Frugality can be a mindset or a smart, strategic approach to managing your money. Either way, if this is the year you’re aiming to cut back on spending, one of the best places to start is your grocery bill.
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While food is a necessity, many of the items we toss into our carts every week come at a premium that just isn’t worth it. Here are seven overpriced grocery items you should stop buying this year.
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Precut Fruits and Vegetables
Convenience is nice when you have a busy life and schedule. It’s understandable that you might want to opt for precut fruits and vegetables, knowing it will save you time later. The problem is, you’re likely paying more for that convenience.
For example, a 16-ounce container of precut watermelon at Walmart is $4.58. In comparison, a whole, uncut watermelon is just $4.27, you get more actual fruit out of it, and there’s no plastic waste.
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Name-Brand Spices
If you love to enrich your cooking with delicious herbs and spices, you may opt for brands that you’ve used before, thinking their quality is better. However, for the most part, spices are spices, and name brands come at an expensive premium. Take this brand name Morton & Bassett garlic powder, which is $7.36 for just 2.6 ounces at Safeway. In comparison, you can get even more, 3.12 ounces, of Safeway signature select’s garlic powder for only $4.99.
Whenever possible, opt for the generic version.
Single-Serve Snack Packs
Parents often like to have handy snacks around to toss in a stroller, a lunchbox or the car to keep kids from getting hangry. While it’s tempting to buy those prepackaged and often single-serve snack packs of everything from crackers to fruit snacks, chances are you’re spending more than if you just buy the same items in bulk and toss them into (ideally reusable) smaller bags or containers.
Bottled and Specialty Coffees
Almost every form of coffee that you buy outside of the house and don’t make yourself is going to cost you more money. Say you buy a bottled Starbucks vanilla chilled coffee drink at $3.49 for 13.7 ounces at Target. If you bought a 12-ounce bag of Starbucks Breakfast Blend ground coffee for $9.89, you could make vastly more vanilla coffees at home for ultimately much less over time.
Premade Smoothies and Juices
Juice most definitely tastes better when it’s freshly squeezed, and smoothies are a delicious luxury you might like to grab while you’re out shopping. However, both options are more expensive than if you juiced the fruit yourself or made smoothies at home. With frozen fruit you can also keep fruit longer and then just pull out ingredients
Individually Wrapped Cheese or Charcuterie Items
Whether you’re having “girl dinner” or hosting a happy hour at your home, charcuterie boards are an easy way to arrange snacks for a meal without a lot of preparation. However, premade versions of these, whether cheese or meats, or both, are going to run you more than if you just bought bulk blocks of cheese or meat on their own.
For example, a 12.5-ounce Columbus charcuterie board of meats, cheese, crackers and olives at Walmart is almost $15. A similar version at Safeway is almost $20. For the same amount of money, you could buy individual packages of salami, cheese and crackers and have more to go around.
Trendy Superfoods in Small Packages
Health-conscious people are often attracted to the latest trends in superfoods and supplements that are marketed as being especially good for your health. From collagen powder drinks to goji berries, these items often come in small packages at a hefty price tag because of their supposed benefits — many of which are not FDA approved. So long as you’re eating a healthy diet that includes servings of fruits and veggies, you don’t need the extra spend on these items.
Editor’s note: Pricing is accurate as of May 21, 2025. Prices and availability are subject to change.
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: 7 Overpriced Grocery Items Frugal People Should Quit Buying
