6 Smart Saving Tips For Your Next Supermarket Spree

Although cooking at home is cheaper than eating out, buying groceries can still cost a pretty penny. But if you have these smart saving strategies in hand from consumer expert Andrea Woroch, your grocery bills will start shrinking. Not all of us can be extreme couponers — read on for some realistic ways to save big on your next trip to the supermarket.

Additional reporting by Macy Williams

01
Check Your Receipt
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Check Your Receipt

"Scanned items do not always ring up at the correct price. Watch the prices as they come up, and then check your receipt for those you missed to be sure sale and other items come up at the right price and quantities are correct."

02
Shop High and Low
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Shop High and Low

"If you want the best prices, scan both the top of the shelves and the very bottoms. The top-named brands pay big money to get their products situated at eye level. Smaller manufacturers can not afford such placement but offer better pricing."

03
Make Bigger and Fewer Shopping Trips
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Make Bigger and Fewer Shopping Trips

"Making bigger shopping trips less often will cut down on your impulse buys. In fact, almost half of all shoppers go to the store three or four times per week. Shoppers making a "quick trip" to the store usually purchase 54 percent more than they planned, according to a study published by the Marketing Science Institute. Example: three shopping trips per week with $10 impulse purchases verse one shopping trip per week with one $10 impulse buy. This tactic will save you $80 per month and $960 for the year."

04
Don't Buy More to Get the Sale Price
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Don't Buy More to Get the Sale Price

"Grocery stores will get you to buy more by advertising deals like four-for-$3 cans of tuna fish, but typically you don't have to buy multiple to get the sale price."

05
Clip, Print, Tap, Socialize or Load Up on Coupons
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Clip, Print, Tap, Socialize or Load Up on Coupons

"The Sunday circular holds its place as a leading resource for store and manufacturer coupons, but if you're too busy to sift and clip through the paper every weekend then I've got some good news for you.

From the Internet to smartphone, Facebook and loyalty card, there are plenty of other places to find those cash-saving vouchers. You can print grocery coupons from sites like CouponSherpa.com or get them directly from the supermarket's website. Even stores like Whole Foods feature printable coupons. Otherwise, register your loyalty reward card online at the store's site and load the eCoupons directly to it for instant savings at check out.

When the hunt for uncovering coupons for a favorite brand of manufacturer come up empty handed, it's time to get your social skills on. Follow or like your favorite brands and grocery stores on Facebook or Twitter to get exclusive savings. Beyond social sites, your smartphone is another great place to get coupons. Download CouponSherpa's free mobile coupon app, which features a new grocery section for various manufacturer and in-store deals. iCircular is another coupon app that was recently announced by the Associated Press — it's an app dedicated to mobilizing Sunday circular coupons. Now that's worth tapping into."

06
Crunch Unit Prices
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Crunch Unit Prices

"Most shoppers assume that the bigger package is always the better deal, but the FTC found that larger size packages of tuna fish, peanut butter, ketchup, coffee, and frozen orange juice were often more expensive per unit than smaller counterparts. Therefore, it's important to compare and crunch the numbers of comparative smaller packages."