Tired of watching your food costs skyrocket? This post dives into actionable strategies, from savvy bulk buying to smart meal planning, that will help you significantly reduce your spending without compromising on delicious and nutritious meals. Enjoy my top 10 tips for reducing food costs!

My clients are often interested in discussing strategies for saving money on food, and recently this topic has been especially top-of-mind as folks are noticing price increases at grocery stores and restaurants.  Whether you’re already practiced in saving money on food or just recently starting to consider these topics, I know you’ll find some helpful tips here for decreasing your food-related expenses!

Meal Planning: 

Don’t panic- if you’re imagining making a plan for an entire week’s meals, let me reassure you that’s not what I’m suggesting.  In fact, I wrote a separate post all about the importance of planning meals in a way that makes life easier, not harder.  If you’ve been ordering several meals per week and you’d like to spend less money on food, meal planning might be a helpful place to start because typically a meal prepared at home costs less compared to a meal prepared elsewhere.   

I suggest making a plan that’s not too different from what you’ve been making recently so it’s realistic and not overwhelming. For example, if you’ve been ordering 3 dinners and 4 lunches per week and you want to reduce that, your goal might be to make 1 more dinner and 2 more lunches per week. Your plan for reaching the goal could be: make 1 recipe in a large batch which you use for 1 dinner and 2 lunches.

Making a Shopping List: 

Making a list of what you need for meals, snacks, and other household needs like laundry soap, household cleaning supplies and pet supplies helps with consolidating errands, making sure you’re set up with what you need for the next few days.  This can also help with limiting impulse purchases.

Get Inspiration from Your Inventory: 

Not sure what to make? Use what you have in your pantry and freezer as a starting point for meal planning.  If you’re looking for help with turning what you have into a meal plan, consider searching sites like AllRecipes, MeaLime, or BudgetBytes where you can enter an ingredient and find various recipes that use it.

Shop Online and Avoid Shopping When Hungry: 

It’s true- shopping for food while hungry often leads to purchasing more food.  Consider this another reminder to plan ahead so you can eat meals and snacks regularly.  If you’re hungry just prior to grocery shopping, for example, grab a snack from home to eat before going to the store.

Many major grocery stores offer online ordering, which folks find helpful not only because it takes less time but also for saving money.  Since they aren’t touring the aisles of the grocery store and the options at the checkout line, this is another strategy that helps with limiting impulse purchases.

Some companies streamline the online ordering process even further by saving your previous orders for future reference, or suggesting recipes where you can add all ingredients to your cart with one click.  Since these features vary regionally and by company, I suggest looking into options for online ordering associated with the stores you already shop or similar options in your area.

Comparing Unit Prices: 

Always compare the price per ounce or pound to find the best value, regardless of package size.  Of course it’s important to consider your personal best option when making a selection, but taking this information into account helps with making an informed decision by taking various factors into consideration.

Here’s an example of where you can see that information when you’re shopping in a store:

(Image via https://chewswiselyalabama.com/how-to-understand-the-price-tag/)

Although the total price of the 6 oz yogurt is less than the price of the 32 oz option, the unit price shows that it’s less expensive per ounce to buy the larger container.  

Buying in Bulk When it Makes Sense For Your Unique Needs: 

For non-perishable staples that are used frequently, bulk buying can be more economical if stored properly.  Look for practical opportunities to buy in bulk, ex: bins where you choose your quantity for rice, cereal, oats, dried fruit, flour, sugar, seasonings.  Be sure to consider your needs and opportunities related to storage space and which options you’ll use.  

If you’re finding that you usually purchase a lot of produce but it eventually goes bad, consider buying smaller quantities of these items to avoid food waste.

Reducing Food Waste: 

Properly storing food and using leftovers can save money in the long run.  Shopping for a shorter period of time (ex: 3 – 6 days) and purchasing less food helps with reducing food waste.  Consider frozen alternatives to fresh foods that tend to go bad before you use them ex: frozen fruit like berries, peaches, mango or veggies for cooked dishes like broccoli, corn, peas, carrots.

Shopping the Sales and in Season: 

Taking advantage of sales cycles and buying produce that is in season can lower costs.  Check with the service department at your local grocery store to learn more about when foods are discounted.

Buying Generic Brands: 

Store brands are often significantly cheaper than name brands and offer similar quality.

Consider Plant-Based Proteins:  

Plant-based protein options like edamame, black beans, kidney beans, white beans, and tofu are usually at least half the price of animal source protein options like meat.

Here’s a chart I created which compares using  black beans vs pinto beans vs ground beef vs ground turkey as the protein for a burrito bowl. 

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As you can see, 2 cans of black beans or pinto beans = ~$3 – 4  vs 1 lb ground beef or ground turkey = ~$6 – 7, and while they aren’t exactly the same nutritionally it’s important to keep in mind that:

• rinsing the beans before cooking will reduce the sodium content

• beans provide more fiber, less total fat, and less saturated fat compared to the beef or turkey

• you could consider using half a pound of meat and 1 can of beans to blend the nutritional benefits and cost effectiveness of each option.

While this sort of swap might not make a major impact on a budget when made for a single meal, some people might find the savings add up over time with 1 – 2 meals per week being plant-based instead of using meat.  If this leads to $8 – 16 savings per week, that’s $32 – 64 per month and $384 – 768 per year!

I’d love to hear from you- which tip do you think you’ll try? Do you have your own tip for reducing food costs that you’d like to share?