Groceries have gotten so expensive over the last few years that I’ve been thinking a lot about how I grocery shop and whether there’s anything I can and should change about my shopping habits in order to save money.
A while back, I shared a video on my YouTube channel about five common grocery habits that are keeping people from saving money on groceries in 2026. After making that video, I started asking myself the question:
What am I doing just because it’s what I’ve always done?
I’ve changed a lot about the way I grocery shop over the years. I compare prices more than I used to, I shop sales, and I clip Kroger’s digital coupons whenever I can.
But I realized there was one grocery shopping habit that was probably costing me money.
Why I Needed to Change My Grocery Shopping Routine
Over the past couple of years, I’ve gotten really used to ordering groceries online.
For this season of life, it’s incredibly convenient. With six kids, it’s nice not to have to take everyone into the store every week, and online grocery pickup saves me a lot of time.
But I’ve realized there’s one big downside to grocery pickup. When I only shop online, I’m missing out on all of the clearance and reduced-price items that you can only find in-store!
I can still shop the weekly sales and use Kroger’s digital coupons, but I never see the meat that’s marked down because it needs to be sold soon, the bakery items that have been discounted, or the salads and dairy products that have been reduced for quick sale.
Basically, I’m missing out on some really great bargains by never shopping in-person for my groceries.
I’ll definitely continue using grocery pickup for the majority of our weekly grocery shopping because it’s what works best in this season of life, but I’ve decided to also try something new.
My New Grocery Shopping Goal
Instead of relying only on grocery pickup, my goal this year is to walk into the store at least every other week to look for markdowns and check the clearance sections.
I’ve written before about saving money at Kroger but in case you missed that post, these are some of my favorite spots to check when I’m shopping in-person at Kroger:
- The discounted meat section
- The bakery clearance rack
- Marked-down salads and produce
- Dairy markdowns
- Kroger’s Last Chance clearance section
While I’m happy with any deals I find, I’m especially hoping to find discounted meat on a regular basis if possible since beef prices in particular have really gone up in the last couple of years. I want to eat more red meat but even the sale prices can still seem like a lot to pay sometimes!
My hope is that by making a quick trip inside the store on a regular basis I can stock up when I find great markdowns and slowly build up my freezer without paying full price.
Just for fun, I decided to document my first couple of trips to the grocery store and the deals I found.
My First Trip to Kroger
I decided to stop by Kroger around 7:10 one Thursday morning to see what I could find.
One thing I really enjoyed was how quiet the store was. It was easy to park, there weren’t many people around, and I could take my time looking through the discounted sections.
The first place I always check is the bakery clearance rack.
This time they had quite a few packages of Hawaiian rolls marked down. These were the 24-count packs that normally cost around $8 or $9, but they were marked down to just $3.60. Since they freeze really well and my whole family likes them, those were an easy purchase.
Next, I headed over to the salad section.
There were a bunch of discounted salad kits and many of them were marked down to around $1.65, which is a huge savings compared to the regular price of $3.99.
One thing I like about buying discounted salad kits is that it’s an inexpensive way to try out new ones. If we end up not liking a particular salad I’m only out a dollar or two instead of paying full price.
After that, I checked the dairy section, but there wasn’t much that caught my eye that day.
Unfortunately, the discounted meat section was also pretty empty. I was hoping to find some good markdowns, but there just wasn’t much available.
Before leaving, I always like to check Kroger’s Last Chance clearance section.
If your store has one, it’s worth taking a few minutes to look through it because you never know what you’re going to find. Sometimes it’s mostly random items I wouldn’t buy anyway, but other times there are some really great deals hiding on the shelves.
What I Brought Home
Even though I didn’t find any good discounted meat on this first trip, I still came home with several great bargains.
I picked up:
- Three packs of Hawaiian rolls
- Two discounted salad kits
- One large bag of trail mix from the clearance section
Overall, I was really happy with the deals I found, but I was bummed I didn’t find any discounted meat so I decided to try again the following week.
My Second Trip Was Even Better
The following week, I decided to try again. This time I went on a Wednesday morning instead of Thursday because I wanted to see if there would be more discounted meat available.
I’m so glad I did!
When I walked over to the discounted meat section, it was completely full. Everything was piled in there, and I had plenty to sort through. There weren’t many markdowns in the bakery or produce sections that morning, but the meat section more than made up for it.
Chuck Roasts
The first thing I found was a couple of chuck roasts.
One was a little over 3½ pounds and marked down to $4.47 per pound, bringing the total to about $15. (For comparison, Walmart’s cheapest chuck roasts are currently priced at about $8 per pound.)
The second roast was a little smaller and came to $10.77.
Chuck roast is one of those cuts of beef I always keep an eye out for because we really enjoy Pot Roast as well as Beef & Vegetable Soup. I felt like the marked down prices were a decent deal so they went straight into my cart.
Ground Beef
I also found 80/20 ground beef marked down to $4.23 per pound.
Recently, the best regular sale price I’ve seen at Kroger has been around $3.99 per pound, so this wasn’t quite that low, but it was still much cheaper than buying it at Walmart. Since we use ground beef in so many meals, I like keeping some stocked in the freezer whenever I can find a good price.
I picked up two packages and called it good. There were more available, but I also wanted to stay within my budget.
Beef Burger Patties
Another great find was a couple of packages of beef burger patties. They were almost two pounds each and marked down to $7. They’re usually about $12 full price so they definitely felt like another worthwhile purchase.
Since all of the meat was close to its sell-by date, everything went straight into my freezer as soon as I got home.
All together, I spent just about $50 that second morning – still a decent amount of money but much less than I would have paid if I’d bought everything at full price.
Don’t Forget to Check Walmart Too
While I usually have better luck finding markdowns at Kroger, I always check Walmart’s meat section too when I happen to be in there because you never know what you might find.
On one of my recent Walmart trips I found a two-pack of whole chickens marked down by almost $5.
I’ve heard that Walmart also usually has a discounted bakery cart that’s worth checking, although I’ve not yet figured out where that is in my store, haha.
One Small Habit Can Add Up Over Time
In conclusion, this isn’t a huge life-changing grocery strategy. I’m not driving all over town chasing sales at multiple stores or spending hours couponing. I’m just adding the habit of a quick in-store grocery trip every couple weeks to try to snag some discounts that I would otherwise miss.
I’m hopeful that over time the savings are really going to add up (and I’ll be able to slowly stock my freezer with some good discounts!)
What’s One Change You Could Make?
If you’re trying to lower your grocery bill this year, I’d encourage you to think about your own shopping habits.
What’s one small thing you could change about your grocery shopping habits in order to save money this year?
Maybe it’s meal planning before you shop, checking store ads each week, or just buying more store brands instead of name brands. Or maybe, like me, it’s taking a few extra minutes to walk through the store and look for markdowns.
Small changes may not seem like much at first, but over the course of a year they can make a real difference in your grocery budget.
I’d love to hear from you! Do you regularly shop the discount or clearance sections at your grocery store? Have you found any especially good deals lately? Let me know in the comments below!
More Grocery Savings Tips You’ll Love
If you’re looking for more ways to stretch your grocery budget, be sure to check out these posts next:
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