We Asked Shopping Experts How to Save Money on Groceries—Here Are Their Top 8 Tips

It’s not just your imagination: Grocery prices really have gone up. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, food costs have risen 29 percent since 2020, driven by a mix of inflation, tariffs, labor costs, and ongoing supply chain issues.

But stocking your fridge and pantry doesn’t have to drain your bank account. We spoke with two shopping experts to get their best tips for saving money at the grocery store—here’s what they recommend.

Meet the Experts

• Clay Cary is a senior trends analyst and finance expert at CouponFollow, a website and browser extension that helps shoppers find and apply online coupons and cash-back deals. He studies the ways shoppers save on groceries through trends in pricing, advertised promotions, and consumer behavior and by comparing weekly ads, digital coupons, and seasonal sales patterns from top chains.
• Andrea Woroch is a consumer and money-saving expert, writer, and speaker. Inspired by her own financial experiences, Woroch is passionate about sharing tips and advice to help individuals, particularly women, become more financially secure.

How to Grocery Shop Smarter

Check store mobile apps before you go.
In addition to giving consumers access to real-time inventory, store mobile apps also offer convenient ways to track and manage loyalty points and rewards and take advantage of exclusive deals. “Chains such as Walmart, Kroger, and Safeway frequently promote digital coupons that aren’t advertised in paper flyers,” Cary says.

Avoid marked-up prepared foods.
Marinated, sliced, or trimmed meat can cost up to 60 percent more than larger slabs, so save by purchasing big cuts and doing the prep work on your own. The same goes for veggies and fruit—buying whole produce can save you up to 100 percent, Woroch says. 

“The bakery has the highest markups of up to 300 percent,” she says. “While you might not know how to bake a cake, you can certainly bake cookies and cupcakes to save yourself big. Plus, you can pick up cupcake, cake, and cookie mixes in the baking aisle, which are actually inexpensive compared to the fresh bakery.”

Take advantage of store brands.
Stock up on store-brand frozen produce—great for smoothies, stir-fries, omelettes, casseroles, and other dishes. It can be up to 30 percent cheaper than its name-brand counterparts or fresh options in the produce aisle. “This ensures you always have some ingredients at home to whip up a quick meal to avoid ordering takeout,” Woroch says.

Cary notes that stores like Trader Joe’s are ideal for picking up store-brand basics, which tend to be more reasonably priced than other items in the store. “[Resist] those seasonal item impulse buys that are offered front-of-store to stimulate extra expenditure,” he says.

Be mindful of when you shop.
A lot of retailers tend to introduce new sales and put older stock on clearance mid-week—so shopping on Wednesday or Thursday can help you save. Planning your trip to the store earlier in the day, ideally the morning, might increase your chances of spotting manager’s specials in meat, bakery, and deli departments, according to Cary. 

Know your store’s sales cycle. 
A grocery store sales cycle is the recurring pattern of discounts and promotions for different products. To track it, choose 10 to 15 of your most frequently purchased items (think: milk, yogurt, chicken breasts, etc.) and record their prices every time you shop. Over time, you’ll see when a product hits its lowest or “rock-bottom” price, which is when you should stock up.

“[A lot of] times items are on sale within a cycle of every six to eight weeks, so it can be beneficial to stock up when you see them at rock-bottom prices simply to save money down the road,” Cary says. “Freezing meat, produce, bread, and even dairy such as shredded cheese makes it possible to stock up on sales without having to be concerned with things going bad.” 

Understand product placement.
“Stores are thoughtfully planned to make you spend more money,” Cary says. “Basic items such as bread, eggs, and milk are placed in the back to funnel customers through scores of high-margin offerings. Bring a list and stick to it, shopping along the perimeter of the store where produce is almost always found.” 

Pricing psychology tactics are also employed to mislead consumers like placing higher-ticket items next to “better value” ones to make you think the latter is much cheaper. And end caps may appear to feature promotions but the prices might not be the best bang for your buck. “Always look at the unit price to determine value equivalence amongst similar items,” he says.

And avoid seasonal food displays, which are designed to inspire impulse purchases, according to Woroch. For example, a display might feature all of the ingredients to make guacamole, such as avocados, limes, cilantro, salsa, and chips. “You may not have planned to make guacamole, but now it’s on your mind and you’re more likely to grab those unplanned items and spend more,” she says.

Consider loyalty programs and apps and the best credit cards for grocery shopping.
Signing up for loyalty programs at chains like Safeway or Kroger can give you access to personalized discounts along with fuel rewards. Or if you shop online often or use meal-kit services, try a website like CouponFollow to get promo codes that lower your total bill, Cary says.

Woroch notes there are ways to stretch your budget without changing your routine. Maximize your rewards by using a credit card that offers bonus cash back at your favorite grocery store—some go up to 6 percent! You can stack even more points by pairing your card with reward apps like Fetch. For example, the Fetch American Express Credit Card gives you extra points on grocery and retail purchases. And when you scan your receipts in the Fetch app, you’ll earn even more and can redeem the rewards for gift cards to places like Target and Walmart. 

Learn how to plan meals.
Woroch says meal planning is one of the easiest ways to save money and reduce food waste. She recommends mapping out your weekly meals in advance to avoid aimless grocery store wandering, impulse buys, and ingredients that go unused.

Start by figuring out which meals you’ll be eating at home, then choose recipes that use overlapping ingredients so nothing goes to waste. To save even more, compare store circulars to find the best deals—or try “reverse meal planning,” where you build your menu around what’s already on sale.

“Americans waste about 40 percent of the food they buy, according to a Feeding America study,” Woroch notes. “Meal planning is the most effective way in reducing grocery waste and will trim your grocery bill significantly.”