Easy Ways to Save Money on Groceries (Even If You’re Feeding a Holiday Crowd!)

Hosting holiday dinners can be such a joy during this season, but overspending at the grocery store to feed a crowd is definitely not. Plus, with grocery prices going up it can be tricky to stay within a budget. So, finance and savings expert Lauren Cobello shares her simple hacks for saving hundreds at the grocery store. 

1. Go For Less Expensive Side Dishes 

"Skip the expensive side dishes, like asparagus and Brussels sprouts, and opt for the cheaper options like mashed potatoes, canned cranberries, green beans and rolls," says Lauren.   

2. Focus on Loss Leaders  

What Are Loss Leaders?  

"These are the items that you want to be focusing on this time of year. Loss leaders are the items that are put in the very front and the back of the grocery store flyers, and sometimes the interior of the flyers. These are items that the grocery stores are taking a loss on," says Lauren. So, definitely don't throw away those grocery store flyers because they can be essential to scoping out some major deals.  

How to Save Money With Loss Leaders 

"[Grocery stores are] hoping that you are purchasing and seeing those really good deals, you're going to go in and finish the rest of your shopping, but we're going to be smarter than that," Lauren explains. Instead of falling prey to the other items at the grocery store, sticking to that loss leaders list throughout the holiday season will save you hundreds.  

3. Throw a Freezer Swap Party  

A freezer cooking swap is where you make recipes for the upcoming holiday dinner and swap them out with your friends, so you don't have to cook them all. You can stock up on huge bags of ingredients and make bulk recipes and stick them in the freezer," explains Lauren. "Everybody leaves with one of each. All of these can be stuck in the freezer and easily heated up right before the big holiday meal," she adds. Such a creative way to save money!  

4. Use Apps to Track Food Prices + Deals 

Want to ensure you're getting the best grocery deal? Use an app! Lauren's favorite is the Flipp app. "The Flipp app takes all of the grocery flyers from around your area and puts them digitally right into an app. Just go into the app search [for what you need] and it's going to show you where the [item] sales are from all the stores around your area, so you don't have to do all the work," she adds.