Grocery prices seem to have gone up quite a bit in the past few years, but the inflation has really skyrocketed in the last 12 months. Our family has grown, and I’m sure that hasn’t helped our budget, but we have started to see a squeeze on our wallets like never before when it’s time to go shopping lately.

More than ever, I have had to really tighten the belt straps and cut down anywhere I can. This has gotten more and more difficult, but I have found that these six things have been extremely useful.

1. Grocery Shop Once Per Month

I do a giant grocery shop once a month. This is no small task. It takes us a couple of days most months because there are several things I have to do before I ever step foot into a store. The first thing I always do is a big clean out and check in of our pantries, refrigerators, and freezers. We have a working pantry downstairs and a storage pantry upstairs. I go through each one and get rid of anything out of date or things we simply won’t use.

We have a full sized refrigerator in our kitchen as well as two refrigerator drawers. The drawers were probably my favorite thing we added to our kitchen when we built our house. They doubled our refrigerator storage without really losing any valuable kitchen space. Those get cleaned out, as well as all 4 of our freezers. During these cleanouts, I also check in and see what we are lacking and what we need to refill, as well as what we need to use.

Once I know what we have, I make our menu for the next 4 weeks, and from there, I can create a shopping list. That list will go with me into several (usually 6 or 7!) stores, and I’ll fill our home back up with all the yummy things we will need for the next month. This saves us because we won’t keep going back to the store multiple times, and staying out of stores saves me money every time.

2. Shop Bulk Bin Stores

In our area, we have Winco and Sprouts, and both offer some sort of bulk bin options. Winco has quickly become a favorite for us, but it’s not actually because I can buy in bulk. I have gone for bulk items there in the past, but I really love it because I can get bulk prices for much smaller quantities.

This especially comes in handy when I need a smallish amount of an ingredient that I don’t often or normally purchase. I don’t use a ton of dried mustard, so if I have a recipe that calls for it, I can grab just enough to cover that recipe and not spend more for a full bottle of something I won’t use again. Over time, this has massively saved me!

3. Buy In Bulk (When It Makes Sense)

There are, however, ingredients I know we will use day after day, and those I will always buy in bulk. Butter, flour, sugar, cocoa, oats- really any dry good as well as fats, meats to freeze, and honey- make for excellent bulk purchases because I use them so often. Beware, though, that the bulk price isn’t always the best price, so make sure you’re comparing prices per oz or serving rather than overall price.

Another thing you’ll want to keep in mind when considering bulk shopping is long term storage. If you have 100 lbs of flour but it will take you six months to use it all, you’ll want to invest in some sort of long term food storage options like a vacuum sealer and food grade buckets and lids.

4. Build Up A Stockpile

I’m sure this one might be a bit controversial, but it has been immensely beneficial for my family. If the goal is to stay out of stores as much as possible, having a stock pile of food in my home has helped me accomplish that goal more than anything else. We keep a few months of food on hand at all times of everything besides fresh produce and dairy. I almost never get to a point in a recipe where I realize Ive run out of something it calls for because I always keep things on hand that we use regularly.

This works great for food, but it also works for paper goods and home essentials. It will take me a solid six months, at least, before we will need shampoo again.

5. Shop New Areas Of The Store

If you haven’t perused the international aisles of your grocery store recently, I’d strongly suggest it! The same flavorful spices in the baking aisle are often found in the hispanic section but for a much lower price tag. I can often find really great swaps or different brands of things I have on my list for far less of a hit to my budget if I just take a few steps into another aisle. Many of these items can also be purchased in bulk in those brands to stack the savings even more.

6. Buy In Season

This one is probably a given, but in season produce is going to be cheaper and taste so much better than buying things outside of their growing season. Strawberries in June and strawberries in January are practically two different products.

Along with that, meat often has “seasons” as well. Around Thanksgiving and Christmas you can usually get great deals on ham and turkey, and the summer will often bring better prices on ground beef and steaks. Buying in bulk and in season and being able to stockpile meat in freezers will cut your grocery budget every single time.

More than ever, it has become mandatory for us to stay within budget, and groceries have started taking a bigger and bigger slice of that budget pie. Sticking with these six tips has made it possible for us to not just eat but really eat in abundance!