From an extra $10 a week to hundreds a month, here are the tips and strategies that you need to save money on your groceries. You can choose to start with the easy tips and work your way up to those that require a little more work, or just dive in and complete them all for maximum savings.
Easy
Take a quick look at your grocery cart before you check out. Chances are that there are a couple of impulse purchases in there. These are items that you did plan on buying before you entered the store. Remove at least one of them. If you do this every time you shop, you will automatically save.
Purchase generic or store brand products instead of name brand products. You’ll automatically save anywhere from 20 to 50 percent off when you go generic.
Shop alone and without kids. Getting in an out of the store quickly always results in spending less money. There are fewer impulse purchases, and you may have more energy that will allow you to stick to your list.
Replace at least one processed food for one in its natural state. Whole potatoes instead of mashed potatoes in a package, a head of lettuce instead of pre-washed and bagged lettuce, chicken you bread yourself instead of frozen chicken nuggets are some examples. The more processed something is, the more expense it generally is, too.
A Little More Work
Clip coupons and combine them with the grocery store sales to get the absolute lowest price on everything. By stacking coupons with sales you can often get items for free. This is how the extreme couponers do it!
Keep a price book so you always know the lowest sale prices on the products that you use regularly.
Shop at multiple stores. Not every store will have the best deals on all products. Know where to go for the various things on your grocery list. For examples, drugstores generally have the very best products on health and beauty items, warehouse stores can get you cheap diapers, etc.