19 Ways to Eat Healthier & Save Money on Groceries

We reduced our food spending by 25% last year! And this was despite switching to a healthier diet full of organic produce, pastured and grass-fed meats and dairy, and containing fewer grains and processed foods. We’re sharing 19 strategies we used (and will continue to use) to eat healthier and save money on groceries.

Many people mistakenly think that in order to pursue financial independence and retire early your diet needs to consist of rice & beans. While there are a few FIRE enthusiasts who do this, I’ve found many people in the FIRE community prioritize nutrient dense food and a healthy lifestyle. Maybe it’s because we’re thinking about all the free time we’ll have in a long retirement. Health is wealth.

Sure, you could keep your food budget ridiculously low by getting all your calories from rice, beans, pasta, and corn oil. However, this diet would be devoid of many essential nutrients your body needs to live a long and healthy life. You can eat healthier and save money on groceries.

The table below shows our food spending for the last four years. You can see the significant drop in 2020. Our spending is still a little higher than the average American household. But, I’m okay with that, since I think it’s mostly related to better food quality. While I’d like to see this number decrease more, purchasing high-quality and nutrient dense foods will always be a part of our value-spending strategy.

Here are 19 ways to eat healthier & save money on groceries:

1. Eat out less!

This one is a no brainer. You’ve heard this before from me and others. Making food at home will almost always be healthier and more affordable than eating out. 

You can see above how our spending has fallen drastically in the “Eating Out” category. It’s an easy way to cut back on food spending, but we didn’t just start eating 25% less food. I would have expected there to be at least a partially offsetting increase in the “Groceries” category. Which there wasn’t. The remaining tips below show how we’ve kept the grocery budget in check despite buying a more food.  

Check out last week’s post How to Master the Takeout Fake out for more on how much the average American household spends each year on eating out, and our favorite recipes for making the switch easier.

2. Meal plan

Meal planning can be a bit overwhelming at first, but it’s a powerful tool that can help you spend less at the grocery store and make meals in line with your health goals. When you have no plan at 5pm… everything unhealthy and easy starts to look good.

It took a little while, but now that I’m in the habit of meal planning each weekend, the time and effort is minimal. I like having a plan and not stressing about what’s for dinner each night, or whether I’ll have the willpower to make the healthy choice. If you’re new to meal planning, try starting small with 2 – 3 dinners or lunches for the week. Then add on meals once that feels manageable. From there, it’s easy to double or triple a recipe so that you have leftovers to freeze for another day.

Meal planning has been a key factor in my weight loss journey over this past year, and I know it’s helped us to cut down on food waste and spending.

3. Plan your meals around weekly sales

When creating your meal plan for the week, plan your meals based primarily upon ingredients that are on sale, or that you already have on hand. That way you can take advantage of the sales and aren’t paying full price for the majority of your ingredients.

4. Grocery shop with a list (and don’t go hungry!)

Use your meal plan and the weekly sales to build a grocery list with the ingredients you need for the week, as well as any food items you frequently use that are on sale.

I usually keep a list going during the week when I notice we’re running low on something, so I can add it to that week’s shopping order or watch out for the next time it goes on sale.

Go to the store with your list, and only buy what’s on the list. And never shop on an empty stomach… it makes impulse buying so much harder to avoid. This one’s hard for me, though I’m getting better. I was always the person who went to the store to buy 10 things and left with 20.

5. Don’t forget to check for coupons

I always found clipping coupons therapeutic, but the days of having to sort through newspapers to cut out coupons are long gone. Nearly all major US grocery stores now have free digital coupons available online.

It takes only a couple minutes to scan the apps for the ingredients on your shopping list, or ingredients you frequently buy. With one click the coupons get linked to your frequent shopper card and automatically applied at checkout. It’s super easy and you can save hundreds of dollars a year in just a few minutes a week. You can even stack coupons. If you don’t have time, or you’re just too lazy to figure out the best deals for the week (like me), let someone else do it for you. The Krazy Coupon Lady posts the best weekly deals for several major US retailers, including some grocery stores. Keep in mind that the best deals are usually on brand name processed foods, so this is less applicable if you’re on a mostly whole foods diet.

Similarly, you can try a cash back app, like Ibotta, to save even more. If you purchase a lot of processed or brand name foods, Ibotta may be worth the effort for you. I’ve had the app for a couple years but haven’t earned much money from it for the amount of time spent, so try not to spend too much time on it. 

6. Designate a day (or two) of the week to meal prep

You’ve got a plan and bought your ingredients. Now you just need to follow through. Picking a day or two to meal prep for the week will make sure everything is chopped, prepped, and/or cooked so that it’s ready to assemble and easy to stick to the plan. This will also prevent waste, as you’ll see what ingredients are leftover to properly store, freeze, or utilize in another meal.

7. Join in on the “Meatless Monday” trend

You don’t need to go vegan but eliminating the animal meat from a few meals each week is a great way to save money. Plant proteins are generally much more affordable than sustainably raised animal products (i.e. grass-fed, pastured, wild). And conventionally raised meat (i.e. feedlot meat), although available for relatively cheap, is something we try to minimize to avoid the extra hormones, GMOs and other inflammatory compounds. Eating less meat is also a great way to get more vegetables into your diet. Most of the World’s “Blue zones” (regions where populations have the longest average lifespans), follow diets that are much lower in meat and animal products, as well as processed foods, than the typical western diet. They must be doing something right.

8. Learn to cook

…and/or bake. It’s no secret that prepared foods cost more than the sum of their parts. Learning to make at least a few meals and basics at home will help you save money and avoid paying the premium prices for takeout or other already prepared foods. It also allows you to control the ingredients you put into your food, which means no crazy chemicals or preservatives that you can’t pronounce (and are most likely bad for you).

We’ve seen that this is an even bigger money saver if you follow any dietary restrictions, such as an organic, gluten-free, paleo or keto diet. Whenever hot marketing terms like “keto” are slapped on the side of a box, you can be sure that you’re overpaying for that product. Once you have a few alternative ingredients, and get the hang of it, making gluten-free paleo snacks and treats is actually super easy and way cheaper than buying the processed versions.

This same concept goes for meal delivery kits, like Hello Fresh or Blue Apron. Did you notice how big our grocery bill was in 2017? Yeah, that was the year we tried out several of the meal delivery services to “save time” when we were both working stressful jobs. It was super expensive. While some of the meals were tasty, none of the services were much cheaper than takeout, they only saved a little time in the kitchen, and they produced a significant amount of waste from the packaging.

9. Minimize the purchase of precut produce or prepared food

Ok, this one is going to depend on your situation. The fact is that precut produce, and other foods that are partially prepared for convenience, are more expensive. If you have time, buying whole and doing the prep work yourself will save you money.

That said, if you are short on time or new to cooking, purchasing these products may help you to cook more meals at home… and that will be cheaper and healthier than eating out. When Mr. RFL and I were both working crazy hours in public accounting, I felt no guilt in purchasing the shredded brussels sprouts and spiralized veggies, since that was the only way I was going to cook them. Do what’s best for your family here.

10. Eat foods that are in season

Have you ever tried to buy strawberries in the middle of winter? Sure, you can buy them year-round at most grocery stores. But if they aren’t in season, you’ll pay an arm and a leg for them, and they won’t taste that great.

Buying food that is “in season” will ensure that what you’re getting the freshest and most nutrient dense versions. It also keeps the cost down since stores tend to mark down produce when they have an abundance of it.

I try to design our meals around the sales, which usually aligns with the seasonal harvests. Many foods can be canned or frozen, so consider buying extra when they are in season and priced super low, and preserving for later in the year. I have a freezer stash of frozen lemon zest and juice from my parents’ lemon tree which will meet our lemon needs for the whole year.

11. Hit the farmers market or join a co-op

Buy fresh, local, healthy produce for even less by hitting up your nearest farmers’ market or joining a farm co-op or CSA. You can get even better deals if you buy in bulk (1/2 cow share, anyone?) or committing to regular purchases, such as with a CSA.

COVID has kept us away from the local farmers’ markets lately, but we used to enjoy going regularly when we lived in North Carolina. Many of the farmers in our old community followed mostly organic practices, even if they weren’t certified organic (which an administrative burden and expensive). It felt good to support the community and know that we were getting better quality produce, meat, and eggs for less than the local grocery store. 

12. Or… take it a step further and try growing your own food!

Growing your own food, if your successful, can save you money. It’s also a great activity for kids and sneaky way to get them to eat more vegetables. Focus on growing the foods or herbs that you eat the most of and/or that are more expensive or better to buy organic.

Though I haven’t been too successful in the past, this year I’m going to try growing organic herbs, lettuces, zucchini, cucumbers, and bell peppers in our backyard.

13. Strategize your organic purchases

Buying only organic fruits and vegetables, pastured and grass-fed meats, and wild caught seafood is great, but it can get really expensive.

I’m a strong supporter of the efforts towards sustainability and reducing the level of pesticides, GMOs, and hormones in our food supply, so I buy this way as often as I can. I feel fortunate that we can afford to “vote with our wallet” in this area, and hope cleaner food becomes more affordable in the future.

That said, you can avoid some of the negatives of conventionally grown food without breaking the bank by strategizing which items you “splurge” on to get the organic or grass-fed label.

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) publishes an annual list of the fruits and vegetables with the most pesticide residue (“The Dirty Dozen”) and the least pesticide (“The Clean Fifteen”). You can drastically reduce the level of pesticides your exposed to just by swapping out the items on the Dirty Dozen list for organic when you can.

When it comes to meats, my own limited research found that the largest difference between conventional and grass-fed or pastured meats is within the fat of the animal. Therefore, if you have a limited amount of money to put towards higher quality meats, it might be a better strategy to use that money for the fattier cuts of meat you buy, where the difference would be more pronounced. Or, if you can only afford conventional meat, you could aim to buy leaner cuts to reduce exposure.  

14. Buy frozen fruits & veggies

They are often frozen just after harvest and are just as healthy as fresh produce. And unless it’s the peak season for a fruit or vegetable, the frozen version is often cheaper. Canned versions can also be affordable alternatives, you just have to watch out for added salt, preservatives, and BPA linings.

15. Stock up on frequently used items when they’re on sale

Learn the sales cycles of your local grocery stores and what the lowest price is for your most frequently purchased items. Then stock up when they’re on sale for that price. You can keep pantry staples for months or years, and even some dairy products or meats can be good for several weeks or frozen for months.

16. Shop store brands/ private label

This applies to medicine and personal care items as well. Most store brand or private label products are produced by major manufacturers, often in the same facilities as the name brand items. And because they don’t carry that fancy brand logo, you can usually pick them up for a fraction of the price. Check the ingredients to be sure the item is comparable and give it a try! We’ve had some hits and misses with this strategy, but at least then you’ll know of the brand name is worth the fancy price.

17. Consider buying in bulk…

IF (big “if”) it actually saves you money and you’ll use the product before the expiration date. Somethings make sense to buy in bulk if you can get a great deal and have a place to store them, such as canned goods and paper products. Others don’t. There is no point in buying a jumbo-sized tub of mayonnaise or lettuce to save money if you only end up using half before it goes bad. Also, check to make sure you are actually saving money by buying in bulk. Often the savings is minimal, if any, over the sale price of regular sized items at your local grocery store.

 18. Reduce food waste!

According to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), Americans waste billions of dollars each year on food (dairy products top the list of wasted foods). The average American family of four throws out $1,600 a year in produce. That is A LOT of food, and a huge portion of most families’ food budgets.

Meal planning and many of the other tips above will naturally help you to reduce food waste, and thus, save money.

In addition, you can further reduce waste by:

• Placing perishable foods, like produce, where you can see them (rather than buried in a produce drawer).

• Freezing leftovers or extra ingredients before they go bad. – Did you know that you can freeze almost anything, including avocados, cheese, milk and most produce? Take a look every few days to identify what you won’t use before it goes bad, and take a few minutes to prepare and freeze those items so they aren’t wasted. And as a bonus, you’ll have an easy to grab ingredient for a later date.

• Don’t toss something out just because it’s passed it’s “best buy” or “sell buy” date. – These are usually just guidelines. Most foods are safe to consume beyond the date as long as they smell and look normal. I try to eat meat within a day or two of the date, but eggs and milk can be good for a week or two past it if stored properly, and most processed and canned foods are fine for well beyond the dates.

• Upcycling ingredients – Many of the common waste from cooking at home (i.e. potato skins, carrot tops, and chicken bones) can actually be upcycled into delicious meals to reduce waste. For example, you can freeze leftover vegetable ends and chicken bones until you have a few pounds worth and then throw it all in a pot for an easy and nutritious bone broth. Google is your friend on this one. I was surprised at how many traditional waste products can be salvaged.

19. Check out the ugly & about to expire bins/shelves at your grocery store

These items are often marked own for immediate sale, and as mentioned above, they are still totally safe to consume. You can also buy from one of the many food rescue organizations popping up.

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