Grocery stores are expensive. It’s all too easy to go in for a couple of items, only to leave with an empty wallet. Since we all have to eat, there’s really no way around this — despite the high costs, buying groceries and making homemade meals is still the cheapest, smartest way to get fed.

The average cost of monthly groceries for one person ranges from $162–372. Married couples clock in at spending somewhere between $371–773 each month. And when it comes to a family of four, the average cost for their monthly grocery bill shoots up to $570–1298

While it’d be hard to cut grocery spending in half, there are many tricks to avoid over-spending at the supermarket, and we will reveal some of them to you in this article. Read on.

• How can I Spend Less at the Grocery Store?
• Which Grocery Store has the Best Prices?
• How can I cut my Grocery Bill and Still eat Healthy?
• How Much Should you Spend per day on Food?

How can I Spend Less at the Grocery Store?

But eating well doesn’t have to break the bank. From personal finance experts to savvy chefs, here are 20 tips to spend less money on food.

1. Redefine dinner

If the word dinner makes you picture a big homemade meal with a nice cut of meat, two steaming sides of fresh veggies from the farmers market, a warm loaf of French bread, and a chocolate dessert—chill out and cut yourself some slack! This isn’t 1952, and supper doesn’t have to be a big feast.

Read Also: This is How Your Grocery Store is Tricking You Into Spending More Money

Your kids and spouse will survive on BLTs, omelets or a big salad several times a week. Don’t be afraid of serving simple meals or doing breakfast for dinner to make your groceries stretch!

Eggs are inexpensive, and you can whip them up into different dishes like frittatas and quiches if you’re feeling fancy. Or make egg salad sandwiches if you want to keep it simple.

It’s time to shrink your guilt and your budget by rethinking the most misunderstood meal of the day. Freeeeedom!

2. Crunch some numbers while you shop

If you keep a running tally of how much money is adding up in your cart, you’ll save yourself from any surprises when you get up to the checkout line.

Pull out the calculator on your phone and keep track of all those veggies, fruits and other staple items you’re putting in your cart. This might make you stop and ask yourself—wait, do I really need that fancy $5 sparkling water that isn’t on sale?

3. Try to eat with the seasons

You’ve heard it before, and you’ll hear it again: eat the produce that’s in season. Not only will it taste infinitely better, but it will save you serious money. Out-of-season produce travels far, which are costs you end up paying for.

4. Don’t splurge on exotic spices

While experimenting with your cooking is a good idea, it’s not always wise to buy those spices at your local grocery store. Making a trip to an international market can save you a ton on spices and specialty ingredients.

5. Reconsider buying bottled water

Bottled water is a billion dollar industry, and it’s coming out of your pocket. The average 16 oz. bottle of water costs about a dollar, and it’s recommended that you drink four of them a day; that equates to $120 dollars a month on something you can get for free from your faucet.

6. Take the time to make a grocery list

No matter how good your memory is, write a grocery list. Not only will it make sure you don’t forget things you need, it’ll more importantly deter you from buying the things you don’t need.

7. Consider keeping your children at home, if possible

While sometimes we can’t avoid shopping with children, it’s best to try to buy your groceries when they’re not around. Children will often want to buy food items that you don’t need, and it isn’t always easy to say no.

8. Remember, you’re paying for the convenience of pre-washed salad

Yes, it’s convenient to have your lettuce pre-cleaned and contained in trimmed plastic tubs, but it also costs nearly three times the price. If you buy your own head of lettuce, wash and trim it right away, and have it ready to use, you won’t even notice the difference.

9. Pre-cut fruit is going to cost you

If someone is getting paid to do a job that you could easily do yourself at home, like cutting up a mango or watermelon, you’re going to be paying for it.

10. Don’t waste big bucks on a few sprigs of fresh herbs

You’re literally throwing money away by not starting your own herb garden. And you can do it no matter the amount (or lack of) space you have. Fresh herbs cost a small fortune at the grocery store. Often times you can buy an entire plant for less than you can a few sprigs at the supermarket.

11. Ignore eye-level items

Have you ever noticed how the most expensive items on the grocery shelves tend to be right at your eye level? That’s no random fluke. It’s on purpose. Grocery stores are smart. They want you to go for the splurge items!

Instead of falling for those marketing tricks, look up and down as you shop. The more affordable brands could be higher or lower on the shelves. Think of it as a treasure hunt for the best price!

12. Try different grocery stores

Why did you pick your grocery store to shop at? Is it the friendliest? Is it the closest to your home or most convenient to your commute? If we’re being honest, most of us probably shop where we do out of pure habit.

Don’t let a comfortable routine cost you money.

In the U.S., the top seven cheapest ranked grocery stores to shop at are Aldi, Market Basket, WinCo Foods, Food 4 Less, Costco, Walmart and Trader Joe’s.

But keep in mind, things might stack up differently near you, so if you’re not sure which grocery stores are worth your time and dollars, ask around and compare prices.

Also, if you want to save money on food, be sure to check the weekly ads in your area for what’s on sale at competing grocery stores. You might find that shopping at the store down the street is costing extra money in the long run. Figuring out a new shopping plan may be frustrating at first, but it’s worth it to keep extra cash in your pocket.

13. Learn the sales cycles

Are you ready to do a little detective work? Start paying attention to when your favorite items go on sale and how much the price drops. You might even want to jot it all down in a small notebook or on your smartphone.

Whatever you do, just make sure you’re keeping track of those sales so you can see if there’s a trend. Soon you’ll be able to predict them before they hit!

14. BYOB

It’s time to bring your own bag to the grocery store! Lots of stores will give you a discount off your total grocery bill just for bringing in a reusable bag. How easy is that?

Your savings will usually run somewhere between five and 10 cents per bag! Five bags could save you anywhere from 25 to 50 cents. Hey, savings are savings!

15. Don’t shop when you’re hungry

People do a lot of silly things when they’re hungry. They say things they don’t really mean, eat all of their roommate’s chips, and aimlessly stroll the grocery store aisles like zombies.

And while your best friend might not hold you responsible for what you said when you were “hangry,” your grocery bill won’t let you off the hook so easily. Step away from the 48-count of frozen waffles, and put back that pineapple upside-down cake from the bakery.

Walk into the grocery store with a full stomach, and you might be shocked by how much lower your grocery bill is!

16. Stick to a meal plan

It sounds like a chore, but meal planning can actually be a lot of fun when you’re learning how to save money on groceries. Pick a day of the week when you’ll plan out the meals.

Once you decide what you’ll make for breakfasts, lunches and dinners, write out each ingredient needed for those meals—plus a few snacks, of course. Try to use ingredients you already have on hand before you think about the other ingredients you need to shop for.

And remember: A list can make or break your budget. So stick to your meal plan for the week and let your list be your guide!

17. Don’t buy more than you need

We love a deal. Everyone loves a deal. But if you get suckered into buying stuff you don’t really need, did you really get a deal at all? Buying something just because it’s on sale is a good example of this.

If it wasn’t part of your planned grocery list, then you still spent more money than you were intending to—deal or no deal.

18. Shop online and pick up at the store

If you’re looking for another hack when it comes to grocery shopping on a budget, you might want to consider using curbside grocery pickup. You can select the exact items you want online, pay for them, and then pick them up at whatever time works for you.

A lot of grocery stores are offering this service, and customers seem to be enjoying the convenience factor. But here’s why we really love it: You tend to cut out the impulse buying and stick to your grocery list and budget!

No more getting up to the register only to discover that family-size box of cereal isn’t on sale after all. And no more buying rolled oats just in case you’re out at home (you can walk to the pantry to see for yourself—mind blown).

Some stores offer a pickup service for free, but others will make you pay a small fee, so be sure to budget that into your overall cost too.

19. Use apps on your smartphone

When you’re searching for ways to save money on groceries, don’t forget about all the rebate apps out there!

Ibotta, Receipt Hog, Checkout 51 and Fetch Rewards are just a few of the great apps that can help you save. While rebates don’t give you a discount up front (like a traditional coupon), you should see savings in the long run.

20. Try going meatless for a meal

Look here, carnivore, don’t be afraid to branch out and have a meatless meal once or twice a week. Buying large quantities of meat can make your grocery bill skyrocket (especially when the meat isn’t on sale). So instead, find some meatless recipes to whip up on Meatless Monday—or whatever day of the week you choose!

Which Grocery Store has the Best Prices?

According to this Consumer Reports grocery stores and supermarket report, 13 national and regional chains, ranging from traditional markets to vast warehouse clubs to two upstarts from Europe, have the most competitive prices. The report is based on a survey of more than 75,000 Consumer Reports members.

Aldi

This fast-growing, no-frills import from Germany has been expanding westward from its base in the eastern half of the U.S.; now you’ll also find Aldis in southern California.

Its stores are on the small size—they’re about one-third the size of a typical American grocer—and sell a limited selection of mainly private-label goods.

For Easter, the outlet near Consumer Reports’ headquarters was selling spiral-sliced ham at 95 cents a pound, down from $1.69, and fresh blueberries at $2.49 a pint.

Costco

Who could pass up a 3-pound rotisserie chicken for $4.99 at this venerable warehouse club, cheaper in some cases than a raw bird of the same size? Our survey respondents also gave the national retailer top marks for meats and poultry quality, and store-brand quality.

Crest

“Home of Rock Bottom Prices” is the slogan of this Oklahoma-based chain, and our members agreed.

The company says it saves customers money because, among other reasons, it has low overhead, buys direct from manufacturers, and doesn’t spend much on advertising.

Among the attractions: Customers can self-serve from the store’s bulk containers of fresh-ground peanut butter, flavored vinegars, honey, nuts and trail mixes, and dried fruits and vegetables. 

Fareway Stores

This family-owned market operates in Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Nebraska, and South Dakota. Six-ounce portions of bacon-wrapped filet mignon, as well as 8-ounce boneless ribeye steaks, were $6.99 at its Belmond, Iowa, store this week. A fresh whole pineapple was half off—99 cents, with coupon. 

Grocery Outlet

Located on the West Coast and in Idaho, Nevada, and Pennsylvania, the company says it’s able to pass on savings by buying brands’ excess inventory “for pennies on the dollar.” Its Sandy, Ore., market’s circular this week offered three jumbo avocados for $5; Pra Vinera Reserve Pinot Noir for $7.99, about 50 percent off; and Thomas Farms boneless butterflied leg of lamb, $4.99 a pound, a savings of up to $3 a pound.

Lidl

With outposts along the East Coast, this retailer follows the same principle as Aldi, another German-based chain: Smaller-footprint stores with a “curated” product assortment. This weekend, smoked ham portions were 69 cents a pound, a 50-cent-per-pound savings; a 12-ounce package of uncured hickory-smoked bacon was $2.99, discounted from $4.99; and a dozen cage-free brown eggs was $1.29, down from $2.29.

Marc’s

The Ohio-based chain’s pricing is its best feature, according to our members; they otherwise aren’t impressed with checkout speed, meat and poultry quality, and other attributes. The store’s vast weekly circular, posted online, includes a “discount slider” that lets shoppers filter deals based on the percentage off. (This week, lawn products carried the biggest discount, at 40 percent.)

Market Basket (Northeast)

Residents of Maine, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire know this family-owned chain for its low prices and absence of self-checkout lanes. Our surveyed members placed Market Basket among the top-rated chains overall. Among recent specials: Thin-sliced Carando prosciutto, $5.99 a pound, $2 off the regular price; and red, yellow, and orange peppers, $1.99 a pound, a $1-a-pound savings.

Military commissaries

The federal government ensures that these vast stores, open only to those carrying authorized Department of Defense ID cards, offer competitive prices for the astounding 38,000 items they sell. Prices here are generally good year-round.

Save-A-Lot

With stores in 26 states, this retailer says it saves money with smaller stores and an edited assortment of items that its customers buy most. This week’s circular for the Linden, N.J., store includes sweet potatoes at 49 cents a pound, Sugardale shank portion ham at 79 cents a pound, and fresh USDA choice boneless beef eye of round roast at $4.49 a pound.

Trader Joe’s

The national chain, known for its funky vibe and unique store-brand products, impressed our members the most with its competitive prices, store cleanliness, employee helpfulness and attentiveness, checkout speed, and store-brand quality. Trader Joe’s is the only national chain among the top-rated grocers overall, according to our survey. 

WinCo

With more than 100 stores in the West, WinCo sells many items in bulk and further trims costs by requiring customers to bag their own items. Several readers on CR’s Facebook page said they did most of their shopping at these warehouse-style grocery stores. “The appearance of the WinCo store’s interior will go unchanged for decade after decade, which is nice,” said one. “I don’t want never-ending remodeling driving up the price.” 

Woodman’s

Warehouse-style Woodman’s, which operates in Illinois and Wisconsin, passes on savings by selling items in bulk, making this a good place to buy in quantity for a party. The employee-owned retailer also saves by refusing to accept credit cards, sidestepping the associated processing fees. 

How can I cut my Grocery Bill and Still eat Healthy?

When you make healthy eating a priority in your life, you will most likely cut-back on some other expensive habits, such as dining out often, buying fancy calorie-laden coffee drinks or greasy snacks at the movie theater, and sipping on overpriced cocktails.

Improving your health now will likely mean less costly doctor visits for you in the future, too! It’s a total win-win. While you should see significant savings by making the changes above, below are my eight favorite ways to stay “financially fit” while working toward your healthy eating goals:

Stick to a meal plan

Not only does meal planning help you stay on track with your healthy eating goals, it also helps you stick to your budget. When you know exactly what you want to cook for the week and bring a list to the store of exactly which ingredients you’ll need, you’re less likely to over-buy food and end up with wasted groceries. You can use my weekly dinner plans to help you get started!

Don’t shop hungry 

Shopping hungry almost always ends in impulse purchases. Everything looks SO appealing when you’re starving! I’ve totally been guilty of buying something to eat on the way home from the grocery store, but those impulse buys are almost always more expensive than snacking on something at home. If you must shop hungry, choose a piece of fruit to take home with you as a snack instead of expensive convenience food.

Keep it simple

In my experience, healthy eating is really expensive when people are first starting out because they want to dive-in and try specialty ingredients and convenience foods that are similar to their old favorites. In some cases, the convenience foods aren’t any healthier than their deep-fried counterparts, and you don’t need fancy-schmancy ingredients to make truly delicious, healthy food!

Stick to whole foods without a label, and make your own salad dressings, dips, snack bars, and puddings as healthier and cheaper alternatives to packaged snacks.

Shop seasonally 

You’ve probably heard that it’s always better to eat seasonally and locally, but one of my favorite benefits of this practice is that it saves you money. When produce is in season, its supply is at its peak— making it easier and cheaper for farmers to distribute to your local store. Those savings get passed on to you! As an added perk, your food tastes better and is at its peak nutrition, too.

Cut back on meat and dairy

Some of the most expensive items at the grocery store are animal products— especially the organic, pasture-raised variety. My family isn’t vegetarian, but we do eat many vegetarian meals at home because they are flavorful, nutrient-rich, and much more affordable than a meat-centered meal every night.

If your family relies heavily on meat, you might want to try using a little less at each meal to lower your grocery bill, and make up the difference by adding extra veggies to your plate!

Know the “dirty dozen.” 

It’s not always practical and affordable for everyone to buy organic, so familiarize yourself with the Environmental Working Group’s “Dirty Dozen” list to know which crops are most heavily sprayed with pesticides. Aim to buy those items organic, and save money on the rest of your produce by shopping the more affordable counterparts.

A good rule of thumb is that if you’re going to eat the skin (like apples and bell peppers), you should buy organic, and if you’re going to peel it (like onions and avocados), you can get away with the conventional versions.

Shop online for specialty items

As you settle into your healthier lifestyle, there are certain specialty items that make life easier and taster— like chia seeds, hemp hearts, and raw cacao powder. Sure, you can find these items at your local health food store, but they are often much more expensive. Buying in bulk can also save you money.

How Much Should you Spend per day on Food?

The average American household spends $7,203 a year on food, of which $4,049 is spent on food at home and $3,154 is spent on food away from home.

Let’s break that down a little bit into numbers that are more practical for how you live your lives.

Each month, the average American household spends $600 on food, of which $337 is spent on food at home and $263 is spent on food away from home.

Each week, the average American household spends $139 on food, of which $78 is spent on food at home and $61 is spent on food away from home.

Each day, the average American household spends $19.73 on food, of which $11.09 is spent on food at home and $8.64 is spent on food away from home.

Before we go on, let’s break this down into individual people. The average American household is 2.58 people, thus the average American person spends $2,792 per year on food, or $233 per month, or $54 per week, or $7.64 per day on food.

What does $7.64 per day look like?

It means that virtually any day that you eat out is an above-average food spending day. If you eat a full meal at almost any restaurant, you’re going to be spending more than $7.64. There are a few restaurants that can slip a meal in under that price, but it’s either something super unhealthy and of questionable origin or it’s something quite small.

The reality is that eating out is a budget buster, moving you quickly above the American average food expenditure. If you treat eating out as a consistent “every day” or “multiple times a week” phenomenon, it is extremely likely that your food spending is significantly higher than the average American’s.

In fact, the same is probably true if you eat convenient prepackaged foods. If you eat a prepackaged meal, it’s probably eating up a lot of that $7.64 that the average American spends on food each day.

That has consequences. If you look at the full annual budget for the average American, the extra money you’re spending on food has to come from some other budgetary element. Where is it coming from? Clothing? Housing? Retirement savings? Health care? Entertainment?

For a lot of Americans, it comes from credit cards, to be quite honest. None of those options are particularly wise when it comes to financial success.

It starts with cooking at home, not relying on convenience foods, and using inexpensive nutritious staples as the backbone of your meals.

There’s another key lesson hidden in these numbers: Averages don’t paint the full story.

So, the data says that the average American spends $7.64 in food on a given day. Let’s take a group of 50 Americans. On average, those 50 people should spend a total of $382 on their food, right?

Let’s say one of the group of 50 eats out at a restaurant and drops $50 on his meal and eats $5 in food over the rest of the day. Another person eats out at a restaurant for $20 and eats another $5 in food over the rest of the day.

Those two people together spent $80 on their food. That means that the remaining 48 people in the group spent a total of $302 on their food for the day ($382 minus the $80 spent by the two big spenders). Those remaining 48 people only spend $6.29 for the day on their food.

The reality is that numbers like the $7.64 a day “average” are really skewed by the big spenders that are spending many multiples of that amount on food in a day. These are people going to expensive restaurants or eating all of their meals at moderately priced restaurants or consuming super-expensive ingredients at home. They’re out there and they’re busting the average.

What’s actually more interesting is the median person’s data.

Imagine if you take those 100 people and line them up in order of how much they spent on food for the day. The person right in the middle of the line is the “median” person – the same number of people spent more than him or her as people who spent less than him or her.

Compare that to “average,” where everyone in the line adds up how much they spent on food for the day and then divides that by the number of people in line.

The truth is that this “median” person almost assuredly spent less than $7.64 on their food (which was the “average” amount). How do I know this? The simple fact that lots of people spend many multiples of that amount on food each and every day, as witnessed by the existence of expensive restaurants and the presence of expensive foods in grocery stores.

For another example of the difference between “median” and “average,” look at American incomes. In 2015, the median household income (meaning everyone stands in line and we look at the person in the middle) was $56,516, while the average household income (meaning we add up everyone’s incomes and divide by the number of households) was $79,263.

How is that possible? It’s possible because some people earn far more than the average – many, many, many times more – in a given year, and that skews the average.

The truth is that the “median” person – that real person in the middle – almost assuredly spends less than $7.64 on food per day. My back-of-the-envelope math, which is extremely rough and based on some guesses, says that this person’s average food spending is somewhere between $5 and $6.

Read Also: How to Manage Money Successfully as a Couple

What’s the point? Aiming to spend something like $1.50 per meal and $1 on snacks for the day puts you pretty close to what the median American spends on food in a given day. You’re not a big spender and you’re not a small spender if you aim for that.

In fact, if your salary is somewhere in the middle of the pack, one way to get ahead is to put in the effort to keep your numbers below that. Aim for $1 meals as much as you can. Learn how to use the six frugal staples as much as you can (and a few other good bargains, like chicken and peanut butter). Cook at home as much as you can.

Conclusion

If you only want to try one tip, make it a really good one. In fact, the one tip that will likely save you the most money when you’re grocery shopping on a budget is to plan your meals and snacks ahead of time. By planning ahead, you can make your shopping list based on what you already have, what you still need to buy and what’s on sale.

Making an easy, nutritious, budget-conscious menu plan doesn’t have to be hard. Start with two or three dinners, plan for leftovers so that you’ve got work lunches, add in some snacks and keep quick and easy breakfast foods on hand.

Just like with anything new, give it a try before you decide that you don’t like it. Saving time and money might just agree with you and your budget.