Grocery shopping has turned into an art form. Inflation has attacked grocery stores in unthinkable ways, and shoppers now have to approach the errand like it’s a battle zone, curating a well-thought-out plan based on sales and coupons to get out alive. There are some money-saving tips to keep in mind, as well as purchases that should be avoided or made elsewhere. Here are some of the biggest wastes of money at the grocery store.
Pre-Cut Fruits & Vegetables
When it comes to purchasing produce, buy it whole, not pre-cut. You’ll pay more for prepared versions, likely because they require additional labor to cut, package, and prepare.
Bottled Water
Single-use plastic bottles of water consistently cost more to purchase than a filter for your sink or refrigerator would for purified water.
Pre-Made Salads
Packaged salads, whether in plastic bowls or salad kits, are typically more expensive than the DIY variety. You’d be better off buying lettuce and other in-season or on-sale produce to round out your own salad.
Microwavable Pancakes
Pancakes are easy enough to throw together, and you can even make a big batch and freeze them. With that in mind, microwavable pancakes are better left behind the glass doors of the grocery store’s frozen food section.
Baby Carrots
Baby carrots are put in your cart to be put in your fridge, where they inevitably succumb to their slime-coated demise. They don’t maintain their integrity for very long, and they also appear to be inconsistent in terms of quality. Despite being generally affordable, whole carrots are even cheaper, they’re more versatile, and they last longer. Opt for those instead.
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Single-Serve Yogurt Cups
You might pay $1 a piece for single-serve yogurts, or you can get a 32-ounce container for around $3 and portion it out yourself. There is a clearly better choice to be made here, and it appears to be avoiding the waste of money on small cups of yogurt.
Out-of-Season Produce
Have you ever had a hankering for corn on the cob in December or craved a persimmon in June? Those are expensive cravings to satisfy. You might pay triple for corn on the cob when it’s out of season than you would when it’s in season. Encourage your taste buds to crave the right seasonal produce.
Baking Mixes
From pancake mix to cake mix, those little Betty Crocker boxes are often just comprised of ingredients you probably already have in the pantry (and that flour and sugar will stretch further than just one batch of cupcakes). Leave the mix alone and look up a recipe instead.
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Bakery Items
Speaking of baking, if you grab baked goods from your grocery store, chances are you’re paying a pretty penny for something you could make cheaper at home (like muffins). Not to mention, since these items are freshly baked instead of preserved, they tend to grow mold quickly once you get them home.
Shredded Cheese …
Shredded cheese can be pricey, and buying a block of cheese is often more cost-effective and it usually tastes and melts better too.
… Or Pre-Cut Cheese
Those handy “cracker cuts” cheese slices are indeed handy, but you’ll spend more on them than you would on a block that you slice yourself.
Spices & Seasonings
Some stores charge more for spices and seasonings than others, so shop smart and compare prices first. Store brands also tend to be cheaper than brand names like McCormick.
Snack-Sized Packs
Individually wrapped snack packs cost more than their whole-box counterparts. Riddle us that. We’d rather buy the box and portion it into snack-sized baggies ourselves.
Microwave Popcorn
Buying popcorn kernels is often more cost-effective than purchasing microwave popcorn these days. There’s nothing like the real thing when it comes to flavor, either, and microwave popcorn just doesn’t cut it.
Coffee Creamer
There is an assortment of coffee creamers at the grocery store and a whiplash-inducing range of prices to go along with them. If your taste buds are partial to Starbucks or International Delight, you’re undoubtedly spending more money than the folks rocking with the store brands or shopping sales.
Name-Brand Cereal
Price fatigue is high-risk in the cereal aisle. Chances are if it’s not on sale or off-brand, it’s too expensive to bother with.
Name-Brand Chips
Like cereal, inflation has tainted chips like Doritos and Ruffles. You’ll pay top-dollar for those brand-name chips if they aren’t on sale, while copycat store brands are comparable in taste and cheaper to boot.
Packaged Dips
Another item that goes to your refrigerator to die. Those packaged dips look and sound so good, so you grab a box of crackers to go with them. Only, it seems the cracker-to-dip ratio is always off, and the dip that remains will hang out in your refrigerator waiting for a new box of crackers to become best friends with. The crackers never come, and the dip goes bad before you can enjoy it all—Womp womp.
Energy Drinks
Single-serve cans of energy drinks are pricey at the grocery store. If you need your carbonated caffeine fix, consider buying in bulk at Costco or Sam’s Club for better per-can deals.
Party Supplies
Don’t stock up on decorative paper plates, balloons, and party horns at the grocery store. You’ll find much better prices on items like those at the dollar store.
Frozen Dinners
If you can make it cheaper without too much hassle, just devote one day a month to preparing meals for your freezer. Enlist someone else in your household or a friend for help to make the task even more manageable. Frozen Fruit Blends
Some frozen fruits are still relatively cheap, but if you start getting into blends, you’ve entered “too expensive to purchase” territory. Grab your berries when they’re on sale or in season and freeze them yourself.
Diapers and Wipes
If you’re in your diapers and wipes buying stage of life, we feel the pain of your wallet. But take it from us: your grocery store doesn’t have the best deals on such items. Buy in bulk at Costco or Sam’s or order them on Amazon and you’re sure to pay a better price.
Toilet Paper & Paper Towel
We all remember when COVID struck in 2020, and you had to buy toilet paper wherever it was readily available. People have since calmed down and stopped hoarding TP, and we’re here to say that the only place to buy your paper products is Sam’s or Costco. Only at the grocery store in a pinch, if you have coupons, or there’s an impossible-to-resist sale.
Vitamins
Grocery stores have an entire aisle devoted to vitamins, but that doesn’t mean you should spend your money on them. Outside of sales, vitamin prices at the grocery store don’t stack up against the likes of Costco.
Batteries
Batteries are a giant no-no at the grocery store. You can absolutely find these cheaper elsewhere, like Amazon, Costco, or Sam’s Club.
27. Over-the-Counter Medications
Like vitamins, the prices of over-the-counter medications, such as allergy medications or pain relief, are often available at better deals at wholesale clubs than at grocery stores.
Paper Plates
Paper plates have gotten so expensive that it almost doesn’t feel like a joke anymore to refer to them as “fine china.” The best way to buy these is by visiting Costco or Sam’s Club instead of a grocery store.
Probiotic Sodas
Probiotic sodas are all the rage right now and they have the price tag to prove it. If you’ve got to hop on this craze, do it with the help of Costco or Sam’s Club because the grocery store doesn’t do you many favors in the mark-down department on these.
More Money-Saving Grocery Tips
- 35 Tricks That’ll Save You Serious Cash at the Grocery Store — Now more than ever, we’re leaning on all the tips and tricks to save money at the grocery store. Here are some of our favorites.
- The Cheapest Grocery Stores in America — If you’re serious about stretching every dollar, these are the markets that make it possible to shop smart without compromising on quality.
- 24 Biggest Mistakes to Avoid at the Grocery Store — Avoid falling for traps like slick merchandising, placement of pricier brands at eye-level, and more potential pitfalls at the grocery store to save money and time.
