It doesn’t look like grocery prices are coming down anytime soon. So if you really want to save money at the store, you have to be willing to put a little elbow grease, and a little ingenuity, on your grocery list.
December’s 0.7% month-over-month jump in food prices was the largest one-month increase in grocery prices since October 2022, according to Consumer Price Index data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. For the year 2025, grocery prices rose 3.1% according to the BLS.
It doesn’t look like grocery prices are coming down anytime soon. So if you really want to save money at the store, you have to be willing to put a little elbow grease, and a little ingenuity, on your grocery list.
If some of these ideas shake something loose for you, feel free to share your ideas for saving money at the grocery store with us.
Chop your own fruits and veggies
Yes, pre-chopped veggies are helpful when you’re in a hurry—I love a pre-made mirepoix for soup. But if you’re trying to save money, buying the big ones and cutting them down to the size and shape you want them in can save beaucoup bucks.
Make your own chicken broth or stock
Use cheap bone-in chicken drumsticks and thighs with skin on, or a carcass from a whole chicken, to make chicken broth.
Use powdered buttermilk for baking
Don’t let a nearly full quart you only bought for baking go to waste in the fridge.
Back away from the spice aisle
Next time you’re in a supermarket, go to the ethnic section. You’ll find that spice blends for certain types of ethnic cuisine are sometimes much cheaper there. For example, look for cumin in the Mexican section.
You can also save money by getting herbs and spices at ethnic stores or bulk food stores scattered around town. You can dry your own herbs as well. Buy fresh herbs in the produce aisle and place them in a mesh bag for about a week. Voila, a few ounces of dried oregano for half the cost of the herbs in the spice aisle. Bonus: You know they’re fresh and haven’t been sitting around for weeks or months.
Make your own gluten-free bread
If you are eating a gluten-free diet, you can make your own GF bread much more cheaply with King Arthur GF Bread Flour and a bread maker.
DIY a healthy snack
Buy berries on sale and freeze them on cookie trays before transferring them to a freezer-weight baggie. Toss a cup of them in a blender with some plain Greek yogurt, and make yourself a protein and fiber-packed snack.
Avoid foods that claim to offer extra protein
Food manufacturers are fueling the protein craze by adding protein powder to everything and charging twice as much as they do for the traditional versions. Instead of “protein waffles,” which can cost $7 or $8, get your protein from lean meat, beans, legumes, whole grains, and dairy.
Skip the soda, seltzers, and other prepared drinks
Hydrate with water. For flavor, infuse it with citrus or cucumbers, berries, herbs such as mint. Still thirsty? Make our own iced tea. Bottled versions cost much more and often have inferior flavor. If you like it sweet, boil a cup of sugar in a cup of water until the sugar dissolves. Let it cool and add some of that to your tea. Refrigerate the simple syrup for up to a week.
DIY household cleaners
Expensive cleansers can often be replaced by good old baking soda, vinegar and lemon juice. Check that out if your goal is a lower grocery bill as well.
Keystone Senior Newsletter Editor Patrick Berkery contributed to this report.
