This site contains affiliate links to products we recommend. We may receive a commission for purchases made through these links.

Home » How to Save Money on Groceries

How to Save Money on Groceries

Posted April 30, 2022
in Cook, Household Management, Preparedness

Print this Post

With the looming food shortages and certain food cost increases, it’s important that we’re making good use of every scrap of food in the kitchen. Learn how to save money on groceries with one simple tip.

A plate of vegetable scraps on a table with a woman in the background peeling vegetables.

We’ve discussed how to beat inflation at the grocery store, as well as my meal planning tips for the homestead. I’ve shared how to build up a well-stocked pantry and the seven pantry staples I’ll never be without.

But this method of saving money at the grocery store is a bit different, although equally as important to help you build financial resiliency.

This last winter my family went on a trip and we brought all of our own food. We stayed at the equivalent of an Airbnb so we did all our own food prep and dishes. As we were cleaning the dishes one of my kids asked where the pig or chicken bucket was so we could scrape off all the leftover food.

We all felt really bad because we were just throwing all our leftovers into the trash instead of feeding our animals. There’s a joke in our house that we turn all our leftovers into bacon since our leftovers usually get fed to the pigs.

What I realized during that trip was just how much food we had become accustomed to throwing away because we could justify where it was going. Once we got back home I started watching how much food went into the pig bucket and I was really surprised at the volume we were throwing out.

A short while later I was at a friend’s house and I saw that they, too, were scraping off large portions of food into the trash and that’s when I realized that we could all do better.

Sliced bread being placed on a dehydrator tray.

Stop Wasting Food

The number one way to save money on groceries isn’t by growing your own garden, although yes, that will save you money.

It’s not by clipping coupons or making better use of the Farmer’s Market. The number one way to save money on groceries is to stop wasting food.

Stop buying more food than you need. Stop letting the vegetables in your refrigerator go bad. (Use up your extra garden produce with this garden stir fry.)

The simplest way I’ve found to do this is to buy less food. Get less from the grocery store and force yourself to get better use of it altogether.

Man holding carrots just pulled from the garden.

Stop Harvesting Extra Food

This same principle goes for the garden, too. Stop bringing in excess food that you won’t consume before it goes bad. Unless you’re harvesting a large amount for preservation, use what you have already in the refrigerator before harvesting more.

You may not be using all parts of the vegetable! Did you know that carrot tops are edible? If you’re growing carrots, you might be getting rid of a lot of food that you could be eating. This would save even more from the grocery store.

This year, with the looming food shortages, and the definite increase in the cost of groceries, let’s make sure we’re making use of every single scrap of food in the kitchen.

If you have tips and tricks for saving money on food, head on over to the YouTube video and leave a comment so we can all get better collectively together!

Don’t worry, there are enough ends and odds that we can’t use that the pigs and chickens will still get their goodies!

As I said, this is a message to me and my family as well and I hope you’ll join me in this process of maximizing our food and minimizing our waste.