How to Save Big on Groceries Each Year

How to Save Big on Groceries Each Year: Top Tips and Online Services

Are you looking to cut down on your grocery bills and save big each year? As a stay-at-home mom with a family of four, I managed to reduce my weekly grocery expenses from over $200 to just $115! That’s a significant saving of $75 per week, totaling up to $5,000 a year. Let me share the most effective ways I achieved these savings.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you decide to purchase any of these resources I earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.

Meal Planning

The key to sticking to a budget and saving big on groceries is meal planning. I plan five different meals for the week, including two days for leftovers. Using Pinterest for inspiration, I create varied and budget-friendly menus to avoid repetitive meals. Before heading to the store, I make a detailed list of all the required ingredients, which helps me resist impulse buys and stay within my budget.

Here is a small breakdown of what I spend my $115 on weekly:

• Meats – $40
• Fruits/Vegetables – $15
• Snacks – $10
• Breads – $8
• Dairy, Cheese & Eggs – $12
• Beverages – $10
• Toiletries/Other – $20

I have created two simple printable downloads below to help with your weekly grocery list and menu!

To break it down further, for meats I usually purchase chicken breasts (usually 2 packs), ground beef, pork of some kind, sausage or salmon. This is normally somewhere around $40. For fruits and vegetables I normally buy bananas, apples, strawberries or blueberries, cauliflower or broccoli, carrots and peas. I usually stick to around $15 for these items.

For dinner meals I try to do a meat and a side, sometimes a salad as well. Baked chicken breasts with roasted carrots is one of our favorite easy and cheap meals. Grilled salmon with roasted cauliflower and a side of broccoli salad is also another budget friendly meal. Tacos or chicken fajitas are also quick and delicious meals that won’t break the bank.

I also do crockpot meals a lot during the colder months as they are budget friendly, great for leftovers and can also easily be frozen! Click here to see my easy Crockpot Taco Soup recipe.

Delish.com is another resource that has some great recipe ideas that are inexpensive and easy to make. Click here to check them out!

Here is a great weekly meal planning journal from Amazon that is very helpful with meal prepping and planning grocery lists.

Online Grocery Shopping

Using an online service for grocery shopping is the #1 way that I have cut down on our grocery bill. Online grocery shopping is extremely easy and helps me stick to a budget. I try to stick to $115 a week through online grocery shopping and this has saved me close to $5,000 a year!

Amazon Fresh

I have recently started using Amazon Fresh to save big on groceries and it is by far my absolute favorite online grocery service. They have a huge selection of fresh meat, fruits, vegetables, snacks, toiletries and pretty much anything you need. Their prices are great and the best part is that you don’t have to pay all those extra fees like many other grocery delivery services. As long as you have a Prime account, the only fee is an optional tip for the driver. (Make sure to pick a free delivery window – most are 2 hours)

Amazon bought Whole Foods recently and Amazon Fresh offers tons of healthy and organic options when shopping as well. Many of the fruits, vegetables and meats come in both regular and organic options. The prices are very reasonable compared to grocery store prices.

Amazon Fresh also offers free same day delivery if you order early enough in the day. They will leave your groceries on your porch if you leave a note to do so. You don’t even need to be home when they drop them off!

Amazon Fresh also has a deals sections where items are on sale. You will often find items that are discounted or have coupons applied at checkout. Click here to see the current deals that are available.

Make sure that you have the Amazon App on your phone which makes it super easy to place your order and browse all of the items they carry. Click here to check out Amazon Fresh and all they have to offer.

Instacart

Instacart is another option for online grocery shopping. They are partnered with many major brands like Kroger, Publix, Costco, Target, Aldi and tons more.

They have an Instacart Express plan that you can get to avoid paying any delivery fees on your orders over $35. This plan costs $99 a year ($8.25 a month) if you sign up for a yearly plan or $9.99 a month if you choose to pay monthly. If you don’t sign up for the yearly or monthly plan then I do not believe it is worth. You will be paying for a delivery window, a tip and a service fee. These things can add up to well over $15.

Similar to Amazon Fresh you can order straight from your phone, computer or tablet. I would recommend downloading the Instacart app on your phone for easy ordering. You can also select the pickup option where you can choose a time and then pick up the groceries at the store. This is only available at selection locations, however.

You will also find a section on the app for coupons and sales. I shop this section frequently to help reduce my costs as well.

Click here to sign up for Instacart and get $10 off when you place your first order!

Meal Service Kits

Another way to save money on your groceries is to use a meal service kit such as Blue Apron. Their meal kit comes with all of the ingredients you need to make delicious meals. Blue Apron has a huge variety of meals that you can choose from each week. You can choose to get them weekly, bi-weekly, and you can skip weeks whenever you want.

Blue Apron can help with food waste as they give you the exact portions you need for each meal. Their food is always delicious and fresh and I have never had a meal I did not like from there! This is a great money-saver as you are not having to purchase a number of ingredients to create the meals yourself.

They are usually always running promos – you can click here to save $60 on your first 3 boxes! If you decide to cancel your subscription they will often send you invites to return with a discount as well.

What are some ways that you save on groceries? Please leave your suggestions in the comments below!