Okay, friends. We’re going to conquer this beast together. Grocery shopping (and food consumption habits in general) is one areas of our lives where we are perpetually wasting money – and there’s really no need for it. I have to admit that I am not the best at this; I’m always running around, I’m terrible at cooking and remedying these issues always falls to the bottom of my priority list.

Well, all that stops right now. It turns out, there are so many simple ways to take little chunks out of your food budget – and once all is considered, the savings add up in a pretty significant way. So let’s embark on this pocket book challenge together: we’ll all abide by the following rules for shopping, cooking and eating!

Don’t shop when you’re hungry

This might seem like a minor detail to consider but it can honestly make a big difference. When you go shopping sans a grumbly tummy, you’re less likely to make purchases with your stomach and more likely to make selections with your brain. It’s a proven fact that hunger actually changes the way your brain functions and can impair your ability to fully utilize your capacity for reason, planning and logical thought… including considerations of your budget!

When you shop, you want to use smart meal planning and purchase items that give you the most bang for your buck – not buy $10 specialty cookies because macadamia nuts sound so good right now. And on the note of not being distracted when grocery shopping, try to go at a low-traffic time of day. Hitting the market on noon on Saturday when you haven’t eaten all day is likely not going to yield the most money-savvy results.

Make friends with real cooking

I get it; it’s a modern age full of all kinds of quick eating conveniences that make it easy to never have to use your kitchen (I’m guilty of this; my kitchen doubles as an extra closet. Seriously.) Many grocery stores are even well-stocked these days with prepared food options, salad bars and even fresh sushi – why would anyone want to cook? The grocery store is doing it for you!

While these options (plus the obvious fast and junk food stand-bys) might save you time in your busy life, they absolutely can do some serious damage on your wallet. When compared to the actual cost per ingredient, it’s ridiculous how much cheaper it is to actually buy the components and prepare food yourself at home!

In fact, once you do a little bit of comparison and realize how much more you’re spending on prepared foods just to save a little hassle, it’ll be hard to not feel guilty about it. Cooking doesn’t have to be all that problematic; the internet is full of simple, fresh recipes. Try this: plan your week’s meals, cook food that can be stored easily and last as long as possible without spoiling. Suddenly, your own refrigerator becomes the source of quick meals on-the-go. Fresh ingredients always cost less than packaged foods – you can strive to save money and eat better!

Rethink protein

When most people think of protein, they immediately think of animal meat and fish. While these are healthy options, they can also eat up a huge chunk of your grocery budget. Taking a hint from your vegetarian pals is a great way to diminish the protein hit on your wallet; beans, eggs, tofu, and legumes are all excellent sources of protein (and often have other health benefits containing less fat) and almost always cost less than animal-derived products.

As an added bonus, they tend to keep for longer, too. Look for recipes that emphasize leftover-ability – that way, you can buy in larger quantities, prepare a bigger amount and have quick and easy meal options at your disposal.

Fear no generic brand

Good marketing can be extremely affective. Companies spend millions of dollars every year with one real goal in mind: trying to convince you that their product, over all the other products, is the best one. The only one. And it works! People are comfortable with labels and names they know and far too often, will put out the extra cash to buy them, under the wrong assumption that name recognition means better quality.

This is probably the most serious culprit in grocery over-spending. The truth is, there are quality standards that all food (pre-packaged and otherwise) providers have to adhere to. It’s okay to let yourself splurge every now and then on that one special fancy granola that makes your life slightly better in the morning, but in general, you should shop with the knowledge that generic and name brand products are essentially the same.