Grocery Store Tips and Tricks 2011-01-06 08:25:09

10 Tips For Saving More at the Grocery Store

January 6, 2011

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Making your money go further at the grocery store doesn't have to mean traveling to multiple stores or spending hours skimming the coupon circulars. Here are some simple tips for shopping smarter at the supermarket.

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by POPSUGAR Smart Living 32

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32 Comments

la dee da dee 2 years 19 weeks

great tips! i used to fall for that buy 2 get 1 free deal, when i only needed 1. then id have too much food and it would get thrown away!

allisonberry 3 years 6 weeks

Thanks for all of these tips! My newest dilemma is whether to start shopping in stores like Wal-Mart that are now offering local, organic produce http://blog.greensherpa.com/index.php/personal-finance/produce-wars-wal-mart-or-whole-foods/ What do you think of this topic?

Marci 4 years 16 weeks

I agree with the warning about the online coupons. They are so not worth the multiple websites they have you jumping hoops through, and the endless emails they send you for months. Other than that, I do almost all of these things already. It depends on the item if I'll try the store brand, though.

zcoral 4 years 16 weeks

TidalWave Meijer is the greatest store on earth! I miss it SOOOO much too.

bento barista 4 years 16 weeks

#8 is esp. important for me. I always find myself doing that.

BIKER2 4 years 16 weeks

Coupons I clipped once were better values than store sales. So I do agree that its the best way to save. So would cooking a extra large meal and freezing part of it for another night. When we were younger, we survived on tomato (grown in back yard) sandwiches in the summer, cream of wheat or grits for am for breakfast, (you can include oatmeal) fruit, and homemade pizza. One red box rental, and pop tube biscuts rolled out, seasoned with goodies cooked in a toaster oven, can make a great family night (Friday or Saturday nights) 1 Tuna can, can of mushroom soup,peas, and 1 tube biscuts. can cost less than 4-5.00 for dinner. A change from take out. Get your victory gardens started this spring. and use your bikes for family rides. EVERY BODY WILL BENIFIT.

savingsfreak 4 years 16 weeks

Navywife247 - try couponmom.com - it's free, and gives you basically the same info. as grocery game. For the month of January I've saved over 65% on my grocery bill using manufaturers coupons and sales combined, and just this week ended up with a boat load of free stuff, using only coupon mom. I've belonged to the grocery game and savings angel both - but they're too pricey.

navywife247 4 years 16 weeks

I don't mind buying coupons. Especially when it's a $1 or more of of things I need. I don't mind paying 10 cents per coupon. Especially if my papers don't have that coupon in it. Here are my favs. www.couponmaster.com and www.couponclipper.com. And the grocery game website can get kind of pricey depending on how many stores you add to your list. But if you are busy it might be worth it.

1trucker 4 years 16 weeks

I find if I shop early (when the store just opens) you can get the best deals on meats. Most chains will mark the meats down early in the morning. I have saved almost half of my grocery bill that I spend on meats tgis way. I buy as much as I can and stock my freezer. Believe me, when you are short at the end of the month you can eat like it is the first of the month. When the kids run short, yhey know Mom Has been out stocking up. So get out there andstart saving.

lschofield 4 years 16 weeks

I use http://www.centsible.net/groceries.shtml to get store specific coupons online and check out the weekly flyers to plan menus around.

cheapeater 4 years 16 weeks

We shop only at local markets. Atlanta has the Dekalb Farmers market and the ethnic stores on Buford Highway. Between these, we haven't spent more than 40 bucks a week on grocery. No frozen veggies and no canned food. Only fresh produce...

grocerysaver 4 years 16 weeks

Try tracking your grocery purchases and the prices you pay so you can look for good times to buy. Use a spreadsheet or a community site like pricebooking.com

orangejet 4 years 16 weeks

Is the entire country retarded? Common sense dictates to do all of these things. No wonder most of the population is in debt, they need articles like this to state the obvious.

chris250480 4 years 16 weeks

I've saved money grocery shopping by going more often during the week and only buying things on sale. It kinda sucks going 2 or 3 times each week, but i've been able to save like 30-40% per trip... I dont really use online grocery coupon sites, but i have been using this site to find good deals on other stuff i want: http://www.zingsale.com

rjannenga 4 years 16 weeks

I work at meijer and I agree on what tidalwave said on tolietries . Coupons are the way to go on items that u buy,stay away from sites that charge u to get coupons.

diggidan 4 years 16 weeks

Don't go food shopping when you are hungry.

ByOurexample 4 years 16 weeks

Hire someone to do your shopping. Seems every time I go to the store for a carton of milk I spend about $40. In fact I don't think you're allowed to leave unless you spend $40. Paying someone to shop forces you to take inventory of your kitchen and plan meals. Heck you might even lose weight this way.

chubbby 4 years 16 weeks

the one thing that helps me to get the MOST for my money is to watch the "price per unit of measure" that is posted with the price on the shelf. If you will watch the shelves the same "brand" can cost more per unit of measure in a larger size.

mamaof2 4 years 16 weeks

be careful with online coupons...some stores won't accept them...which I have found out the hard way!!!

nulery 4 years 16 weeks

online coupons are great, but many grocery stores will not accept them because of fraudulent ones that were circulating a while ago. Walmart and target take many online manufacturers coupons, but giant eagle will not take any.

AineDoneil 4 years 16 weeks

Know your market's prices. Try Henry;s and Mission Market for low cost produce.

tuckybear 4 years 16 weeks

Let me correct myself....flooded with spam!

tuckybear 4 years 16 weeks

Warning!!! I went on line and did the coupon game only to be flooded with e-mails.....6 month later.... still flooded with e-mails.

HarryL22180 4 years 16 weeks

I forgot to include to make sure you freeze any of the meats that you buy on clearance that you are not going to use anytime soon.

HarryL22180 4 years 16 weeks

One of the first things I do when I go to the grocery store is head to the meat counter and look for all of the Manager Specials, they are drastically reduced because of the "sale date" is near. I always find cheap prices on chicken, pork chops, steaks, and hamburger. Then I always check the weekly ads for "buy one, get one free" items. You can get name brand items for half the price and Store brands even cheaper. I like wheat bread, however, name brand loafs cost almost $3.00 each. I experiment with store brands and have found that Bi-Lo and Ingle's wheat breads taste just as good as Nature's Own, and usually half the price. I also look in the Clearance carts that stores have, they usually contain items that have been damaged, (bent cans),and usually sell for 1/3 of the original cost. Also, check the weekly ads for times that some stores tripple the value of coupons.