How to Save Money on Groceries

Time to learn how to save money at the grocery store. You like money, don't you? So do I. Let's get that bread. Save enough money and one day you’ll rich.

Maybe one day you can build that moon base you always wanted. The one with death laser and the robot sharks. That's what I'd do. Heck, I've already done it. Uncle Sam sent the Space Force to stop us. When the marines landed, I offered them better healthcare, and now most of them work for me. Ha!

1. Buy your spices in the ethnic aisle. A glass jar of fancy-brand cumin could run you $10. A plastic bag from Mexico might cost $1. It’s the same stuff. Cumin is cumin.

2. Buy pizza dough instead of frozen pizza. It’s healthier and often cheaper. Keep some frozen pesto or tomato sauce in the freezer. Use that as your base. Chop up leftover veggies to use as toppings.

3. Freeze all your bread. Bread can defrost in minutes. Want it defrosted in seconds? Set your oven to 150 °F and leave the bread in there for 15 seconds. Pow. Ready to go.

4. Ignore the sticker price and look at the price-per-unit or price-per-pound. Just because the packaging is bigger doesn’t mean you’re getting a better deal.

5. Leverage flyer prices. Most grocery stores do price-matching. Sure you can run around to four different stores but you’re wasting money on gas. If you feel embarrassed about doing this, just go at before closing or right when it opens. The store is usually empty.

6. Don’t be afraid to return stuff. If your chicken goes bad after 24 hours then return it. Most stores will swap your product for a new one no questions asked. Don’t feel awkward about this. And if you do, that’s alright too.

7. Buy your spices and baking goods at a bulk store. You’ll save 50%. You don’t even need a spice rack if you don’t want one. Just put the smelly spices into plastic containers. Spices like cloves should be stored in sealed containers. Otherwise, your entire cupboard will smell like ham.

8. Create a weekly meal plan instead of just winging it every week. This ensures that random items don’t end up in your grocery cart.

9. If you rip the skin and bones off your chicken breasts, you can save a lot of money. It’s a bit gross but it only takes a few seconds. Plus, you can leave a few of them alone and bake them in the oven. The skin and bones add a lot of flavor.

10. If you like eating lean chicken, but don’t like the price, try out lean pork. It’s almost as good and a heck of a lot cheaper. Ground pork is also an excellent substitute.

11. If you eat a lot of rice, then buy a giant restaurant-sized bag from Costco. You’ll save about 50%. Then just repackage it into a smaller bag you can keep in easy reach.

12. Instead of buying canned beans, buy dried beans. You’ll save a ton. Then all you need to do is let them soak in water for a bit before you use them.

13. Hummus is easy to make if you have a food processor. Grocery store hummus is insanely expensive. Hummus is just basically just chickpeas, garlic, and lemon juice. It’s hard to mess up. Plus, if you make it at home you can make your own personal adjustments. Like adding siracha to make it spicy hummus.

14. Change your diet with the seasons. Fruits and vegetables that are in season are 80% cheaper than ones that aren’t. You’ll save a lot of cash and be exposed to new recipes and culinary experiences. Maybe you’ll discover your new favorite meal!

15. Set a budget before you get to the grocery store. Then use self-checkout. If you go over the budget, then start removing items from your cart.

16. Products that are close to their “best before” date are usually marked down by up to 50%. Grab those deals! Almost all of this stuff is still good. “Best before” doesn’t mean “expired!”

17. Sometimes it’s cheaper to buy your milk, eggs, and bread at the convenience store. Check out your local prices. Gas stations and corner stores will often price these products low to get you into the store. They’re called “Loss Leader” products.

18. Check out your local ethnic grocery stores. Just because you aren’t used to seeing those brands/foods doesn’t mean they aren’t great. Indian grocery stores are a great place to save on rice and spices. Middle Eastern stores are great for things like pita bread, hummus, and salads.

19. Eat a full meal before you go grocery shopping. They’ve done about 9 billion studies on this and it always confirms the same thing. Hungry people spend more on junk they don’t need when they go grocery shopping.

20. The less ingredients a recipe has, the cheaper it’ll be to make. (Usually.) There are even entire cookbooks that specialize in small recipes. You can also sort by number of ingredients on a recipe website.

21. Eggs usually last longer than the “best before” date that’s printed on the carton. Buy your eggs in the largest package you can find. They can stay good for weeks.

22. Food in the fridge about to expire? Make it for dinner, or turn it into a baked good, and then freeze it. It’ll last a lot longer in a cooked and frozen form that it will in your fridge. I’ve rescued a lot of milk and eggs this way. Often by baking cookies, and then giving them away to charity. Get a receipt. That’s a lesson in tax-planning. Write it down.

23. Avoid seasoned raw meats, even if they’re on sale. Grocery stores often repackage meat that’s about to expire. They throw on some Cajun spices and suddenly it’s not expired meat anymore, it’s a whole new thing.

24. Pre-chopped vegetables are roughly 80 billion times more expensive than raw ones you chop yourself. Looking at you veggy tray. You can buy a bag of carrots for $2, or a tray of carrot sticks for $5. It’s highway robbery.

25. Most generic products are as good as the brand name. Take hot peppers. You know, the banana peppers chopped into red, orange, and yellow rings. The brand name jar is $5, but the no-name brand is $3. And they taste *exactly* the same. You can replicate this across most products. Like Mustard, and spices.

26. Eat more vegetarian meals. Yeah, you’ll have protein issues, but that’s what beans and tofu are for. If you can learn to eat vegetarian you’re going to save a lot on your grocery bill. Meat is one of the most expensive things you can buy.

27. A fresh basil plant will cost you $4 but only last a few weeks. Did you know you can grow your own basil indoors, all year round? Just clip some stems off and place them in water. Once they start growing roots, plant your stem in soil. Presto, unlimited free basil. We do this for everything. I haven’t paid for green onions in 25 years.

28. If you have a balcony or a backyard you can grow some serious veggies during the warmer months. Lettuce, kale, rhubarb, cucumbers, zucchini, and tomatoes are all extremely easy to grow. They require almost zero work.

29. Meal prep swap. Meal prepping is a great way to save money, but it can be boring eating the same thing all week. Find a friend or neighbor and arrange a swap. Trade them two of your pre-made meals for two of theirs.

30. Try a “Buy Nothing” week. During this week you’re not allowed to step foot in a grocery store. Pretend you’re under a strict lockdown and all of the grocery stores have been closed due to Covid-19 outbreaks. The only food available is what’s your house. Oh look, it’s that bag of protein powder pancake mix that’s been sitting on the shelf for three months. Get cracking, soldier.

31. If you have room, buy a chest freezer and set it up in the basement. Buying food when it goes on sale and then freezing it is a fantastic way to save money. But we often run low on freezer space. Make sure to buy a modern model and it’ll only cost a few bucks a month in electricity.

32. Eat more, tinnier meals. Avoid snacking. Snacking is insanely expensive compared to meals. There are no cheap snack foods that come in packages. Everything in a box or bag is a lot pricier than something made from home. If you must snack, then bake some cookies.

33. Avoid buying baked goods you can make at home. The only exception is bread. Bread is not worth your time when you can buy a giant loaf for a few dollars. But cookies, cakes, pastries are.

34. Make your own fresh pasta. It’s tastier, healthier, and cheaper. All you need is flour, eggs, olive oil, and salt. You don’t even need much prep time. Plus, it’s a fun activity to spend time with your significant other.

35. Explore different cuisines. Mexican food is pretty cheap relative to something like Japanese. The former is largely based around spice, rice, and beans, which are inexpensive. So are tortillas and taco shells. Even hot sauce and salsa are cheap.

36. Keep a handy list of substitutes when you go shopping. If that thing you need is expensive today, then check your substitute list. Maybe you can get an ingredient that’s 95% as good and only 50% of the price. Like how Grana Padano tastes basically the same as Parmesan Cheese but costs half as much.

37. Butter goes on sale a lot. Usually around 50% off. Grab a ton of bricks and build a little wall in your freezer. It’ll keep for at least four months before the quality starts to degrade. If you don’t end up using for baking, you can use it as a weapon. The biggest man I ever saw was killed by a brick of butter. Tried to eat it whole. Choked to death. Very tragic.

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