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Saving money at the grocery store might seem intimidating. After all, everything about the experience, from the upbeat music playing in the aisles to those precut packages of vegetables — is designed to part you and your hard-earned dollars. But you don’t have to become an Olympic-level couponer or buy food by the pallet to trim some bucks from that total.

Whether you’re already a cost-conscious shopper or you’re thinking about your spending in new ways these days, a few small changes can go a long way if you make them long-term habits. “If you take out some convenience products and you save $10 in one shop, that might not seem like much,” says Erin Chase, who runs the blog $5 Dinners. “But if you shop once a week and you keep that up, you’re looking at real long-term savings.”

She suggests you try out a few money-saving tactics and see what sticks in the long run. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

Saving money at the grocery store usually comes down to a trade-off in convenience. That can take a lot of forms, whether it means buying vinaigrette instead of making your own or shopping at the market down the street instead of a cheaper store across town. Think hard about what you’re willing to give up and what you’re not.

A lot of your saving comes down to what you do before you set foot in the aisle: Make sure you shop your own cupboards and refrigerator first, and have a meal plan that you’re shopping for. There are loads of resources online and in recipe books for budget-friendly meals.

Apps can help you identify what’s on sale when you’re planning your meals. Beth Moncel, who blogs at Budget Bytes, likes Flipp, which lets you browse the sales fliers for your local stores and manage that stack of loyalty cards. And don’t go it alone if you’re shopping for a household. Enlist your partner and kids in the project, too.

“Talk to your kids about it over dinner,” Chase suggests. “Keep it simple and say, ‘Guys, we’re spending too much on food and we’re going to do some things a little bit differently.”

Expand where you shop, considering discount or international stores. “Be open minded,” Moncel counsels. “International grocery stores have amazing prices on things that would be considered specialty items at other places.”

If you reflexively grab a particular label, consider a less expensive one or a store brand. You might eventually decide to go back to your name-brand favorite, but it’s worth revisiting.

And while your mantra should be “plan, plan, plan,” be prepared to pivot. If you encounter an unexpectedly high price for a product or an ingredient on your list — maybe it wasn’t on sale like you thought, or supply-chain issues caused a price hike — consider what you could swap for it. Boneless chicken thighs instead of chicken breasts, maybe, or a different cut of steak. Moncel notes that this is easiest when you’re shopping for flexible-format meals (think pizzas, stir-fries and casseroles) that can adapt.

3. Focus on the pricey stuff

Meat is probably one of the most expensive items going into your cart, so it’s smart to focus there. Check the sales. And you can buy less if you find ways to cut it with other, less expensive proteins — Chase suggests lentils in sloppy joes or black beans in taco meat.

The produce aisle can be tricky, too. Be sure you check to see if the listed price is per item or per pound. Moncel recalled that, recently, she was thrilled to find papayas for $1.99 — until she realized that was a per-pound price, making the hefty fruit not such a great deal. And consider whether you really need a fresh vegetable or fruit — frozen produce can often be a great money-saver, and there’s less chance it will go to waste.

Shop alone if possible. The temptation to placate a kid with a treat or to indulge a request for an off-the-list meal can quickly derail your plan. But if that’s not possible, try asking kids ahead of time what one item they want to eat that week, and then enlist them in helping find it and put it in the cart.

And shopping while hungry is always a bad idea, for grown-ups and kids alike. Many people like curbside pickup because it eliminates in-the-moment temptations — just watch out for pricey substitutions. Even if you’re blissfully solo and feeling no hunger pangs, steel yourself against your own weaknesses, whether it’s a magazine at checkout or a bunch of flowers. In stores like Costco, you’ll pass displays of everything from pajamas to laptops.

After you’ve taken steps to hold down your spending, there’s nothing more encouraging than actually seeing your efforts pay off. Take a look at your grocery spending, before and after you started making changes. You don’t even need a fancy spreadsheet or app — just write it down. Even if you’re saving just a few dollars, give yourself a mental high-five.

“When you see it working, it will encourage you to keep going,” Chase says. And since grocery shopping is a never-ending errand, there’s always another chance to do better. “Think about baby steps,” she says. “You’re building habits over time.”

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