How are you saving money at the grocery store?
Like everyone else I am trying to cut dollars out of my food budget where I can. For me this means both cutting on dining out, and then how I spend my money in the grocery store. I dine out a lot with a busy work schedule, otherwise I would be dining on endless frozen dinners which get old after time. I have a hard time cooking a new and fresh dinner each night of the week when I come in from work, so what to do? Here are a few tips that I have learned, and I hope that you will share some of your tips as well.
For me the grocery store is a complete danger zone. Living in Houston means many of our grocery stores have sampling available on the weekend. You can almost get a whole meal by the time you finish your shopping trip. First thing I do is to look through the grocery ad. Guess what, I am having what’s on sale. I am flexible, and generally what’s on the front page of the ad is at a good deal. So what’s on sale heavily enfluences what will be served the next week. Then I write a list, and then bring the list. I am a horrible impulse shopper. You give me a sample, I like it, well chances are it is going in my shopping basket. So here I walk in with what I am buying.
Other things you can do at the grocery store is to look at the store brands. Often the store brands will work just as good as national labels. I can’t find much difference in things like crushed tomatoes, rice, beans, or other basic staples. I am brand loyal on a few things, but when those are for sale, I like to purchase those items in multiples. I try to buy less processed foods. I stay away from things like iced tea in jugs, cheese cubs, shredded cheese. I also buy meat in family packs and then repackage those items when I get home. You don’t need to buy stew meat, you can slice your own from the often much cheaper chuck steak.
I generally buy a frozen meal or two to stave off dining out. I work long hours at my regular job, and this means coming home tired and late. Sometimes it is easier when I have something already finished and I just need to heat it up. I have also taken to cooking on the weekends an extra meal or two so I have prepared meals to take to work, and to reheat on an evening of a busy day. If I do dine out, I try to go to restaurants where waitresses aren’t required. This way I am not cheating someone out of their tip. There are a lot of restaurants where you can go like this, they tend to be more moderately priced.
You can save money when walking into your local grocery store. It takes a little planning ahead of time. It takes knowing what’s on sale, and then making a list. Sticking with a list can be tough if you aren’t used to it. It works though. Using a list helps on the impulse buys. Consider store brands. Sometimes they are just as good as the national brands. Think about where buying in bulk makes sense. Also consider buying items that are less processed to help save money. Here are just a few of my ideas. What are your ideas?
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CopyKat.com is the creation of Stephanie Manley. Stephanie started publishing recipes on the web in 1995 as a means to capture her family recipes in a format that they would not be thrown away. Over the years she has developed many recipes that taste just like the restaurant originals that you would normally go out to try. 
Hi there! I just wrote an article about this with plenty of great tips! We’re on the same page about a lot of stuff, if you feel like checking it it out, you can read it at A Frugal Guide: Ways to help you save money at the Grocery Store. Hopefully this is a good supplement to your awesome article you have here! Thank you!
Hi there! I just wrote an article about this with plenty of great tips! We’re on the same page about a lot of stuff, if you feel like checking it it out, you can read it at A Frugal Guide: Ways to help you save money at the Grocery Store. Hopefully this is a good supplement to your awesome article you have here! Thank you!
OH! You’re my new favorite blogger fyi
I’ve been reading a lot of mom blogs that focus on frugal living, and they’ve taught me some great tips that have been helping me save money.
1. couponing! There are several sites online where you can print coupons, or the Sunday paper is always a good place to check for coupons too.
2. As you pointed out, buying in bulk and then freezing items to eat later.
3. This doesn’t have to do with grocery shopping, but to save on dining out, I usually cook a lot on the weekend, and then package them into little meals in the fridge. This will allow me to microwave some pasta or chicken when I come home from a long day at work. Also, coming from a Korean family, I always have some rice cooking. On the days I don’t want to cook, I’ll just eat some rice and some sides. I’ve found that eating in truly saves a LOT of money!
Thanks for sharing your ideas!
sale items on the front page of the circular tend to sell out faster than anything else in the store.. instead of just relying on the flyer, actually go through the store and find the items that have been on sale for more than just a week.. a lot of stores will also put some of their organic or international products on sale every so often, so check there too.
Due to recession, it seems people are dumping organic for the general or less expensive organic stuff. Let’s see what people are saying about much-hyped grocery stores, like Bristol Farms, Krogers, Vons, etc. From this we can get idea as to why they prefer to shop from cheaper grocery shops rather than these shops. For more details on these shops and some low end stores refer http://www.prime-targeting.com/grocery-wisdom-tip-shift-from-high-end-to-low-end-grocers/
Hello I just wanted to say really look at how you are eating. What is your family really eating? I really believe quality not quantity is the way to go. Look for stuff high in nutrition. Pre-make you meals as much as possible. Don’t have time for breakfast, try making a quick smoothy at home before you leave the house. This keeps me from stopping at fast food. Yes some things are cheaper at some stores, if you look over the ingredient list you will see why its cheaper.
I am an impulse buyer as well so when I go to the grocery store I give myself a budget. If my budget is only $100, I will bring that amount with me in cash and leave my checks and debit/credit cards behind so I am forced to only spend that much and can’t overspend. I also only go the store once a week because every time I go to the store I always find things I really don’t need.
I have used coupons to save money since 1989. There are tricks to being successful with coupons. Anyone can throw a few in their purse and think they’ll remember to use them, but you need real organization and consistency.
1) Clip coupons from all sources you can find. The Sunday paper is the best. If there are a lot of coupons in any particular Sunday paper, I’ll go buy extras at the store, just for the coupons. Don’t feel guilty about the paper– it’s recycleable!
2) You need an organizer for your coupons. Mine is a box that’s about 12 inches by 10 and it has dividers I cut from sheets of plastic and each section is labeled. You decide what your sections are. I have divided things up to a degree that makes sense to me. Canned goods, cereals, baking supplies, beverages, frozen foods, snack foods, household goods, etc.
3) When you put your coupons away, organize them alphabetically. That way you can always put your hands on just the one you need in seconds. Update every month by getting rid of the expired coupons.
4) Shop the sales, WITH a coupon. I rarely buy anything without a coupon, but when you also shop the sales, I call that a double whammy. Only shop stores that double your coupons: triple whammy. Get a rebate with the product! Home run!
All of this takes me a couple hours a week, but I save as much as I spend most shopping trips. Imagine the cashier telling you your total and then telling you your savings was more than you spent! That is the payoff! The hours I spend clipping, sorting, organizing and reading the fliers before shopping are well paid off if you look at the savings as an hourly wage.
I, too, have been using coupons to save money at grocery and pharmacy stores. My average savings is 45% (by combining manufacturer’s coupons, store advertized specials, and by taking advantage of the store’s special buys. I also use coupons for “day-old” breads, friuts and vegetables.
Purchasing a small chest freezer is one of the most valuable items I have ever invested in. It allows me to stock up on all of the bargains that I have purchased, until I am ready to use them.
Besides the reasons listed above, cooking at home is not only extremely enjoyable for me, it is amazingly cost-effecitve compared to going out to eat at a restaurant. Dining out costs approximately five times more, compared to cooking at home.
Bon Appetite!
I don’t usually like to help out walmart but actually in some instances, sams club is a good place to start… for instance, you can buy a twelve back of mac n cheese and it will usually only cost you about 25 cents a box or so…you might spend more money at once but it last so much longer than going to the store once a week.
I have noticed you need to be careful in those warehouse stores, and really watch the prices, everything isn’t a bargin. I know I have overpaid there before just because I got caught up in buying everything in bulk. Now, with that said, I am a large, large fan of Costco
I usually save pennies,(with a rolled up wrapper), use a plenty of coupons,
plan menus, go to a couple of different food banks when the food supply at home runs out.I definately make up for it.
I use lots and lot of coupons!! Mix with sales and voila! I have a blog about couponing at dimestretchermom.com