Do you know the smartest way to save money on groceries?

Hello again, brainiacs! In today’s article, we will talk about some of the smartest tips and tricks for saving money while shopping for your favorite groceries. Because, let’s face it, with this inflation going on, it’s almost impossible to save the same amount of money as we did before, but we can try our best.

I don’t know about you, but in my case, I feel like we’re paying more and more every day. Sheesh! Before we knew it, our money had vanished in an instant. But I’m here to assist you in discovering the best and most economical strategies when you go shopping, so be ready: some of them are a true blessing.

If you want to become more frugal but you don’t know how, keep reading because your friend in need is here, all set to guide you throughout the plan. Let’s start!

1. Always buy store brands products

One of the first things I learned about saving money is that you must pay attention to where you shop. From my previous experience, I tried to switch from one supermarket to another until I found a good one that allowed me to put some bucks aside at the end of every grocery shopping trip. Let me tell you my secret: always, but always, try to stick to store brands! Besides being very affordable compared to national brands, most of them are also more nutritional.

By doing this, you can save up to 40% without even using coupons. Now that’s what I call an awesome deal!

2. Swap the shopping cart for a small basket!

Depending on the supermarket you’re going to, most of them are equipped with both shopping carts and baskets. But if you’re planning to save more money, try to ditch the humongous and uncomfortable shopping cart and replace it with a small basket that fits your needs for the week. Because it’s significantly smaller, you will only buy the things you need without additional temptations.

In my case, this worked like magic because I always go grocery shopping twice a week and I used to spend a lot of money on them. However, if you only go for two to five items, you can ditch the basket and try to carry them in your arms. This way, you will also spend less time inside the store! Win-win situation, right?

3. Make a shopping list and never go overboard

Your wallet’s worst enemy is impulsive purchases because every time we go to the supermarket, we tend to spend a lot of money simply because we are tempted to buy items that we don’t really need just because they seem appealing to the eye. I mean, seriously, I could never resist a bag of Cheetos! But if I want to stick to a budget and not wreak havoc on my wallet, I kind of have to. Plus, it’s better for my silhouette too!

Jokes aside, if you plan on budgeting this year, one mandatory thing that you must do before every grocery shopping is make a list of the stuff you want to buy and stick to it as much as possible, totally ignoring the impulse buys!

In my case, because I am an old-school person, I prefer to use a pen and a piece of paper to write down everything I need, and whenever I put an item in my basket, I easily cut it from the list. This way, I know I will never forget to buy anything!

4. Always pay your groceries in cash

One of the things I learned throughout the time I had a job and a fixed income was to take out all my monthly salary from the bank and put it in separate envelopes on which I wrote what the money was for: gas bills, electricity bills, mortgage payments, groceries, and one separately for unexpected expenses that can appear in that month. And whenever I had to shop for my weekly groceries, I took the exact amount of cash I was planning to spend from the envelope and paid everything with it.

Believe it or not, but this helped me a lot with not overspending on stuff that I didn’t need to buy because I had a fixed amount that was dedicated only for this purpose.

How do you prefer to pay for your groceries? By cash or by card?

5. Plan your meals for the entire week

If you want to save more money on grocery shopping, you have to take this simple trick into consideration! In my case, it works tremendously well because, besides changing my eating habits, I know exactly what I have to buy to prepare the meals for my entire family. And if you know when the weekly sales are at your favorite store, it might be a good idea to take a look at their online flyers to see what items are on discount. If chicken, potatoes, and cheese are on sale that week, you can make some baked potatoes with chicken breast and some melted grated cheese on top. Yummy!

Since we’re talking about saving money because God knows when this inflation will be over, but apparently not anytime soon, I will leave you a personal recommendation of a book I’ve read that helped me a lot when I was a rookie in this field. Check it out!

6. Never go shopping on an empty stomach

Another golden rule of smart and cost-effective shopping is to never go shopping for food when you are hungry! Don’t laugh, because I bet you’ve been in this situation too at some point in your life. Agitated, growling stomach, and you running away with the shopping cart all over the store, putting unhealthy foods and snacks in it—this doesn’t sound very good for both your wallet and your body.

What is the wisest solution to this issue? Make sure you eat a full meal before going shopping because it might help you save some extra money that you would spend on impulse purchases simply because you were hungry.

7. Shop only on Wednesdays

Shop only on certain days of the week (in my case, I always do my grocery shopping on Wednesdays) when the supermarket has awesome discounts for the majority of their products. If not “Humpday”, then when should we cheer up for the last two working days of a slow week? Another reason why I love shopping on this day is because most supermarkets are pretty empty (especially if you go shopping at the mall).

If you dislike crowded places as much as I do, then you will definitely love going grocery shopping on Wednesday. Do you know any other smart ways to save money? Tell us in the comments!

8. Track your expenses

Last but not least on our list of ways to save money wisely is to track your expenses, especially if you choose to keep most of your money on a credit card. You can either download an app that will help you budget in a faster way or, if you’re a classical old-school person, you can use an Excel spreadsheet. Whatever fits your needs!

Set a specific amount of money to use for groceries once or twice a week, and try to stick to it. Never go overboard unless it’s a special case or an emergency.

That’s it for today! I really hope you will find these tips useful and will apply them next time you go grocery shopping! And if you are working really hard to become more frugal this year, keep an eye on us because we’re going to be your friend in need every time you need a kind reminder that we can get through this awful inflation together!

One more thing before you go, check out one of our personal favorite articles: 9 Best Grocery Stores in America.