6 Great Ways To save Money Buying Groceries Without Clipping Coupons (2024)

It doesn’t matter where you live, you CAN save money on groceries.

Of course you would, but I understand if the thought of clipping coupons makes you dread grocery shopping.

Even though you can save tons of money with coupons it’s not for everyone.

{How I feed my family for $300/Month}

To help everyone who hates the thought of clipping and redeeming coupons, I’ve gathered up my BEST tips for saving money at the grocery store without clipping coupons.

Are You Shopping The Right Stores?

Set aside your pride for a moment. Do you shop in a trendy store or neighborhood? There’s nothing wrong with that, believe me, as long as that store has the lowest prices.

If you have an Aldi, or other discount store within reasonable distance from your house, utilize it! Yes, the store might not be as pretty, have the huge selection a boutique store does, or even have as nice of a parking lot, but swallowing your pride once a week and shopping in that store can save you ridiculous amounts of money.

{How to save 32% or more on chicken, beef, and pork}}

With that being said, sometimes more expensive stores have the better deals because of loss leaders, which I’ll explain in a moment, so don’t discount them. I suggest that to make the most of your budget with the least effort, you first check higher-end stores’ ads for loss leaders, buy those, and then do the rest of your shopping at a budget chain like Aldi.

Look At The Sale Ad {Strategically}

Sale Ads are designed for one purpose: to get you in the door.

They do this buy advertising great deals on a few items, called loss leaders. Loss leaders are items that the grocery store prices below cost so that when you come into the store to buy them, you’ll hopefully do the rest of your grocery shopping as well.

In most sale ads, you’ll find the loss leaders on the front page, and they’ll be the biggest items in the ad. Here’s an example from on of our local store:

Of course, this ad is only for a specific week, and only valid in my area, but it serves as a good example of how to find loss leaders. Under the produce page, look for the biggest picture…what it is?

It’s the corn, which is 3 for $1, and either being sold at the grocery store’s loss, or at a very slim profit margin. Basically, you can feel good about stocking up on fresh ears of corn at this price this particular week.

Under the second page, you can definitely see that pork steaks are $0.99/lb, which is also a great deal.

The stores put those items in easy to find places, using big images, and displaying the price in large print because they want to get you into the store to buy them. Don’t disappoint them: take advantage of these prices!

If you’re savvy shopper, you know that the best way to save is to use a “get in and get out” mentality. Get in, get those loss leaders, and check out quickly before you have a chance to pick up milk, candy, or other items.

{11 Astonishing Ways To Save At The Grocery Store}

Apps On Your Smartphone

Thank goodness for smartphones! They’re almost doing away with paper coupons and instead offering quick and easy discounts that vary by store. My favorites include Checkout 51, Ibotta, Shopmium, Berrycart, and Target Cartwheel.

I’ve written an in-depth article about some of the best grocery store apps, which you can find here if you want to decide which ones will save you the most money.

Don’t try to use every single app out there, though. Download a few, try them out, keep the ones you like and delete the rest. Then try a few more new ones and repeat! One person can have great success with an app like Ibotta,but if you don’t shop the stores it works out, then it obviously won’t work for you. But, someone else may never use Checkout 51, and you have great success with it.

So, just use the apps that work for you, and don’t waste time on the ones that don’t.

{Have a new baby? Here are 26 ways to get free baby stuff worth $2,889}

Sign Up For You Store’s Loyalty Program

Many stores, especially higher-end grocery stores offer a loyalty program. I won’t waste time by listing every single grocery chain, in every region of the country, that offers a loyalty program, but if you shop at one grocery store consistently, it is worth asking if they offer a loyalty program at the customer service desk.

Even if you don’t reap huge grocery savings, often your purchases over time will net you gas discounts, which is definitely worth the swipe of a card.

Use a Rewards Credit Card

Since Aldi started accepting credit cards last month, I can’t think of any grocery store chain that DOESN’T accept credit cards. chances are, the card in your pocket offers at least 1% cash back on all purchases, and sometimes up to 5% cash back.

Want to amp up your cash-back savings? Check out this 1.5% cash back offer on ALL purchases.

Utilize a Meal Plan (eMeals)

Finally, the BEST way to save money on groceries without coupons is to plan your meals. Free meals planning printables, and even complete meal plans are plentiful online, or you could try a service like eMeals, which starts at $5 a month, and saves me $1,400 a year in groceries.

Utilizing a meal plan will help you to buy only what you need, cook only for your family (and not you 12 cousins) and reduce your food waste. eMeals saves our family of 3 $1,400 a year in groceries, so if you’re struggling to plan your meals, I highly suggest you check it out with the free 2-week trial that they offer.

{The eMeals Experiment: How I Save $1,400 a Year on Groceries}

I think coupons are great, and I actually use them pretty regularly, especially at drugstores. However, they are a lot of work, and depending on your family’s dietary needs, you may not be able to use coupons for those foods.

So whether you’re pressed for time or just don’t like coupons, these strategies can still help you save massive amounts of cash buying groceries – without clipping a single coupon.

This post may contain affiliate links. See my disclosures for more information.