For many of you that do not know, Whole is sometimes to referred to as the Disneyland for foodies and everything organic. The only issue here is that it is really expensive! well that is what I thought until I went deep down to find out helpful tips on how to save money at Whole Foods.
I know you might think it is still one of this click bait articles online but let me tell you that it is true and there are actually tested and trusted ways to save money at Whole Foods without you feeling you just blew your whole paycheck on a jar of pickles. One of the ways you can save a decent amount of money on this grocery store is to sign up for Amazon prime.
Well, with that said, here is everything you need to know about how to save at Whole Foods.
Table of Contents
What is a Whole Food?
Whole food is actually a grocery store that primarily sells natural, organic, and minimally processed foods. These stores focus on providing fresh, high-quality ingredients without artificial additives, preservatives or heavily processed products.
The Ultimate Guide to Saving Money at Whole Foods
There are actually several ways one can use in order to save money at Whole but below are some of the key ways to go about this without any hassle.
1. Whole Foods Amazon Prime Discount Gives you 10% Off Sale items
An amazing thing that comes with Amazon owning whole Foods is that Prime members obtain extra special savings when they go shopping there. Once in the store, you will see yellow signs that indicate a sale price and everyone - whether you are a prime member or not can get the marked sale price.
However, if you are an Amazon Prime member, you will get an extra 10% off the whole Foods and sale price listed.
Yellow sale signs gives you the standard discount, but blue signs can help you save as much as 50%.
In case you think ten percent is not enough for you, then you should keep an eye out for Blue signs around Whole Food. Blue signs indicate an exclusive sale just for prime members. You can see as much as 30 of them each week they can save up to half the price.
As a Whole Food shopper too this is actually my first option when I need to save money at Whole Food, shop those items with Blue Signs.
2. Whole Food Sales Run Wednesday to Tuesday and can save you 20% - 30 %
If you want to be somehow frugal at Whole Food, then this is a nice one for you.
Whole Foods often releases new sales each Wednesday, and pricing runs through the following Tuesday. Most of the sales you see here will often fall in the 20% - 30% off range after you account for the prime savings. Sometimes the discounted prices goes either way, cause some days you can encounter 11% off after the Prime discount as well as 33%.
3. Save 30% With the 12 Days Of Cheese Sale In December
Sure you have several times heard of the 12 days of Christmas right? but have you ever heard of the 12 days of cheese? It is actually a sale you can enjoy at Whole Food every December, with award winning cheeses marked down 30%.
Here, unlike 21 days of Beauty Sale on Ulta's where each item is only on sale for a day, all of the fancy cheeses are on sale throughout the entire 12-day period, which typically runs from Dec. 13 - Dec. 24.
Incase you are purchasing the cheeses to give away, then you will also be able to pick up a holiday gift bag.
4. Obtain Cheese On Clearance Year-round
Rather than throwing away the smaller pieces of cheese that are shaved off the larger cuts, Whole Foods sells these smaller pieces for 1$ - $5 and this is actually perfect for a cheese platter or charcuterie board.
5. Whole Food Body Care Sale Saves You 33% In May
Though Whole Food is mainly focused on food items as the name implies, they also feature additional products such as body care products.
Whole Foods Revamped their yearly beauty sale in the year 2023. Instead of taking place in March (and having to compete with Ulta and Sephora's beauty sales) Whole Food did their big beauty sale in May that year and it ran for two weeks.
The sale mainly focused on body care items this time around, giving shoppers 25% off everything in the body care section. (You could obtain 33% off if you were a Prime member).
6. Search for Special Prime Day Deals at Whole Food in July and October.
Amazon Prime day runs in July and October, and you know Whole Foods participates, so below are some of the amazing Prime Day Grocery deals we discovered in July:
- 35% off ice cream
- BOGO free 12 packs of LaCroix
- 30% Off organic boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 30% off Aurora snacks
There usually a ton of deals on 365-brand items, and people who shop with their Amazon Prime Visa card tend to get boosted rewards of 6% back.
7. Shopping the Bulk beans Can Save you up to 52%
If you are already a regular Whole food shopper, then you should probably be used to Food's 365 brand. Instead of buying the prepackaged 365-brand items, it is often cheaper to shop the whole food bulk bins. Below are actually some of the biggest bulk savings you can count on:
- Black beans - 52% cheaper
- Garbanzo beans - 48% cheaper
- Red Lentils - 38% cheaper
- Muesli - 34% cheaper
- Sprouted Pumpkin seeds - 31% cheaper
Regardless, it is often good you sit back and try doing your own calculations since bulk beans do not always save you money. Here are some of the products that are cheaper when you purchase pre-packaged:
- Brown rice - Save 43% buying prepackaged
- Cashews - Save 10% buying prepackaged
- Peanut butter - Save 38% buying prepackaged
8. Wine Down Wednesdays At Whole Food Are No More
At first, Whole Foods used to run "Wine Down Wednesday" which gave you a 10% discount on up to five bottles of wine and an additional 10% off when you bought six more.
However as soon as Amazon took over, this stopped being a deal. meatless Monday also hit the dust. They also got rid of the glorious 10% off when you buy a case of anything discount.
9. Ask an Employee If you Want to Sample Any Whole Foods Snacks
Some people often buy products even if they do not know or have never tried them and they sometimes end up just wasting their money since they are unsatisfied with what they bought at the end. At Whole Foods, if you are interested in any new product but you are not sure you want to buy it cause it might be awful, you can simply ask an employee about sampling the product. Whole Foods usually is all about providing customers with delicious samples - even already packaged products like chocolate.
10. Make Use Of Coupons and Rebate Apps to Save on Organic Products and Produce
Simply because an item is organic does not mean you cannot find coupons and rebates for it. For example, you can often find coupons for seeds of change products on their website, Ibotta also features a lot of rebates that you might actually be interested in.
What is the Best Day to Go Shopping At Whole Foods For Prime Members?
As a prime member, you are able to save each day of the week but on various items. If you need ground beef, then you can go shopping on a Tuesday. If you love Sushi, then you can make time on Thursday to go shopping. With that said, this quest does not have a precise answer.
However, below are a few deals you can obtain as the week runs down:
- Monday: You get 30% off Whole Foods Market Iced Tea
- Tuesday: 80% Lean ground beef for $3.99/lb (often $6.99/lb - so you actually save 43%)
- Wednesday: You get 20% off Chef's Plate in the hot section.
- Thursday: BOGO 50% off packaged sushi rolls
- Friday: Large cheese pizza for $10 (usually $10.99- save on 10%).
Pay With Your Prime QR Code in the Whole Foods App to Claim the Savings
As soon as you download the Whole Foods app, the first thing they will ask you for is your Amazon login and immediately you are logged in, you will see your prime QR code which is the code you need to scan at checkout in order to obtain your prime savings applied.
Final Thoughts: How to Save Money At Whole Foods
While Whole Foods can be pricey, these tips will help you stretch your budget without sacrificing quality. By using Prime discounts, shopping sales, buying in bulk, and choosing store-brand items, you can enjoy healthy, organic foods at a more affordable price.
Would you like recommendations for budget-friendly Whole Foods products?