For most households, grocery shopping is a weekly occasion—and also a growing source of stress thanks to high food costs. But while you can’t control price tags, you can adopt some clever shopping habits to mitigate the e ect on your budget. Try these tips the next time you shop to help you save money without sacrificing the essentials.

Keep your eyes peeled

Investing time in comparing costs and being extra attentive to sneaky sales tactics could pay off in several ways. For one, pricier products are often placed right at eye level for accessibility, leading speedy shoppers to grab them out of convenience. However, there may be items of equal quality at a lower cost even just one shelf below, making it worthwhile to take a pause.

In addition, some stores may post misleading or false price cuts, so every time you see a “SAVE” sticker, read its fine print before adding the product to your cart—another brand might give you more bang for your buck. And while wholesale shopping may be a rallying cry to save money, don’t take it as gospel; compare the weight-to-price ratio between, say, a family-size box of cereal and two smaller ones to ensure that you’re actually spending less with the former.

Buy alternatives

You may have standby purchases you always make no matter what’s on the menu for the week, but it might be time to rethink certain ones if you’re eager to save money. Reader’s Digest reported that specific goods tend to experience extremely high markups, including bakery treats, precut produce, cereals, and bottled water. The latter alone may be about 3,000 percent pricier per gallon than tap water!

Instead of reflexively reaching for these items, swap to more affordable alternatives: packaged rather than fresh bread, whole produce, and oatmeal. As for water, install a simple home filtration system to dispense it right from the tap into a reusable bottle. And, of course, opt for store-label products whenever you can, which are typically priced lower than brand-name ones.

Prioritize inexpensive ingredients

If you really want to save on groceries, think of some tasty ways to eat cheaper. For instance, consider jumping aboard the Meatless Monday trend by planning at least one vegetarian meal a week featuring a high-protein alternative like beans, mushrooms, or tofu—or all three! You’ll save on fresh meat costs while also keeping your family healthy and satiated.

Speaking of satisfying hunger, resist the urge to load your cart with food items that lack nutritional value, including chips, pretzels, desserts, sodas, and alcoholic drinks. While these indulgences may be tempting, buying them ultimately means paying for empty calories that won’t nourish you or your loved ones.

Get the app

One of the most powerful ways to achieve significant savings is to utilize grocery-shopping apps. A good example is Ibotta, a platform for earning cash-back rebates to help you save on big-ticket items like paper products and detergent. Alternatively, the Flipp app lets you stay on top of temporary deals at major grocery stores so you can nab the latest coupons—just remember to read the details of each offer closely.

Some grocery stores offer their own apps as well, which you can use to check prices and possibly clip exclusive coupons before you even pull into the parking lot. You could also download several options based on what’s in your neighborhood, allowing you to compare the costs of certain goods before you decide where to shop that week. Being married to one grocery store may seem convenient, but staying flexible based on price fluctuations can help you achieve significant savings on a regular basis.