I hear so many other moms that are just as frustrated with grocery shopping as I am. We not only have to plan the menu, shop for the food, prep & cook the meals, then hope everyone likes it. Don’t even get me started on dishes! With all that to worry about, we shouldn’t be stressing about breaking the bank, too. Hopefully these 5 Grocery Budget Tips can offer a little help as you try to save money AND feed your family quality meals.

1. Plan your meals in advance – Meal planning is the #1 way to save money on your family’s food. When you have a plan, you can shop in advance, buy in bulk, and buy to sales when available. Don’t forget to ‘shop from your pantry’ to not only save the grocery budget, but also help rotate your food stores before items expire. If meal planning isn’t your thing, check out our Meal Plan on a Budget book – it has 52 weeks of meal plans WITH recipes for you!
2. Write/type your meal plan on paper – What happens when you get busy and forget what the plan was? Or what if you get sick and someone else needs to fill in? Always put your meal plan on paper. Also, don’t forget your SHOPPING LIST! It does help to organize it on paper by the aisle/area of the store it can be found in – this helps prevent random wandering and potential ‘splurge’ purchases.
3. Clip coupons – You don’t even have to do it the old-fashioned way anymore. There are coupon apps, digital coupons and other great ways to save coupons for groceries. I’m not a fan of this generally, but every now and then there’s one for something I know I’ll be getting. Every little bit helps!
4. Shop for sales – You can buy what is on sale on a particular day or week and plan your meals around that. Wait to plan your menu until you see the weekly circular ads. You should also shop for fruits and vegetables that are in season to save more money, and even buy extra then wash, cut and freeze for later on.
5. Don’t ignore generic products – there are a few things I do prefer getting ‘name brand’ because we can either taste the quality, the ingredients are better and/or the price point just doesn’t make a different. In general, though, we stick to off-brand items – especially if the grocery store you shop at has it’s own ‘brand’ of things – these are often much less expensive!

With these tips, hopefully your grocery budget can not only be less stressful to deal with, but maybe you can even find ways to cut it down and help your finances somewhere else in your budget! Don’t forget to take a look at our Meal Plan on a Budget – affordable, family-friendly recipes already organized into 52 weeks of meal plans (breakfast, lunch AND dinner) with all the recipes there for you!

This content may contain affiliate links. We earn a commission at no extra cost to you if you make a purchase. We may earn money, free services or complementary products from the companies mentioned in this post. All opinions are ours alone…