A grocery budget can be a struggle for any family, no matter the size. But if you have a large family, stretching your food budget can be even more difficult.

While many grocery budget hacks will work for any size family, feeding more people is just more expensive. So how do you budget accordingly? And are there any specific grocery budget hacks for large families?

Thankfully, with the help of some old fashioned ingenuity and a little modern technology, we’re serving up some great tips for feeding your big family for less!

10 Grocery Budget Hacks for Large Families.

While many smaller families will benefit from these hacks, the focus will be on larger families.

To save more money on your grocery budget, try shopping alone.

This might sound impossible, especially if you are buying groceries for a large family, but shopping alone is a great way to go over budget. When you shop by yourself, you are the one in control of what goes in the cart and you will feel less rushed and less likely to impulse buy.

Buying in bulk can be great for big families!

When tallying up your grocery budget, be ready to do some math! Sometimes buying in bulk can be a great budget saver. Not only can buying in bulk save you money, but it’s a great way to supply food for a large family. 

But be careful, buying in bulk isn’t always the answer, even if it is a good price. Bulk always means more, so be sure it’s an item that your family will be able to use or consume, and not waste!

Portion control and your grocery budget.

When it comes to feeding your family, you may want to look at your portion sizes. Many Americans are overeating and the portion control sizes may be a little misleading.

Exercise portion control when planning your meals and don’t put all of the food on the table. Start by filling the plates yourself, then if they want more they can go for seconds.

Leftovers are a great way to minimize waste and expand your grocery budget!

Whether you plan your meals each week, or if you just eat whatever is on hand, you’re going to have leftovers. Leftovers don’t always have to mean a meal already prepared, sometimes it can mean leftover ingredients too.

Try to never let food go to waste, and always think of how to repurpose leftovers into new meals!

Stockpiling: the ultimate grocery budget hack.

Whenever you find a good deal on something your family eats, stock up! A great rule of thumb is one for now and two for later! But don’t forget about portioning your waste! 

How do you know how much is enough? Start paying attention to the circulation of sales for the things that you buy most often. That way, you can plan to have enough until the next sale happens.

Use coupons.

Keep your eye out for sales and coupons that you can stack to create rock bottom prices on things your family uses regularly. Keep in mind that coupons can sometimes require you to buy two or even three of an item before you see any discounts- is that worth it? Only you can judge what’s best for your family.

Never use a coupon to get something for cheap if it isn’t something that you plan to use. Before planning your meals, consider the sales so that you can be sure that the sale items are the ones included in your meal plan, and thus saving more money on your grocery budget.

Shop at the beginning and end of the sales cycle.

This is where you will see the best markdowns on meat, produce, and even dairy! Shopping near the change in a sales cycle could yield you extra savings.

How does this happen? Well, sometimes the store’s sale items overlap, use that to your advantage!

Skip the drinks and stick to water.

When you are shopping for a large family, one box of Capri Suns or a two-liter of soda is enough for about one person for one meal! Stop wasting your money on these items and stick to water instead.

And instead of buying bottled water, invest in a water filter for your family’s drinking needs! That way, no plastic waste and no upcharge for accessible, clean, drinking water!

Use fillers to stretch your meat dishes.

You don’t have to spend so much money on your meat! Stretch those meat dishes using beans, rice, and lentils to help make those meat-filled dishes go further. These can also be another great source of protein and fiber- not to mention they’re also cheap!

Making something from scratch is almost always cheaper.

Prepackaged snacks can get expensive when you are feeding an army. You can make a dozen or more cookies for a fraction of what they cost in the store at home! Buy your baking supplies in bulk to save, and make your own snacks from scratch.

The perfect grocery budget looks different for each family. How you portion, diet restrictions, allergies, likes, dislikes- all of those things matter when taking into account how much spending you should plan to come from your own pocketbook. 

But, these ten grocery budget hacks should help you make wise decisions on planning, spending, and allotting. Having you well on your way to better savings when it comes to your large family and their food!

I hope these hacks have not only helped you be able to save money on your groceries, but also teach you that shopping for a large family doesn’t mean you have to break the bank.

What are your favorite grocery budget hacks for large families?

Sign up for our One Week Budget Challenge

Are you tired of always stressing about money? Are you tired of wondering whether or not you have enough money in your bank account to pay the bills? If you are finally ready to transform your finances and stay on budget, then you will love our One Week Budget Challenge! In this challenge, we go over everything from how to create a budget to how to get your finances under control.