butter, canned tomatoes, chicken thighs, etc. on sale, I’m able to stock up on these. Though this has taken work, it’s been an effective strategy for saving a little money.

Final thoughts

There are, of course, tons of other ways to save money on groceries. For example, sticking to your grocery list, buying generic instead of name brand products, buying in bulk, and using cash rebate apps. The ones I’ve described above are simply the ones really helping me right now.

I’d love to hear about the strategies that are helping you! What are you doing to save money at the grocery store?

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Encouraging Hearts and Home and Busy Monday.