How to Save Money on Groceries to Beat Rising Food Prices
Wondering how to save money on groceries with rising food prices? Check these tips out!
Grocery prices making you feel less than jolly? 👎🏼
Even in the winter of 2022, inflation is still causing the price of everything to spike, and rising food prices are no exception. So, it begs the question: how DO you save money on groceries nowadays?
What’s even scarier is that while grocery prices are leaving us with empty wallets, you’re just as likely to walk away from the store empty-handed thanks to empty shelves across the nation.
Here’s why experts say we’re seeing rising food prices and empty shelves:
Since June 2021, grocery prices have risen by 10.4% (the largest increase since 1981). This is largely in part due to low inventory thanks to supply chain issues, shipping delays, and staffing shortages.
However, other factors such as the effects of COVID-19 on the economy, bad weather, poor crop yields, and strong demand have all contributed to this rise. Unfortunately, there’s no end in sight to this trend of rising food prices.
Fortunately, you’ve come to the right place! Here are our BEST tips on how to save money on groceries:
1. Start with coupons. They really can save you a lot of money on groceries.
And no, that doesn’t mean you have to start snagging every newspaper or whipping out the old coupon binder 🤪. We make couponing easy by sharing all the top coupon deals both printable and digital. Plus, for a one-stop shop of the best coupons and deals in your area, be sure to save our Target, CVS, and Walgreens ad roundups — they’re updated weekly!
2. Don’t shop hungry! Meal plan instead!
When you meal plan, you avoid the last-minute ditch to grocery shop on busy weekends or weeknights when you’re busy, hungry, or just plain out of ideas! Study the weekly ads linked above, make a list, and be prepared to go to more than one store to get what you need until the supply chain turmoil subsides.
3. Make the farmer’s market your best friend to save on save on fresh produce, dairy, meat, & more.
From growing your own home garden to only shopping what’s in season, it’s not as difficult as you think to save on fresh produce and meat. You may also consider making a regular routine to check out farmer’s markets in your area as they often have the best prices! View this map to find local farmer’s markets near you.
HIP TIP: Be sure to shop closer to the end of the farmer’s market time frame, as that’s when they’ll likely offer you the lowest price!
Check out these AWESOME meat money-saving tips on our sister site, Hip2Keto, too!
4. Don’t let your money (or good food) go to waste!
You can freeze and reuse more food items than you think, especially pricier groceries like dairy products. As a quick guide:
- Milk can be stored in the freezer up to one month
- Cheese in the freezer can last up to 6 months
- You can freeze eggs up to one year!
Head here to find out the best tips & tricks for freezing unused dairy products.
5. Buy in bulk to save on groceries in the long run.
Shopping at warehouse clubs such as Costco and Sam’s Club may seem like a bigger expense up front, but you’d be shocked to learn how much you’re saving when you compare price per pound!
Hip Sidekick, Lina says Costco’s pre-made meals are an affordable option and great for busy weeknights too!
6. These money-saving apps make a huge difference.
We can’t say enough good things about the top money-saving apps like Ibotta, Fetch, Flipp, Flashfood Locations, or Coupons.com to earn cashback on your grocery purchases. They’re FREE to download and some have options to link your purchases at other popular stores like Amazon and Target automatically, so it’s truly a no-brainer!
7. Yes, you can even save on adult beverages too.
Don’t let wine and other liquor be the reason you blow your grocery budget. These tips & tricks can help you save big on adult beverages any time of the year.
8. Amazon’s Subscribe & Save helps you save on groceries (& gas).
This is one of the easiest ways to save big on groceries and household products without leaving home (and no additional gas expense!) AND, the more Subscribe & Save orders you have, the bigger discount you receive. Plus, it’s free & easy to cancel anytime, and you don’t need an Amazon Prime membership to take advantage of this awesome perk!
Not an Amazon Prime Member? Sign up for a FREE 30-day trial here!
9. Don’t pass up discount stores in your area.
We’re becoming bigger & bigger fans of new discount stores, like ALDI. While their prices are increasing too, you’ll still pay significantly less for so many items compared to traditional grocery stores.
And our readers have come up with some great suggestions too:
Grocery pick-up and not having to take kids shopping with me that way I only get what is needed. – Angela
Buy a whole or half of a cow from a farmer. – Alisha
Use your freezer! Put leftovers in the freezer instead of the fridge. Can still warm up, if needed for lunches, but lasts much longer and can be used for meals on busy nights. – Beth
Meal plan around grocery store sales. Put snacks up high so kids can’t plow through them every 5 minutes 😂 – Christina
Check out more helpful tips from our Hip2Save Facebook community!
Anyone else feeling the sting of empty shelves and rising food prices? Help out our Hip2Save community and share with us in the comments how you save money on groceries.
Thank you!
You’re very welcome! š¤
I like Christinaās suggestion, but what do you do about the teenagers who are taller than you (and know how to use the step stool)?!?! The snacks are killing my wallet, and now theyāre home for over 2 weeks! š
I’d suggest buying big bags of snacks (cheaper per ounce) and simply pre-preparing them in smaller Ziplock sized snack bags.
Good idea!
I love this tip, Liz! I’ll have to remember this for my teens too! šā¤ļø Thanks for the helpful response!
Sometimes you have to hide snacks in unconventional places. I have been known to hide snacks in bedroom closets and I will parcel them out as needed.
Thatās my favorite suggestion!
Do you have a Kroger/similar store close? I added the weekly Doritos deal (we don’t normally eat/buy those) because our girls have plans to host friends several times over the holiday and those girls LIKE TO SNACK :):).
How about baking yourself? Not great for chips, except tortilla, but cookie, muffins, cakes etc. Also soft pretzels, jalapeƱo cheese bread, garlic breadsticks, homemade granola bars. We make so much now and cut way back on crackers, chips and such.
FYI: the link for freezing unused dairy products isnāt working (Iām intrigued with freezing eggs, I never knew that!)
Sorry for any issues, CJ! ā¤ļø That link is working for me now. Hope this works better for you! https://hip2save-com-develop.go-vip.co/tips/can-you-freeze-milk-cheese-eggs/
Freeze the eggs as they are, when you ready to eat it, cut it in half frozen and you will have two perfect eggs with white and yolk. Good for diets and for patients with limited protein intake. This is done in countries where food is rationed, and the government only offers three eggs per month.
Also using the savings that stores give in other areas. Our local Giant gives bonus points and you can redeem them for money off gas, money off groceries, or āfreeā items.
Yes! I have a Martin’s that is very similar! Thanks for the suggestion! š¤
I can and dehydrate and freeze my left overs
Greedflation: companies are price gouging
https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/retail-price-gouging-lowes-amazon-target-accountable-us/
No new info here. The pre made meals in any stores is SIGNIFICANTLY higher than prepping yourself. The only way to truly save money is to shop at multiple stores and do the following-
Use half the amount of beef and chicken called for in a casserole, stew or pot pie.
Remove 1 or 2 tablespoons of ground beef and freeze.
Keep adding and when container is full, you have enough ground beef for another recipe.
Stop buying sport drinks, soft drinks, juice and milk for drinking.
Only use milk in recipes.
Use half the amount of cheese in a recipe.
PORTION CONTROL. Serve the recommended amount on the package.
Avoid anything premade as much as possible.
Swagbucksāevery 2500 points you can redeem for a $25 gift card to Walmart and use that for groceries.
Rarely serve desserts.
Donāt buy portioned snacks.
In 2019, I reduced my grocery cost from $12,000 a year to $6,200. We are a family of 4 with 2 ravenous teen boys.
Thanks so much for taking the time to let us know how you’ve been able to reduce your grocery bill so drastically! šš„°
Great tips. I’d be so interested to know how much your grocery bill rose in 2022! I also have 2 ravenous teen boys.
Plant a garden!! Most veggies can be grown in pots, if space is an issue. And bonus – no recalls when you grow the food yourself! š
I love fresh veggies from the garden! My dad plants one every year! Thanks for commenting! š„°ā¤ļø
I freeze everything, when a recipe calls for a Tbsp of something say tomato paste in can I freeze the rest in individual snack size bags measured out by Tbsp for other recipes. I use Ibotta, fetch, digital coupons mostly at Walgreens and receipt Jar. We planted a big garden last year and froze lots of veggies. I shop at different stores to stock up on whatās a fanatic buy on something for that week. I do shop at Samās club but donāt generally fall for more is cheaper as I have found most things are cheaper at my local stores when on sale and stock up then. I bake my own breads mostly Sign up for your favorite restaurant apps and emails as you get lots of good coupons. Biggest tip of all is to be an avid Hip2save user as they have saved me so much money every year and to them I say a big thank you and Merry Christmas!
I’m loving all of these ideas! ā¤ļøš Thanks for the kind words and the heads up on how you’ve been able to save. Merry Christmas to you and your family from all of us at Hip2save! š„°
I get gift cards for exercising from work. I have to log my info in online and I get points for what I am doing and I turn them into a Kroger gift card when I have enough points. Not sure if everybody had that but I do. I also do surveys and get paid Amazon cash or I can buy gift cards. Every penny helps.
Just eat less. Youāll lose weight and save money š
Farmers markets are not cheaper up here. I know local vendors need to make a profit but it seems their prices are so much higher! They We rarely shop Farmer’ markets.
I see a lot of intermittent fasting and OMAD in my future. š
Same here! It’s crazy to spend $150 on groceries and when you get home and put them away it still looks like you bought barely anything. And if you have a growing kid, like mine, who snacks a lot, forget it. Mommy’s “going on a diet”! Ha!
During this difficult times, we have a tendency to over look the seniors need. As an independent insurance broker, I would suggest my Medicare Advantage clients (especially with chronic needs/they have to eligible) that certain Medicare Advantage carriers do offer certain amounts ($20-$50 per month, depending on carriers and plans for healthy grocery shopping) and other benefits like Over the counter for vitamins, tooth paste, and etc… {Medicare Supplement are NOT Medicare Advantage/ they work very different way} {Please speak with a professional licensed Agent/ Broker}
Thanks For the tips. Our farmers markets are expensive and not even organic. Aldi is cheaper
You’re welcome! Glad you found this helpful!š
My biggest tip probably only applies to a slim minority of people. If you are a morning person or working at home during lunchtime, make dinner and just stick it in the fridge to reheat. I can make breakfast, lunch and dinner and have the entire kitchen cleaned by 8am. Itās no different than what the kitchen staff does at a restaurant. Knowing I have a clean kitchen and a fully cooked dinner at home ready to quickly reheat keeps me out of restaurants and fast food places.
Great idea, Liz!! I also do this and then once a week is leftover night!! It really is helpful when you plan ahead.š„°
I learned that my local family own grocery store marks down meat the morning after the new circular goes live. I go to the store as soon as my son gets on the bus to get cuts of meat for $2-3 total. It’s my little secret so I hope you aren’t in the same town/neighborhood as me. š
That a great secrete!!!š² I wish I had a local family owned store near me!! Thanks for sharing.š
I know of a few smaller chains that do this as well. One does it the evening before the new circular comes out, and I can often score half-price meat if I head to the store an hour or so before they close.
This is common sense but cook from scratch! Stop buying meal kits, pre-chopped anything, bag salads and salad kits, box mixes except cake and brownie mixes on sale. Stop buying individual packs of anything, even for lunches. Making a menu and thinking ahead to what you will need to prep or thaw for tomorrow is a real game changer. Keep a deep pantry of mostly only what you have bought on sale week by week and then you will almost never pay full price. Never pay full price for meat. Buy it on sale and package in meal size portions. Get a bread machine and bake your own bread. If you have salvage stores in your area you may be able to get bread for $1 a package. Ours has Pepperidge Farm for $1 or 6/$5. I raised five kids on one income and you can get by on less than you ever thought possible by doing these things.
Thanks a bunch for taking the time to let us know all the ways you have been able to save, Lana!š„°
While I agree cooking from scratch is best Iāve found as a busy sports mom I donāt always have time. I do meal plan, use the crock pot and instant pot but sometimes I just canāt. Have some quick meals in the fridge has saved us many times from having to eat out. Itās also healthier than fast food. I keep Trader Joeās teriyaki chicken and chicken Shwarma on hand always for quick meals along with prepped taco meat.
Thatās several hour of work per day. If one works ten hours a day (8+commute), where is all this time coming from? Most families donāt have this time.
Maybe companies need to reduce their greed and stop price gouging.
I had to laugh when I saw the tip about saving money on alcohol. That would be the last thing I would buy!
A freezer helps us! I havenāt paid more than $2 a pound for ground beef or boneless skinless chicken breasts all year. Wish I could find a deal on eggs! $8.81 a dozen here. Dozens sold out everywhere so the 18 count of generic (non cage free size large) are now $16.84ā¦ā¦there better be gold eggs in there!
Yes!!! A larger freezer is helpful! Thanks for letting us know about the cost of eggs! WOW!š²
We raise chickens for eggs. If you canāt do that maybe you can find someone who does and barter. In the spring/summer I frequently have a surplus and give them away to friends and neighbors.
I agree! We have some, but a bobcat just took half my flock!!! I’ll be getting chicks in the spring and hoping to have a surplus once more!
Thatās why farmers have guard dogs.
Our Tom Thumb (Safeway) will give you a prescription stamp card. After five prescriptions, we get a coupon for 20% off a total purchase, up to $40 off ($200 purchase). I combine that with shopping their sale items and using their app for digital coupons.
I love it when you can combine offers!! Great way to stack the savings, Amy!!ā¤ļø ā¤ļø ā¤ļø
Buy frozen vegetables whenever possible: much less expenive and nutrition preseved better than fresh vegs that are staying on the shelves for weeks. Buy beef instead of chicken. Even regular beef is always cleaner and better than organic chicken. Beef has better nutritional value. Yes, beef is more expensive, but because it is so nutritionally rich, you need much less beef for satiety. If you can tolerate organs, eat liver – 1 oz of beef liver patee a day will provide you will almost all nesessary vitamins and microelments. Save on vitamins!
Thanks so much for taking a moment to share with us, Sofia! We sure appreciate it! š¤ā¤ļø