Cutting Costs After Getting Cut: Groceries

Is there anything worse than living with less after a layoff?

Groceries: the bane of everyone’s budgeting existence in the year 2025 (and probably beyond based on how things appear to be going in the world). While the components that make up your shopping cart during each run aren’t much on their own, they add up to a huge line item on your budget each month. And if you are experiecing job loss every part of the budget is now in focus for being cut.

Groceries are also one of the first places people make cuts to their budget when trying to save money post-layoff. They are mostly right to do so as the average American family is spending roughly $1,000 a month on groceries. This is a huge amount to come out of your income each pay cycle.

But as with any spending you have ever tried to cut down on, the idea and the execution are quite different from each other. That first time you try to move from convenience to cost cutting can be hard and overwhelming, especially if there are a lot of mouths in your household to feed.

Below are some tips to bringing the grocery budget down long-term and ways that you can move from a grocery money squanderer to shopping cart penny-pincher.

Step 1: Be reasonable with what you can do

One of the biggest mistakes I see people make when trying to make a budget after layoffs is thinking that they can drastically cut down on their food budget by dining out less and eating at home more. Yes, the principle of that is true. But you aren’t going from a budget of $1200 a month on food to $200 for groceries and $0 dining out. Just getting into the swing of cooking and learning how to shop each week will be a learning curve that will probably cost some money up front while you get the items you need and learn how to plan your weekly meals.

While this absolutely needs to be cut, don't take drastic measures right away and instead slowly ease yourself into learning to cook at home. Are you currently eating out 4-5 times a week? Take that down to 2-3 times and once comfortable with that move to only eating out once a week (or every two weeks). Wanting to try a bunch of new dishes that are super complicated? Maybe see if your cooking skills are up to snuff first before diving in so that you don't end up wasting expensive food on cooking mistakes.

You also will need to have a good handle on what food really costs before taking these steps as well. If you have just been handing over your credit card and not looking at any prices when grocery shopping previously you might be in for a shock at what each item really costs and how quickly it adds up. Try creating a "mock" shop using your grocery store's online ordering option to get a feel of what items for a week would cost to feed your family before putting your budget into writing.

Step 2: Non-processed foods beat a budget, processed food breaks it

As someone who hates cooking and had to learn how to do it within the last couple of years this one was a hard one for me to learn. Even the foods that aren't processed in the traditional sense like chopped salad kits (which I adore) cost more than putting together your own salad options due to the convenience of the pre-packaged ingredients. Many easy items like Pop-Tarts or Twinkies you might think you can save money on by not buying brand names, but having a diet consisting of only these types of foods is still going to add up quickly.

Bottom line: you must learn how to cook with whole ingredients. Not only that, but your snacks need to not be convenient either. While you may think a can of soup on sale for $2.50 isn't that much, you could make something like this easy Taco Soup (which I make frequently and is delicious) for about $7 and have 6 huge servings.

This is going to be the hardest step if you aren't doing much cooking at all right now (believe me I know from experience). My advice is to cook in bulk batches so you aren't cooking every night of the week. I tend to cook on Sunday and Wednesday for the weeks meals and cook multiple items at once (usually two meals that make 4-5 servings and a dessert, either with one thing in the crockpot or oven while I make the other item on the stove) so that way I don't spend every night after work over the stove!

This section is your new BFF

Step 3: Do you really need things in bulk at Costco/Sam’s Club?

A wise man once said: "I don't go into Costco knowing what I need, I let Costco tell me what I need". Sadly that hits me at my core. I have been suckered into buying things like a 12 package of pre-made burrito bowls box that did not even fit in the fridge when I got home and had no idea what to do. It all just looks so appealing in the store!

But not only do you not need the random things from Costco, you might not need the pantry staple items either. I actually found for certain items that even buying in bulk didn't actually save me money, it costs me more.

Example: I go through a lot of coconut milk for cooking. The Thai Kitchen brand is sold in bulk at Costco for 6 cans for $12.99. Must be a steal, right? Wrong, if I actually went to Trader Joes and picked up 6 cans, that price would be $11.34. Choosing the brand name over the TJ's brand ends up costing more even when buying in bulk. Know your prices!

Step 4: You can shop at Whole Foods, but only if you are following Step 2.

Believe it or not some of the more premier healthy and organic grocery stores such as Whole Foods and Sprouts aren't terrible in comparison to some of your local supermarkets if you are shopping for ingredients over pre-made items. It especially is not worth it to make a trek out to less expensive grocery stores if you are in walking distance to one of the premium options (gas ain't cheap!).

As long as you are buying whole foods (ha) then the price difference between these places and a lower cost chain should be negligible. Think beans, rice, pasta, canned goods, etc. 365 by Whole Foods Market branded goods don't tend to have the upcharge that other branded goods in the store so try to stick to those options when possible.

And yes I did allow for Whole Foods in this step, but if you even step foot inside of an Erewhon you need to re-evaluate your priorities completely.

Step 5: Grocery pickup is your friend

There is a reason Target has the cute new clothes display right in the center of the entrance when you walk in. The plan is to get you off track and distracted by exciting things and forget that you came in to grab milk and butter. Grocery pickup is the solution. Not only does this allow you to know pretty definitively what you are going to spend for the items you need, it also allows you not to make any rash buying decisions within the store. Seeing something on sale might make you think you need it, but if you weren’t going to get it in the first place it isn’t a deal, it’s a waste of money.

Grocery pickup can be a little more fraught when you are wanting to pick up fresh items like fruits and vegetables (I need my avocados to be just right or I don't want them at all) so consider a hybrid approach if this is important to you as well. Place a pickup order and plan for to shop for the fresh items first at a time right when your pickup order will also be ready. This allows you to stay toward the front of the store with no distractions and immediately check out without getting a hint of temptation.

Step 6: Your local grocery store can be ok, but do a price comparison

You would think that local grocery stores would be cheaper than some of the more organic and health food branded stores but this actually might not be the case. A lot of your local franchises have a lot of overhead costs they bake into their price of their items that makes them a lot higher than some stores like Walmart or even a store like Natural Grocer's.

Know what is considered a good price or deal for the items you pick up the most frequently and shop sales or with coupons for the items you need. Many local stores tend to have items that only make sense to purchase during certain coupon events and it might be best to wait and only buy at those specific prices.

Step 7: Create a cohesive meal plan that incorporates items you already have each week

You might start looking into buying groceries for the first time when cutting back and think "this meal alone will cost $20 to make!". That can happen at the beginning of a cooking journey because you don't have items on hand that you may need to cook many recipes. Items like olive oil and spices for instance have a high up front costs but last a very long time once they are purchased once.

It's important to keep this in mind when making a meal plan. If you are out of turmeric for example and want to make an Indian dish, that is going to raise the cost significantly for that week since you have to budget in re-stocking that item. It might be best to look at the staples you have on hand already if your budget is running low and work around that.

Ex. I make this Peach Pork Picante frequently (delicious, cheap, and incredibly easy to make) and the ingredients call for about half a jar of peach preserves and half a jar of salsa. After I make it one time, I will then have the leftovers sitting in my fridge to be used in another meal. Now I will only need to have rice and pork loins (which I may already have in the pantry or in the freezer) to make this a second time. Buy once, use twice!

If you need help keeping track of what you have on hand and what you should make, this is actually an excellent way to incorporate AI LLM models like ChatGPT or Claude into your life. I have told Claude my current pantry items, calorie and protein goals, and what I am trying to spend each month and it has helped come up with some great meal ideas with those parameters. Apps like KitchenPal, Pantry Check, or NoWaste can also aid you in keeping track of what you have to work with at home already so you know what you need to bring home to keep at home cooking going!

Now is the time to find the joy in cooking (or at least in the money you save)

Step 8: Be honest about if your spending is going to "Groceries"

If you are new to budgeting or haven't been keeping track super well previously, you may start looking at averages for what you spend at stores like Target and Walmart and make your grocery budget according to those average amounts.

But are you the type who spent $200 each Target run on groceries where $120 of that was random Target items you didn't need? Did you need to replace your deodorant and went with one of the pricier $10 brands as opposed to something cheaper?

Review what you have been spending at the store and how much of that is a "need" vs "want". This can also apply to the brands that you buy. Things like razors, ice cream, or paper towels can have a hefty mark up for brand name when the store brand is just as good.

Ready to make your grocery run?

The most important part of any cost cutting is setting a feasible goal for the budget and tracking each expense accurately to make sure you are on target. It may seem difficult at the start, but with time the lower budget will start to feel like your new normal. Whether you are using cash envelopes or YNAB to track your spending consistency is key!