Originally from Germany, Aldi is famous for their ruthless cost-cutting strategies, like expecting customers to take care of tasks employees usually handle. Remember how they rent out their shopping carts? Probably because keeping costs low is a big reason Aldi is one of the cheapest grocery stores—and we all love saving money.

Pro tip: Aldi's specials change up each week. Market Basket is a New England supermarket with a more than year legacy. Well, they have a much smaller corporate staff than other grocery chains of similar size. And they stock all their stores with almost the same products, meaning they streamline purchasing for their stores and pass on the savings to the customer.

If you go to Market Basket, you have to try the local New England goods. Check out Rhode Island clams, maple syrup, and their unique regional produce like apples from Maine and pears from New Hampshire.

With an average footprint of 90, square feet, employee-owned WinCo Foods is a physically huge grocery store with massive bulk sections. Anyone can shop there! The Idaho-based chain passes on those savings to you, and their strategy seems to be working since they are at stores and growing.

Lidl rhymes with beetle , not idle wants to be your favorite affordable, high-quality grocery store. Lidl made the cheapest grocery store list with their intentional efficiency standards.

Their stores are designed to get shoppers in and out quickly—meaning they can sell more products to more shoppers. Instead, they just put a new box of produce on the stand.

Good news for families trying to eat healthy on a budget: Lidl has a reputation for top-shelf produce. Budget-savvy shoppers know the most important part of saving on your groceries is to meal plan, so check out their myLidl app to find great sales ahead of time.

This petite grocery store is more than just a store to its fans—shopping there is an adventure. Not a bad uniform if you ask me! Most of their products are store brand , so they can say yes to low prices and no to the middleman.

They also put supplier shelving fees on the chopping block, and in exchange, vendors provide their merchandise at a discount. But there is good news: Everything is always priced as low as possible. I use my Costco membership every week thanks to all the wonderful things they offer.

Trust me. Costco is on a never-ending quest for efficiency. One of the most popular ways to save money on groceries is clipping coupons. Most salvage stores and many limited-assortment stores refuse manufacturer coupons. But at the few stores that take them, such as WinCo , the savings can be significant.

Few salvage stores accept credit cards, and some limited-assortment stores follow suit. Most stores pass these fees on to customers through higher prices.

By refusing credit cards, discount stores can keep prices lower. Some stores are starting to relax their no-credit policies. For instance, on my most recent trip to Aldi, I was able to pay with my credit card instead of having to use cash. But to be on the safe side, bring cash or a debit card on your first visit to any new store.

In most cases, the food is still safe to eat. For example, the U. However, if a can has a deep dent — big enough to lay your finger in — leave it on the shelf. Deep dents can compromise the seal, letting bacteria in. The same guidelines apply to rust.

A little rust on the surface that rubs right off is no problem. However, heavy rust can create tiny holes that admit bacteria.

Food in torn or dented boxes is also safe as long as the plastic bag inside the box is intact. Boxed foods with no inner liner, such as pasta, are OK if the box is only dented.

Fresh produce at discount grocery stores is a mixed bag. Even at big supermarkets, I often find a couple of mushy strawberries in a quart container.

Food at salvage stores is often close to or even past the expiration date on the package. Dates on food are there to assure food quality, not food safety. Most products, including canned and frozen foods, are still safe after any of these expiration dates.

The only time frozen food might be unsafe is if it has been thawed and refrozen. According to the Food and Drug Administration , drugs degrade over time.

Any medicine past its expiration date may be unsafe or ineffective. Sometimes, you can do better at a regular grocery store by buying store brands or stacking sales with coupons. The best way to spot the true deals is to keep a grocery price book.

Salvage stores have a wide variety of brands on the shelves. When you find these, you can take the opportunity to stock up on your favorites. Similarly, when you shop at limited-assortment stores, there are very few name-brand products for sale. To be on the safe side, buy the smallest package the first time you try an unfamiliar brand.

If you like it, you can stock up on it next time. Discount grocery stores are great places to stock up on goods you use a lot. Grocery Outlet is a brick and mortar grocery store that offers deeply discounted items. You can find these stores in California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Nevada and Pennsylvania.

ALDI is a huge discount grocery chain with more than 10, stores in 20 countries. There are more than 2, locations in the United States. Most of them are in Illinois, Florida, and Ohio. ALDI sells high-quality groceries for low prices including very discounted alcohol.

You can find their weekly price specials on their website based on your zip code. The grocery chain won Store Brands Retailer of the Year. Items include farm-fresh produce, fresh meat, frozen foods, dairy, deli, grocery basics, and natural and organic options. These grocery stores are run by the same company that operates Dollar Tree, so you know the prices will be low.

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Trader Joe's has excellent prices for organic veggies. And fiesta has probably the cheapest deals on items ready to eat like canned foods and Matket Basket is best overall by far. But Aldi has some great deals. Eggs and milk are cheap, and occasionally you'll find something like their Want fast grocery delivery without busting your budget? Here's where you can get the cheapest eggs, meat, milk and bread online

Discount grocery recommendations - Don't head into discount grocery stores or grocery liquidation stores blind. Use these simple suggestions to maximize your savings and grocery Trader Joe's has excellent prices for organic veggies. And fiesta has probably the cheapest deals on items ready to eat like canned foods and Matket Basket is best overall by far. But Aldi has some great deals. Eggs and milk are cheap, and occasionally you'll find something like their Want fast grocery delivery without busting your budget? Here's where you can get the cheapest eggs, meat, milk and bread online

If an item wasn't available at one retailer, I selected the next closest thing, since that's what a shopper would likely do. In some cases, a product was only available in a larger or smaller size.

In those instances, I prorated the amount and price to ensure it was an even cost comparison. While there are other places to order groceries online , Amazon Fresh, Target via Shipt and Walmart are three of the most popular US grocers with a national presence and the option for online delivery.

You'll also get Amazon Prime Video and a few other perks. As of Feb. All three offer free in-store pickup in some form, although Amazon has fewer locations than Walmart and Target.

Target-owned Shipt will send groceries to your door in a matter of hours but there are some staples, including meat, not available for delivery.

While I tried to use only items that were available for delivery, it wasn't always possible. Target and its national shipping partner Shipt don't have every grocery staple available for shipping, particularly fresh meats and some produce. If you want to shop for your full list of groceries at Target, you're likely going to have to visit a brick-and-mortar location.

In general, Walmart and Target offer the same prices online as they do in brick-and-mortar locations, but not always. Sales items, in particular, are not always coordinated between online and in-store. Amazon Fresh is mostly online-only save for a few locations, although many products on Amazon Fresh can also be found at Whole Foods.

Hungryroot is a cross between a grocery delivery service and meal kit company and encourages you to go rogue from the recipe. Instacart is a popular national delivery service and functions as a third-party shopper and delivery outfit that allows you to order groceries from a selection of local supermarkets.

Fresh Direct is another popular grocery delivery service and one of my favorites. It's currently only available in the Northeast. The prices here are a bit higher than the three retailers I analyzed above, but the grocery selection and customer service are both excellent.

Hungryroot is a quirky grocery delivery operation that functions differently than the others. With a subscription, you'll get weekly deliveries of curated groceries based on your preferences and eating habits. Hungryroot also populates recipe ideas when ordering and will send you the ingredients to make them if you so choose.

Thrive Market is yet another members-only grocery service. Thrive has lots of high-quality and organic meats but no produce or dairy products. com is a good place to find dry goods, pantry items and paper products at low prices but it's not a full substitute for a grocery store since it lacks the fresh foods you would typically buy at a market.

If you don't mind getting your various groceries from different vendors, we've tested to find the best produce delivery services , best meat delivery services and even the best online fish and seafood markets for Why You Can Trust CNET. 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. 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. Updated November 2, Photo: Getty Images.

More on Grocery Shopping. Save More—and Waste Less—in the Kitchen. How to Save Big With Digital Coupons. How to Eat Healthy on a Budget. Store Brand Foods We Love and a Few We Don't. How to Deal With Grocery Shortages. Finding Tactics That Work. Tobie Stanger 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.

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