No matter who you are, you have to buy groceries (unless you’re one of the rare people who lives on a completely self-sustaining homestead!). Most of us are looking for ways to save money each month, and your grocery spending might be something you can reduce. However, the solution is not necessarily to buy fewer groceries. You might just need to overcome one of these 10 barriers to saving on groceries. Even addressing one of these barriers could make a different in how much you’re spending each month.

10 Barriers to Saving on Groceries in 2025

Lack of planning

The best way to save on groceries is to have a plan. Even if you never use coupons or never shop sales, you will save money if you go in with a plan. This can be as complex as you want it to be. It could just be a list of what you need, having looked at what you already have in your pantry and fridge. You could make a list of the things that are on sale that week that you want to stockpile. You might make a note next to certain items you have a coupon for so that you don’t forget to use your coupons.

Vague grocery budget

Sometimes the word “budget” gets a bad rap, but a budget is really just a plan for how you want to use your money. You get to decide what the budget is, and you can change your budget based on what is going on in your life. Knowing how much you have to spend on groceries can help you determine how much you can spend on impulse purchases or building up your stockpile. If you are trying to spend $800/month on groceries, you can plan to spend $200/week. If you only spend $150, maybe you can spend that other $50 on the meat that is on sale, even if you don’t need it yet.

Failing to track your spending

Hopefully you’ve come up with a budget. But it won’t help you at all if you don’t track your spending. Whether it’s through an app or just good ol’ pen and paper, you’ll never know if you’re sticking to your budget if you don’t track it!

Impulse buys

Impulse buys are the quickest way to spend more than you want. I find that I am more likely to make impulse buys if 1) I don’t have a list, 2) I’m hungry, or 3) I have other family members with me. If you find that impulse buys are unavoidable for you, then consider setting a budget for each store trip (say, $10 or $15) that you will allow for items not on your list.

Read More→