I have had a bad habit of WAY overspending when it comes to groceries… or food in general. We eat out way too often, and pick up fast food more than I’d like to admit. With the New Year I committed to making all meals at home to help with our bills and overall health. Not going to restaurants is not enough though for me. I’m guilty of shopping hungry and throwing whatever looks good into my cart and blowing my budget out of the water. The following are 10 things I have been doing to cut my grocery bill in half each week.

Meal Plan- Always have a plan before entering the grocery store. Take the time to look through your pantry, freezer, and refrigerator to see what you already have. Try to incorporate what you already have on hand into your recipes for the week. I make all meals for my family, so I meal plan for breakfasts, lunches, and dinners for the week. When walking through the store with no plan or list, it is easy to just start grabbing things without thinking them through. This may cause overspending, food waste,or multiple trips to the store if you forget something. Don’t go to the store without that plan in hand!

Cash- Set a grocery budget and stick to it! Keep cost in mind as you are creating a meal plan for the week. Once a budget amount is decided upon, take cash to the grocery store to pay at the register. Cash gives you a finite amount to spend so you need to watch prices closer. When paying with card it is easier to go over your budget. Paying cash is a great way to keep a handle on all expenses when you are trying to save money or budget.

Calculator- Bring a small calculator along with you to the grocery store, or use your phone’s calculator. I like to bring a calculator along so I can physically type in the cost of each item as I’m placing things in my cart. Keeping this running total literally in the palm of my hand keeps me focused on my budget. Since I shop with cash, I want to be sure when I get to the register I have enough to cover the bill. I don’t want to have to put anything back, and I’m determined to not grab for my card at the grocery store anymore.

Outside Perimeter- The perimeter of the store is where you typically find the fresh produce, meats, and dairy items. These are typically the healthier, whole food items. Foods found on the inner aisles are usually the highly processed, sugary, salty snack foods that can jack up your bill if you add too many to the cart. Stick to the outside perimeter for healthier options.

Stay away from pre packaged when possible- Packaging costs money. Buying a bag of 7 pre packaged apples is more expensive than bagging 7 apples yourself. Pre rinsed and trimmed lettuce is more expensive than buying a bunch of lettuce and cutting it yourself. Opt for bagging items yourself and washing, cutting, and portioning them yourself at home. It’s a little extra work once you get home, but there is no need to pay more for the same thing just for a bag with a fancy label.

Meatless Monday –Meat is expensive. Incorporating more meatless meals can help cut down costs on your grocery bills. Try incorporating a beans and rice meal at least once a week. Beans and rice are really cheap, filling, and there are many fun ways to spice them up. We have beans and rice on hand almost all the time in our house because they can be used for lunch, dinner, or even a hearty breakfast burrito.

Marked Down Meat– Grocery stores mark down their meat products when they are nearing their sell by dates. When you see these deals at the store, scoop them up to use in a recipe that night, or pop them in the freezer to use at a later date. I try not to buy meat at full price if possible. This is one area where I will stock up, even if an items is not on my grocery list for week. If it fits in my budget, I will buy a little extra. The savings are SO worth it!

Break Up with Name Brand- We often pay a higher price for name brands and there really is no reason to. Often times store brands are just the same as the name brand, but with a simpler label and lower price. Check the ingredients to compare your favorite name brand item to the store brand equivalent. Give these off brands a try! You might not even notice a difference.

Soup and Chili-When cooking soups and chili try to double the recipe and freeze half for a later date. This saves on time and money for purchasing the ingredients. Freeze your soups in gallon freezer bags and mark the soup type and date it went into the freezer. Soups with beans instead of meat are an even greater savings.

Drink Water- Water is good for you! Juices, teas, sodas, and alcoholic beverages are full of sugar and empty calories. These sugary beverages if purchased on a weekly basis can really take a toll on your grocery bill. I stopped drinking alcohol over the summer and I’ve seen such a change in my grocery spending. I’m also not running out to buy a bottle of wine mid week which always leads to grabbing a few more items I probably don’t need. We drink mostly water at home that we filter ourselves. We don’t buy bottled water. If we want water on the go, we fill a reusable water bottle. Stick to drinking water if you can!

What do you do to save money at the grocery store? I would love to hear any other ideas. The more ideas we have, the more we can save!