HAMPTON, Va. (WAVY) – “We all have to do it. We all have to go,” said Sylvia Rose, assistant dean for Hampton University’s James T. George School of Business.

Rose is also a finance professor and shared tips to save money on groceries.

“My biggest tip is to make a list before you go to the grocery store. Make a list and put together a budget on how much you are planning to spend, and try very hard to stay within that budget,” she said.

According to USDA Data, within the past four years U.S. food prices increased by 25%.

Furthermore, the data shows at-home foods like fresh veggies and meats rose by 5% between 2022 and 2023.

With many households, the amount of money you make, and how many mouths you have to feed, determines how much you can spend on food.

Rose believes buying non-name brand items can help people significantly lower a grocery bill.

“You’ll be surprised that a lot of store brand, off-brand, generic brands taste exactly like the name brand and you save so much money,” she said. “When you can switch out a name brand and you might save a dollar here or 80 cents. But what happens if you do it consistently, that adds up.”

She also said avoid shopping while hungry.

“Another tip, I say, if you have children and try not to bring them when you’re on a tight budget,” Rose said. “Especially if they’re at the age where you can drive them around in the buggy, they’re going to grab this, grab this, grab that.”

She said coupons and deals are also useful tools, if used smartly.

“Go back to your wants and your needs. Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. And so that coupon might look like it’s going to save you money. But is that something that you use? Is that something you need? Are you just doing it because you can get a free one?” Rose said. “Sometimes it makes you overspend to the point that, okay, then it’s not a bargain.”

She said people can also save by purchasing whole fruits and veggies, instead of pre-cut ones.

Rose highly encourages anyone to create a spending diary to keep tabs of where your money is going.

She wants everyone to be S.M.A.R.T with their money:

• S: Specific. “If you say you’re going to save some money, how much money? Be specific.”
• M: Measurable. “Make sure that you can measure against what you said and what you did has to be a measurable goal.”
• A: Action. “You have to take action to do it.”
• R: Realistic. “It has to be realistic to you. Your goals can’t be measured against somebody else’s goals because you don’t know what everybody’s personal situation is.”
• T: Time oriented: “Give yourself a definite time period to complete the goal and to look back and see, did I do it?”

“It doesn’t mean that you don’t allow yourself some things in life that bring you pleasure and joy, even some things we like to eat like, chocolate. Just think about it and just be smart about it,” said Rose.

Virginians who need help purchasing food can see if they’re eligible for an EBT card, through the apply for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formally known as food stamps.

Virginia SNAP information can be found here.

North Carolinians can click here to apply for Food and Nutrition Services (FNS), which is also known as Food Stamps.