How To Save Money At Whole Foods + 12 Realistic Hacks

Wondering how to save money at Whole Foods? As a regular customer AND savvy shopper, here are some of my personal tips and tricks!

Whole Foods, or Whole Paycheck, as it’s often called, gets a bad rap. Sure, it can be expensive, but so can every other grocery store. So, if you’re like me and love Whole Foods but also consider yourself a savvy shopper, let’s talk about how to save money at Whole Foods!

If you’re paying attention and comparing prices at various grocery stores, you will find many items at Whole Foods are a better deal than anywhere else. I suspect many people complaining about how expensive Whole Foods is haven’t taken the time to do that. Being a savvy shopper also means being willing to shop sales, use digital coupons, and get cashback.

I’ve also seen blog posts and social media stories where people compare prices at Whole Foods to other stores, but I think these comparisons are unfair. First, if you’re a savvy shopper, you’re not going to the store and paying full price for the most expensive things. If you can afford to do that, then you probably aren’t concerned about prices to begin with. Those of us actively trying to save money at Whole Foods (or any other grocery store) are willing to do whatever is necessary. So, I did my own comparison shopping.

The sale price on chuck roast, asparagus, avocado, rice crackers, and ground beef at Whole Foods was cheaper than Publix and Kroger. Chuck roast was the biggest surprise at $6.99/lb compared to Publix and Kroger, where it was $12.69/lb and $14.99/lb. I’m not here to argue. These are facts. I did the hard work and research before writing this post. So, let’s dive in.

How To Save Money At Whole Foods

These tips will help you save money at any grocery store, not just Whole Foods. Be sure to read to the bottom, where I share my all-time favorite Whole Foods hack!

It’s also necessary to point out that those of us shopping at Whole Foods are invested in our health, and consuming products made with better ingredients matters to us. Sure. I could go to Dollar Tree and buy a box of crackers for $1.25 that has crappy ingredients, but I don’t eat that way. You get what you pay for. Ingredients matter to me, and I will pay a little more.

Saving Money On The Hot Bar At Whole Foods

Oh, how I love the hot bar. I’d much rather pop in for a few of my favorites than go out to eat, but it’s easy to build a $21 lunch if you’re not paying attention.

The Whole Foods hot bar in Nashville is $11.99 a pound, so you’re paying for weight. Be mindful of this when selecting what you want, and don’t pay for liquid you won’t eat. For example, if the item you choose is sitting in liquid like the photo below, drain it off. You’d be surprised by how much liquid weighs and how much it costs. If something is in a sauce or gravy, only scoop out what you’ll be able to eat.
Choose your protein wisely. Again, weight matters. I LOVE their chimichurri pork, but I’ve noticed it’s much heavier than the braised chicken thighs. That’s because the pork is shredded and sitting in sauce. It holds a lot of liquid, making it heavier and thus more expensive.
The same rule applies to literally everything else. Once you understand this, you’ll be more mindful of the ingredients you choose.

Weekly Sales at Whole Foods

Whole Foods has weekly sales, but they also have daily specials that are pretty great!

Weekly sales at Whole Foods start on Wednesdays and run through the following Tuesday. You can check the sales at your store here or in the app. Some of these sales are incredible, especially on meat and seafood.
Shopping sales is the easiest way to save money at any grocery store, not just Whole Foods.
Whole Foods also has daily specials like $2 off rotisserie chickens on Tuesdays and $12 large pizzas on Fridays. These may be different from store to store. You can check your store here.
If you’re an Amazon Prime member, you can save 10% on top of the sale prices.

Pro tip. If you look at the bottom of the sale tag, you will see the date that the sale ends. This is important because some sales last more than a week. In the photo below, you can see that Banza pasta is on sale for almost THREE weeks! Also, this is an amazing price for this brand. I buy this all the time and have never paid this low of a price, once again provong Whole Foods os often less expensive than other stores.

Shop The 365 Brand

365 is the Whole Foods store brand, and it’s surprisingly affordable. The 365 brand adheres to the same high standards expected at Whole Foods Market. The ingredients are clean and straightforward without any of the junk you don’t want. If you don’t have time to scour ingredient labels, the 365 brand makes it easy while saving you money!
365 Everyday Value items in the produce section are my go-to. They have consistently low prices on greens, carrots, and fresh herbs, and they’re always super fresh!

Shop With A List

Shopping with a list keeps you on track and can make the whole experience less stressful. This is especially true at Whole Foods, where the store has fun and unique items to tempt you. It’s easy to get caught up in that and spend too much. Having a list also ensures you’re not forgetting the most important things. I like to keep this magnetic meal-planning grocery list on my refrigerator. You can easily tear off half of the page and just take the shopping list to the store.

Grocery Planning Tools
Meal Plan + Grocery Pad	Magnetic Grocery List	Meal Planning Tear Pad

Learn To Love The Bulk Food Bins

The prices on the bulk bins will give you sticker shock, but you can save money by shopping them.

Need a quarter cup of pine nuts but don’t want to spend $10 on a small bag? The bulk bins are where you should go. It’s often cheaper to get exactly what you need from the bulk foods section rather than buying an entire package.
I don’t use coconut flour often, but recently, I needed some for a recipe, so I went straight to the bulk bins. I measured out 1/4 cup, which was a little more than what I needed, and paid less than a dollar.
For those who live alone, bulk bins can not only save you money because you can buy small amounts of only what you need.

Produce At Whole Foods Is Superior

Throwing food away is throwing your hard-earned cash in the trash. The produce at Whole Foods is fresh and lasts longer. Don’t even get me started on Trader Joe’s. Their produce is terrible and goes bad SO fast! Whole Foods also has some pretty amazing weekly sales on produce, and one of my favorite ways to save on groceries in general is to plan your menus around what’s on sale.

Saving Money On Meat, Poultry, And Seafood

I have a you get what you pay for attitude regarding meat, poultry, and dairy. I can’t bring myself to eat low-quality products, nor do I want to contribute to the inhumane practices. This is the one area that I will spend more money on, and Whole Foods has high standards.

Wild-caught seafood is certified or rated for sustainability.
Farmed seafood is third-party verified Responsibly Farmed.
Meat is traceable to farms or ranches. No antibiotics, ever, and no added growth hormones.
All eggs meet Animal Welfare Standards.

If you’re shopping sale prices, you can stock up on grass-fed ground beef and pasture-raised chicken when they’re at their lowest price. When it comes to saving at Whole Foods or any grocery store, stocking up on products you buy regularly when they’re on sale is key.

Look For Clearance + Last Chance Stickers

These little yellow stickers often indicate that an item is being discontinued or they have too much overstock. These are easy to miss, but you’ll spot them easier now that you know about them. The best deal I ever got was on bags of grass-fed beef jerky for $1.25 a bag-but I would’ve missed it if I wasn’t keeping an eye out for those little yellow stickers!
Look for stands around the store with marked-down items. My store also has two, one in the produce section and one near the beer (weird location), and I never leave without taking a quick look. One thing I’ve noticed about Whole Foods is when they mark something down, they price it to get rid of it, and you can score some amazing deals!

Download The App

The Whole Foods app lets you check the weekly and daily sales, check in-store prices, and create shopping lists. If you’ve linked your Amazon Prime account with your Whole Foods account, you can use the app to scan your Prime code at the register to save an additional 10%. That might sound like a big savings, but nickels and dimes add up!

Don’t Always Buy Organic

Organic isn’t always better. Every year, the EWG releases the Dirty Dozen and the Clean Fifteen. The Dirty Dozen lists 12 fruits and vegetables most contaminated with pesticides, while the Clean Fifteen lists 15 items with the lowest pesticide residues. They take the guesswork out of the equation, so you don’t waste your money buying organic when you don’t need to.

Get Paid To Shop

Simply put, you’re getting paid to shop. Many apps offer cash back for purchasing groceries, but Ibotta is the one I’ve used for years and can personally recommend. Once you register (it’s free), simply find your store, scroll through the list of offers, and save the ones you want. I usually do this while I’m watching TV. After shopping, follow the steps in the app to get your money back. It’s VERY easy, and the app walks you through it. On average, I withdraw $500 – $600 yearly – in free money! Ibotta is the only way I know of to save money on alcohol. You read that right. Get cash back for buying beer, wine, and liquor. Sign up here for free!

Cheese Case Odds & Ends – My Favorite Whole Foods Hack

There’s plenty of information online about how to save money at Whole Foods, but I’ve never seen anyone talk about this. If you love cheese and enjoy trying unique cheese, then you already know the cheese case at Whole Foods is the bomb. But, have you ever noticed the “odds & ends” basket? It’s easy to miss, but it’s a little basket usually tucked somewhere in the cheesecake with little chunks of cheese. These are pieces that are left when they trim the cheese to sell, and it’s a great way to try specialty cheeses without spending a ton of money. Some specialty cheese costs upwards of $30 a pound, but you can find little pieces in the basket for less than a dollar.

I hope you enjoyed these ideas for saving money at Whole Foods. It can be a fun place to shop for unique and hard-to-find items, but it doesn’t have to be as expensive as some people make it out to be. Follow these tips and enjoy the savings!

I hope this is helpful! If you have any tips you'd like to share, please let us know in the comments below. Be sure to follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, or Facebook, and sign up for my email list so you don’t miss anything new. Thanks for being here, friends ♥

How To Save Money At Whole Foods + 12 Realistic Hacks

Wondering how to save money at Whole Foods? As a regular customer AND savvy shopper, here are some of my personal tips and tricks!