And most economic projections do not foresee prices falling to anywhere near where they used to be anytime soon. Burt Flickinger III, managing director at Strategic Resource Group, a retail consulting company based in New York, notes that the Russia-Ukraine war continues to have an effect on U.

food prices because of the disruption it has caused to the processing and transport of grain and fertilizer, as well as its impact on energy costs. Also, worldwide weather disruptions, from droughts to El Nino, have led to smaller crops and thus higher prices.

Some not only will save you money but also could lead you to healthier eating. Find alternative protein sources. Adding more egg-based recipes to your repertoire is another option, Keating says. Fortunately, egg prices are down Frequent low-cost grocers. He also thinks Target and Walmart are great places to save on food.

Commissary, which serves active and retired military personnel, strictly limits its markups. Eligibility to this nationwide grocer was expanded in January Plan before you shop. Make a list and stick to it. This can reduce impulse purchases and save time. A good place to start is by perusing grocery circulars, which typically are available online.

Or have groceries delivered, but only after checking store policies to make sure you stay on the right side of the deal. Use a store loyalty card. Utilize shopping apps.

Also, look into independent apps; three we like are Basket, Ibotta, and Flipp. Basket shows real-time grocery prices online and in-store at local grocers, so you can see where to shop for the best deals; it crowdsources its data, the same way a traffic app like Waze works.

Ibotta and Flipp both identify manufacturer promotions and coupons, and offer direct rebates after you buy from a participating retailer. Compare unit prices. Unit price shelf stickers under each product can help you better compare prices of like items.

Go with store brands. Store-brand food and beverage products—also called private label—can cost 20 to 25 percent less than name brands of the same product.

You can often find store brands on shelves just to the right or left of comparable name-brand items. Use a cash-back credit card. Some offer rewards for grocery purchases. Keep in mind that you may need a credit score of or higher to qualify, says Ted Rossman, an industry analyst at CreditCards.

Embrace coupons. Focus on reducing food waste. Also, use the free FoodKeeper app from the Department of Agriculture for guidelines on how to store foods. Get senior discounts. Harris Teeter and Hy-Vee offer 5 percent discounts, either on specific days or when you present a special store ID card.

Fred Meyer and New Seasons Market discounts are 10 percent. The discount may be available only on certain days or on select items. Buy in bulk. And larger packages often have lower per-unit pricing. WinCo Foods, based in Boise, Idaho, is one notable vendor of such products, selling low-cost bulk barrels and bins of dried fruits , pasta, spices, snacks, legumes, nuts, candies, and other items.

Barter and share. If you buy in bulk or find yourself with more of some items than you need, consider trading with neighbors and friends.

Economides from MoneySmartFamily says she has bartered the citrus that grows on her property for food from folks she has found through a local Facebook gardening group.

Early in the pandemic, for instance, she got a carton of eggs, which had been hard to come by, in return for oranges and rosemary that grow on her property. Of course, the amount you spend on groceries depends on where you shop, what you buy and the number of people in your household.

The savings can add up each trip and help offset the increased cost of groceries. Using the right credit card at checkout can help you earn rewards that can be used to offset your bill.

CNBC Select ranked the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express as the best overall card for grocery shopping. Terms apply. See rates and fees. Cash Back is received in the form of Reward Dollars that can be redeemed as a statement credit or at Amazon.

com checkout. See rates and fees , terms apply. See rates and fees Terms apply. Cash back is received in the form of Reward Dollars that can be easily redeemed for statement credits or at Amazon.

If you buy groceries online, the Chase Sapphire Preferred may be a great option. It offers 3X points on online grocery purchases excluding Target®, Walmart® and wholesale clubs , along with discounts and credits on Instacart.

This means you'll effectively earn 3. You could potentially get even greater value if you take advantage of Chase's various airline and hotel transfer partners to book trips. Read our Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card review.

Most grocery stores offer loyalty programs that are free to join. By signing up, you can benefit from member-only discounts that automatically deduct at checkout — without the need to clip coupons.

After you've signed up for your favorite grocery store's loyalty program, maximize your savings by clipping coupons for additional discounts. Look out for the weekly circular in the mail and sift through the pages for deals that matter to you.

Cut out any coupons and save them for your next grocery run. There are also digital options that are just as easy to use, if not easier.

Download your favorite grocery store's mobile app, browse available discounts and click to load coupons onto your digital loyalty card. Then when you checkout in-store, the discounts will automatically be applied.

Wholesale clubs like Costco can help you rack up savings for buying in bulk. If you have a large family, joining a wholesale club can be a good idea.

This may not be an option depending on your cash flow. Also, note that clubs come with membership fees. The cost can be worthwhile if you frequently stock up on items. Plus you can optimize savings by using the Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi which has no annual fee, but requires an active Costco membership.

Read our review of the Costco Anywhere Visa Card. You may also want to consider eating first or leaving the kids at home to avoid spur-of-the-moment items. Supermarkets are always running various promotions that can help you save on everything from staples, like milk and eggs, to sweets, like ice cream and cookies.

Consider buying items on sale whenever possible, especially if the cost is normally high. Sale items are often displayed in prominent locations throughout the store, such as at the entrance and ends of the aisles. While buying pre-cut veggies or pre-shredded cheese can save you time while cooking, stores often charge more for the convenience.

Opt for whole items, like fresh or frozen veggies and block cheese, to save money. If you live near various grocery stores, consider shopping at a few and comparing prices.

You can learn which store has the items you need for less and also look at the sales they run. If you currently shop at a high-end grocery store, consider switching to a store that's known for more affordable food prices like Walmart, Aldi or Trader Joe's.

Supermarkets put costly, name-brand items at eye level, which can tempt you to spend more money on high-cost items. Next time you go shopping, opt for a generic brand to save money.

If you bring reusable shopping bags to the store, you can often receive a discount on your order total. Depending on your city and state, stores like Target and Whole Foods Market can give you up to a cent discount per bag you bring. There are a handful of rebate apps, such as Ibotta and Rakuten , that give you cash back for buying groceries.

You can register for free with one of these services to save more on top of loyalty benefits and credit card rewards. Depending on the app, you may need to link a loyalty card or submit receipts to receive a rebate. While inflation is slowing down, grocery prices continue to be high as a result of supply chain shortages and post-pandemic consumer demand.

Aldi is the most budget-friendly grocery store in America, according to a February study by Marketforce. Aldi is in 39 states and will be the country's 3rd largest grocery retailer by the end of

Easy to use. And cashback received within 2 days. So far my experience has been great, I was skeptical at first but received the cashback the very next day after submitting my first claim.

It's given me the push to try things I wouldn't normally try and spend less whilst doing it 😌. Really simple and easy to use. Cashback offers are things I would buy usually or want to try.

No problems with funds coming through once I have requested them. Excellent app! Quick and easy to use with fast cashback , lots of variety in shops and products.

So far, I'm loving it. This might take some time to do, but careful comparison shopping at different grocery chains can help you find the best deals on specific products.

The cheapest grocery stores for some items will be different than the cheapest grocery stores for other times. Grocery stores tend to stock their most expensive items at eye level, knowing that customers are most likely to grab these items. To find the best grocery deals, make sure to scan shelves from top to bottom instead of just grabbing the first item you see.

Find Out: Walmart Shopping Tricks to Get the Most Bang for Your Buck. More Deals: Experts Reveal How to Get a Discount Every Time at Your Fave Stores. When you go into the supermarket, you find that item is on sale now. Instead of waiting until next week to buy the item, make the exception and buy it now.

Some bulk items at warehouse stores might not really be the best value, said Benjamin Glaser, a former editor with DealNews. But if you check the unit price, you might not always be getting a discount. Of course, buying in bulk can offer the opposite effect, depending on what you buy. Toilet paper and diapers are typically some of the best deals at Costco.

Holiday-themed candy and baked goods are usually heavily discounted after the holiday is over. Keep reading to find out how to save money on all your monthly expenses.

Gabrielle Olya contributed to the reporting for this article. This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates. Buy in bulk. And larger packages often have lower per-unit pricing. WinCo Foods, based in Boise, Idaho, is one notable vendor of such products, selling low-cost bulk barrels and bins of dried fruits , pasta, spices, snacks, legumes, nuts, candies, and other items.

Barter and share. If you buy in bulk or find yourself with more of some items than you need, consider trading with neighbors and friends. Economides from MoneySmartFamily says she has bartered the citrus that grows on her property for food from folks she has found through a local Facebook gardening group.

Early in the pandemic, for instance, she got a carton of eggs, which had been hard to come by, in return for oranges and rosemary that grow on her property. Track prices. For a few weeks, record the prices of the items you buy the most when food shopping.

Do the math on grocery delivery annual memberships. If you expect to use grocery delivery on a regular basis, calculate the value of an annual membership before you sign up. Over a year of use, that means you order about every two weeks.

Learn where stores have their clearance sections, Economides says. Grow your own. Yvette Beltran-Southwell, who lives north of Dallas, says her family grows rosemary, English thyme, two types of oregano, sage, Italian parsley, basil, and numerous other herbs to economize and reduce food waste.

Homegrown plants also last longer than bunches purchased at the store and refrigerated, she says. And, of course, they regenerate throughout the growing season.

Get creative with how you use, store, and eat food. Use your freezer right. Buying fresh blueberries in season, and stocking your freezer, is better than paying two to three times that much for frozen blueberries the rest of the year.

The Economideses even freeze milk and cheese. Tobie Stanger is a senior editor at Consumer Reports, where she has been helping readers shop wisely, save money, and avoid scams for more than 30 years. Most recently, her home- and shopping-related beats have included appliance and grocery stores, generators, homeowners and flood insurance, humidifiers, lawn mowers, and luggage—she also covers home improvement products like flooring, roofing, and siding.

During off-hours, she works on her own fixer-upper and gets her hands dirty in the garden. Follow her on Twitter TobieStanger. We respect your privacy. All email addresses you provide will be used just for sending this story.

How to Save Money Food Shopping With food prices rising, here are 19 ways to optimize your shopping dollars at the grocery store. By Tobie Stanger.