Giving another shout-out to ALDI. If you have one in your area, you should totally take advantage of the signficantly lower food prices. Who cares about things like name brands and customer service? At the prices they have, I care little that I have to bag my own groceries and return the cart myself to get the quarter back.
With food being a large expense, it helps to find ways to get it as cheap as possible.
Perhaps you cannot always find the cheaper alternative with all things nor does it always work out for the better. But chances are that you might be spending more money than you need to on factors that are actually not important.
@houseoftolstoy I agree. Most people try to eat certain foods to sate their appetites and they have difficulty either keeping weight off because they can't find the dishes they want in the calorie content they want or they are locked into menu planning when their stomachs are growling. It is far better to plan meals ahead, take the time to do meal prep, and make it yourself with wholesome ingredients based on what you're trying to gain, such as a better physique, not on a specific dish.