There is no shortage of tips and tricks to help with your grocery budget. Sometimes they pop up even if you’re not looking for them, thanks to the social media algorithm! In fact, most of Southern Savers is geared toward saving money, especially on groceries.

There are lots of ways to change your overall strategy with groceries in order to decrease spending. But what if you’re doing all those things, and are still wondering if you could shave off a little bit more? I’ve come up with 11 mini grocery budget hacks that might help you find some new ways to save.

If none of these seem like they will work, then see if you can come up with your own grocery budget hack by simply starting small in one area. Little changes that you are consistent with are going to produce better results than a big change that you don’t stick with.

11 Mini Grocery Budget Hacks

Extend the time between shopping trips

Try to extend your grocery shopping trip by at least one day, or more! The less trips you make to the store the less you’ll spend.  It seems pretty common sense, but it takes a tiny bit of planning, or maybe sometimes stretching food to go an extra day or two but it will pay off.  We only shop once a week and never make random trips for little things.  If a recipe calls for something we don’t have… I just pick something else for dinner.

Eat random meals

You can make a meal by putting random things together (even if they don’t seem like they go together). Depending on our preferences and backgrounds, we might have an idea for what kinds of foods go together. But it truly doesn’t matter. If you’re out of veggies, serve fruit with your meal. It’s even OK to not have vegetables one night if you’re out.

Additionally, many of us grew up eating a protein, a vegetable, and another side. There’s nothing wrong with this, but you can have protein with two vegetables. Or a very small portion of protein and multiple sides. There is no meal police knocking at your door!

Pay attention to what you have

The best way I have found to do this is to empty or re-organize your fridge, freezer, and pantry once a month right before you go to the store. This doesn’t have to be a deep clean. I don’t keep a paper or digital inventory; it works well enough for me to visually look at the food I have and make a mental note. Read More→