How to Create the Best Grocery Budget in 2025
Do you need help creating the perfect grocery budget? Many people think that since grocery prices have risen, there is no point in even trying to reduce expenses. Not true! Today, I am going to show you 19 ways to create the best grocery budget in 2025.
Average your grocery budget
It’s easy to set a grocery budget, but it’s another thing to actually stick to it. Averaging your grocery budget is easy to do if you use online ordering or pay with a card. You can simply look up what you have been spending on your groceries. Take what you have spent the last 3 months and divide by how many times you went shopping. See how much you spent each trip.
Audit your grocery budget
Go through your grocery budget and see where you are spending the most in each category. Are you over spending in meat? Junk food? See if you reduce these items to create savings.
Reduce your grocery budget
Now that you know how much you spent, set a goal to reduce your grocery budget by 10%. This feels much more doable for most people, especially if you’re new to grocery budgeting.
Reduce your trips to the grocery
The more you go into the store, the more you spend. The same can be said for even pick up grocery ordering. If you go to the store every few days, try to go only once a week. If you go once a week, try bi-weekly, etc. This will ignite creativity and help you shop your pantries than going to the store just because it’s that time again.
Shop your pantry
Speaking of your pantry, shop it before you make your meal plan. Sites like All Recipes and Pinterest are especially helpful to see what you can make with what you have on hand. The less you have to buy at the store, the more money you will save.
>> 30+ Easy, Frugal Pantry Meals to Save You Money <<
Meal Plan
I will never, ever recommend not meal planning. It is the number one way we save money every week on our grocery budget. It is absolutely essential. Look at your calendar and see what meals you have time for and how many you need to shop for.
>> How to Make a Meal Plan + Free Printables <<
Order online for pick up
If you have the option, try to order for pick up. For most stores, if you order over a certain amount, pick up is free. This keeps down on impulse shopping. It also helps you see exactly how much you’re spending. If you over spend, you can simply remove the items from your cart and find alternatives. It also makes comparison shopping easier.
Shop generic
Generic brands aren’t as taboo as they once were. Very few items are actually worth buying the name brand. Usually the factory throws the name brand label on one and a store brand label on the same product. Buying generic can save a lot of money on your grocery budget.
Shop sales
The biggest complaint I hear from people is that they don’t want to go to multiple stores. While this is understandable, it has never been easier. It takes just a few minutes each week to check your local sales ads for the best deals. You can create pick up orders and set them all for the same time. Use caution with this. If you are far from stores or your stores are very spread out, this may end up costing money, but no more are the days of running into several stores for a few things of each.
Make meals with loss leaders
In addition to shopping sales, use their loss leaders as your main star. If potatoes are on deep discount, make potatoes your main dish. Potato soup, potato tacos, baked potatoes, etc. You can also make several meals with them as your side dish. Don’t overdo it though, you don’t want to scoff at the idea of potatoes by the end of the week. You certainly want to choose several meals to use up the steep discounted items.
Buy in bulk or stock up
When you do find a good deal on items, be sure to stock up. Many people think they need a ton of room and extra cash to stock up or buy in bulk, but that’s not always true. While having an extra fridge or pantry storage certainly helps, it’s not always necessary. There are many foods that can be frozen to prolong the life of them. Even if you buy one or two extra, you are stocking up on a good deal.
Buy what you need
With the idea in mind of stocking up, you certainly don’t want to buy items you don’t need or are never going to use. It’s only a good deal if you’re actually going to eat it. We don’t want food waste. This is also a waste of money.
>> How to Become a Minimalist Family <<
Use basic ingredients
Don’t buy one time use ingredients you’re probably never going to use again. If a certain recipe calls for something you never buy, see about making your own version or substituting something you keep on hand.
Skip the convenience
Many items at the grocery store are overpriced for the sheer fact of convenience. Skip this while you can. If buying a rotisserie chicken and bagged salad keeps you out of the drive thru, go for it. If you can cook your own whole chicken and prep your own salad, even better. Try to do better, no matter where you’re at. Your savings will continue to drop as time goes on and you implement new strategies.
>> How to Make Homemade Foaming Hand Soap <<
Copycat Recipes
We all know eating at home is cheaper. When we were first trying to wean ourselves off of eating out, we would make our favorite restaurant recipes at home. Even if they’re a little higher than you would usually spend per meal, I guarantee it’s still cheaper than going out to eat it.
Use coupon and receipt apps for cash back and savings
If you’re spending the money anyways, you may as well get money back for it. Use that extra savings for gift cards towards other things. My favorites are Rakuten, Fetch Rewards, and iBotta.
Study your receipt
I can’t tell you how many times I have been to Aldi, only to sit in the parking lot and see that they overcharged me or scanned the same item twice. It literally pays to take the few seconds to look over your receipt.
Don’t sleep on coupons
Coupons are still here. Even with all the money savings apps and websites, stores and manufactures still have coupons. I’m not saying to be an extreme couponer, but you can certainly use them to your advantage. Most stores have their own loyalty program with coupons geared towards the things you usually buy. These can usually be used even if you’re ordering your groceries for pick up.
Track your grocery budget
A grocery budget is not one and done. Keep checking your grocery budget every time you go to the store. Are you sticking to your goal of reducing certain categories, 10% of cost, and only shopping when you need to? Grade yourself on how you’re doing and keep going, even if you have an off bill every now and then.
>> Free Budget Starter Kit <<
