5 Ways to Save Money on Groceries

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It seems like groceries get more and more expensive. And then $200 later… we can still potentially have nothing to eat! I have been able to figure out a few things to help keep these costs down for our family.

My number one secret weapon is the Kroger Click list and Walmart Grocery Pickup.

(Totally NOT a sponsor of this post either, I truly just love love love the click list idea and implementation).

What I love is that I do my meal planning, and then I go order online what we need, then pick it up. They deliver it right to my vehicle and load it. This means I do not pick up extra (usually unhealthy!!) items while I’m in the store!!

I get exactly what is on my shopping list, and that’s it. No last-minute line magazine purchase, no crazy candy purchases, and no food that will end up just expiring. This is just genius marketing…

Learn more about Kroger Click List and Walmart Grocery Pickup AND see where I compared them!

Free Apps to Save on Groceries

I love Ibotta, and I’ve already earned cashback from them several times.

You basically see if anything you bought has a cashback option, scan your receipt, and earn money.

Once you earn up to $20, you can have it redeemed in multiple ways from PayPal to various store gift cards. I actually cashed in and got a $25 Walmart card today.

→ Sign up for free and use my referral link and we will both earn!!! ←

I also use Checkout 51, which is very similar to Ibotta! It actually doesn’t matter which store you have shopped at with this app! And the way it works is the same – you take a picture of your receipt, upload it, and you earn money! You also can cash out around $20 with it as well!

Coupons to Cut Down Grocery Costs

I have tried the extreme couponing and I can make that work for me, but I hated it. It wasn’t worth the misery to try and hunt down newspapers and scour the ads matching coupons.

Kroger sends me coupons based on what I buy, and I use those. They also have special click list shopper coupons you can download to your Kroger card. I use coupons, but don’t stress myself out for them. See if your local store has online coupons that you can download to your savings card or loyalty rewards card.

Meal Planning Saves Money

Don’t go in unprepared. Have a meal plan and a grocery list in place. That way you don’t end up with unnecessary, unpaired items. I’ve done it. I’ve had asparagus, then have no main items to go with it. I’ve had pasta with no sauce. Cereal and then no milk. Go prepared!!! Also, plan the meals around what you have in your cabinets. Don’t let things expire. If you do have some dry pasta in the cabinet, and maybe some ground beef in the fridge – plan to add sauce and bread and have spaghetti.

Buy Sale Items – In Bulk

If it’s on sale, stock up. Especially with meats! My best investment was my vacuum sealer. Just vacuum seal them, and they can last a long time! I just did this with some beef strips cut for stir-fry. Kroger had them on sale, and I bought several and vacuum sealed them for the freezer!

You can see my newer post on saving money on groceries HERE!

Do you have any tips on saving money on groceries you’d like to share?