12 Simple Ways To Save Money On Groceries

If you are tallying up your expenses every month, you may be shocked at how much you are spending on groceries.

Obviously, groceries aren’t a luxury you can do without and perhaps that is why so many of us are lenient with our grocery budget.

However, there are many ways to reduce this monthly expense.

Here are 12 simple ways to save money on groceries:

  1. Buy a few Sunday papers each week and clip coupons. However, you should only save coupons of items you really enjoy. Never buy something solely because it is on sale.
  2. Before you go to the store, carefully plan a sensible list. Do not stray from the list once you are in the store, no matter what is dangled in front of you in the checkout line.
  3. Always buy at least a week’s worth of groceries. The more trips you take to the store, the more you risk “impulse buying.”
  4. Always shop on a full stomach. You will likely buy more food when you are hungry.
  5. Where applicable, you should opt for poultry instead of the much pricier red meat.
  6. If possible, go to the store without your children. They have a tendency to help you fill the shopping cart.
  7. Don’t be a name brand snob. Generic store brands are often just as good and will save you a lot of money in the long run.
  8. Foods like pasta, rice and beans are filling and inexpensive. They make good staples in a frugal diet.
  9. Items with the highest markup are often placed at chest and eye level. Don’t forget to check out foods that are stored lower on the shelves, as they may offer the best deals.
  10. Shop early in the morning or late at night to avoid crowds. The faster you zip through the store, the less likely you are to stray from your list.
  11. Watch your cashier ring up your items and then carefully review your receipt. Mistakes are more common than you realize and they will cost you unnecessary expenses.
  12. Two words: ramen noodles.

One of the least flexible expenses in your household budget is the grocery bill. However, the tips above should help you be a little more diligent and creative when trying to reduce the cost.

By-line:
Heather Johnson is a freelance writer as well as a feature article contributor for Reward Programs, a site which helps consumers pick the best rewards program to best meet their needs. Heather welcomes your comments and emails related to job inquiries at her email, heatherjohnson2323@gmail.com.

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8 Responses

  1. I also just did a post like this on my new blog. I wasn’t aware of point #9, though that makes sense now. But the lists point is extremely important. This’ll keep you from going home with twice as many groceries as you needed in the first place. If you can, try and write the list in a prioritizing manner with the most important items at the top and the least at the bottom. So after you see the prices you can rethink whether or not you really need that last chocolate bar or such.

  2. Monica says:

    Don’t shop at the store late at night: there’s nothing left after about five (dinner time) because the early morning senior citizens and the all day stay-at-home mom’s have wiped out the store and there is nothing left on the shelves. At least, that is how it is where I live. Also, #4 is so right on and has gotten me a number of times.
    I like to prioritize my list with items grouped according to location in the store, which does get me out faster.

  3. David Carter says:

    These are some great tips. I work in a grocery store and when we have the triple coupon weeks all the crazy savers come out. The have books full of coupons organized and save tons of money. I am pretty good at sticking to a list and buying what I think I should get. There are some very good tips here and I may try out the new ones I havn’t heard of before.

  4. Great tips,I would have to go with tip #4 as my personal favorite!

  5. two words : ramen noodles… haha those things are soo cheap, but they are only good when you’re in the mood for them.

  6. Dee knoll says:

    I enjoy eating ramen noodles, I also buy a bag of frozen stir-fly veggies,and mix a few of them with the noodles ,help fill me up : Plus sometime a hamburger patty cook up into crumbles and added with the noodles also help to fill you up!!!!

  7. heyaheather says:

    Ha, Ha! I’m one of those crazy savers! And I learned it all @ http://www.hotcouponworld.com!! It is so worth it. I just wish the stores around here did triples, but alas no 🙁

    Seriously, if you join, you could save thousands of dollars a year just at the grocery store. CVS is a whole ‘nother story.

  8. Cassie says:

    We live below our means, but people should never skimp when it comes to food(ex:ramen noodles). We eat an all organic diet and are vegetarians. Organic foods can almost never be purchased with coupons. A great way to save money on food,that wasn’t mentioned,is to grow it yourself!We live in the city,but we are members of a community garden,and on a small patch of land,we grow our veggies. Primarily,we grow tomatoes. We make sauce and jar it which saves us a ton,since we eat a lot of pasta,and the taste is so much better! Anyone can grow tomatoes, they are so hardy.
    Another tip:Make it yourself!We make our own veggie burgers instead of buying the frozen variety,and then freeze them to last us a long time,saving us a lot of money. Make your own bread,it’s so easy and much cheaper than buying from the store,and it’s healthy,unlike wonder bread(don’t you wonder what the heck you’re eating?).
    Skimping on food is skimping on your health. Healthcare is too expensive in this country to not be careful about one’s diet.

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