Grocery prices continue to climb, and we’re not just talking about eggs. Mix a scoop of inflation with a dollop of supply chain challenges, fold in tariffs, and finish with a sprinkle of unexpected weather or cyber attacks, and you have a recipe for more expensive groceries.
In an effort to keep food spending in check, consumers are adapting in a wide variety of ways. Some are shopping at Costco or Sam’s Club warehouses. Others are loyal to budget-friendly chains, like Aldi or Trader Joe’s, instead of more expensive competitors, such as Erewhon and Whole Foods.
As for me, I’m diving deep into one tip-filled TikTok account, and picking up so many budget-friendly pointers along the way.
The Best Money-Saving Grocery Tips I’ve Learned From TikTok
I originally learned about Nicole Svenson (aka @nic0le.sven) from Reddit’s r/budgetfood subreddit, where Redditors share product grocery picks and shopping tricks to keep their pantries—and their bank accounts—as rich as possible. One Redditor mentioned “there is a TikTok lady, Nicole Svenson. She spends $300/month on groceries. And only shops once. Watching what she cooks is seeing the most normal portion sizes and excellent nutrition meals that are so reachable.”
Immediately after reading that sentence, I was off on a quest to find Nicole’s feed, then devour all of the videos there. This mission was surprisingly doable since Nicole only originally launched her TikTok account in April. Since then, the savvy mom has shared dozens of videos and skyrocketed (like my ground beef bill) in popularity—garnering more than 266,000 followers and counting. Based on the active comments section, it appears that Nicole’s fans are as hungry as I am to find out how she sticks to her signature tagline: “It’s me. I only spend $300 a month on groceries to feed a family of four, and I only go grocery shopping once a month.”
The money-saving tips I’ve picked up along the way are universal, whether you reside in a household of one like me or are part of a party of five or more. Here are a few of my favorites.
Don’t Feel Constrained to a Meal Plan
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Considering Nicole’s ability to stick to such a tight budget and shopping schedule, you might imagine that she’s a master meal planner with a strict meal-by-meal menu. This is far from the truth, though. Nicole asks her family for special requests in terms of products or meals, “and everyone looks at me like they’ve never consumed food in their entire lives,” she joked in a recent video.
In Nicole’s opinion, a meal plan can lead to excess food waste because if you’re missing one ingredient for your menu item, you end up back at the store far too frequently. And then you end up filling your cart with another $120-worth of food.
Instead of proactively meal planning for the week or month, Nicole selects the starring protein and “gives it some friends.” Translation: Choose a main component, like beans, pork, or chicken. Then seek out the ingredient you have on-hand that has the shortest shelf life remaining (We’re looking at you, spinach.). Add another starchy vegetable or grain to round out the meal and you’re ready to chop to it. “If you have something set in stone…it’s not as flexible compared to a protein and some friends,” Nicole noted in the same video.
Track Inventory on Your Receipt
After giving a full kitchen tour of her November grocery haul, Nicole explains that she gives weekly updates on what’s in stock to keep her followers informed—and herself accountable. “I also use my receipt and I highlight the things that I’ve used,” she says in the video. This is so she doesn’t accidentally let purchases fall victim to neglect, spoilage, or freezer burn.
Keeping that receipt nearby can also come in clutch when building the next shopping list. Personally, I plan to utilize the highlighted sections to remind me of my go-to groceries that need restocked.
Recreate Restaurant Favorites at Home
After cooking breakfast, lunch, and dinner for several days straight, it can be tempting to outsource and order takeout, but you’ll save a lot of money if you recreate drive-thru dishes or make restaurant chain favorites at home.
I still plan to support my local restaurants by patronizing them with pals at least once per week. But with her totally doable and delicious-looking demonstrations for copycat McChicken sandwiches, Wendy’s-inspired chicken Caesar snack wraps, and better-than-Taco Bell cheeseburger tacos, Nicole reminded me that fast food copycats are another way I can make the most of my grocery purchases.
Bulk Up on Staples
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When Nicole happens to spend less than her allotted $300 per month during her Aldi run (That’s her preferred supermarket.), she uses the surplus to buy long-lasting items in bulk. To ensure quick-fix and affordable meals are never too far away, Nicole’s pantry always includes quinoa, lentils, couscous, rice, oats, a variety of dried pastas, boxed croutons, canned fruit, coffee, and a wide variety of canned soups and vegetables. In addition, her “baking cart” features boxed pancake mix, brown sugar, flour, and sugar.
All of these are frequently part of her starting lineup, but in her November grocery haul video tour, Nicole reveals that there’s one real MVP: “I always have at least 20 pounds of dried beans,” which she has served as a side dish and even blended into marinara sauce. And for a pest-free storage strategy that’s also easy to pour, she recommends using a funnel or cone-shaped piece of paper to transfer dried beans into empty, clean, and dry milk jugs.
