Save Money On Grocery Bills

5 Tips For Saving Money on Groceries

Here are five tips to save money on grocery bills. In a volatile economy with fuel and food prices continuing to rise, anything we can do to cut down on expenses is a plus. Try these practical tips for saving money on food and household supplies:

1. When specials are available, buy groceries, over-the-counter drugs, and cleaning supplies in bulk and stock them in your home pantry to save money on grocery items. Look into joining Costco or BJs, but often Wal-Mart will have bulk product specials just as attractive and without a membership cost. Also, Amazon.com offers a variety of grocery items you can purchase in bulk at low prices. Bulk purchases can save you quite a bit of money in the long run.

2. Check the weekend newspapers for grocery ads with coupons. Ads feature sales for that week, and you can purchase in bulk by taking advantage of the sale items. If there's a Wal-Mart store in your area, you can often find considerable savings on food, cleaning supplies, household items, and prescription drugs.

3. Check online coupon sources often. There are a number of websites where you can print out coupons for a variety of grocery items. For example, saving money with grocery coupons is possible at TheGroceryGame.com website. Just type in your zip code (or postal code in Canada) and pages of coupons will be shown for stores and products in your area. Simply print out the coupons and take them to the store for redemption.

4. Refrain from impulse buying. Write out your grocery list before going to the store and stick to it. Check your store flyers or the store's website to determine what's on sale. Also, have lunch or a snack before going shopping. Grocery shopping while you're hungry promotes impulse buying.

5. Purchase store brand products when available. You can save money while not sacrificing taste. Study the weekly store flyer when you enter the supermarket and look for in-store sales that weren't advertised in the weekend newspapers. For paper goods, either buy generic, no-name brands or shop at the dollar store.

Additional Ways To Save Money On Grocery Bills

• Buy a home freezer. Even a small apartment-sized freezer will help you make the most of meats and other perishable foods. Freezers are also great for making up meals ahead of time and freezing them for eating later.


• Stock up your food pantry after Thanksgiving weekend. There are more money saving food coupons issued in the months of November and December than at any other time of the year. With all the pre- and post-holiday sales, the end of the year is always best for saving money on food.


• While shopping for an item, scan the shelves above and below eye level. That's where you'll often locate the cheaper items. The brand name items that are most visible tend to be most expensive.


• Join frequent-shopper programs, if available. Store incentive programs can often chop up to 10% off your total grocery bill.


• Mix it yourself and save money. Pre-mixed juices can cost up to 60% more than frozen concentrates. Why pay for water? And you can pay up to 50% more for foods that come with pre-mixed sugar, spices, or sauces.


• Always check the unit cost when buying food products. The bigger sizes aren't always the cheapest, and sometimes they're the same unit price as the smaller sizes.


• Shop for a basic good-tasting cereal instead of the more expensive fortified cereals. Fortified cereals may promise 100% of the recommended vitamins and minerals, but breakfast isn't our only meal of the day.


• Choose the large bags of frozen vegetables over the small cartons which generally cost more per serving.


• For picnics and parties, go with paper plates. Plastic and Styrofoam plates often cost more than twice as much.


• Unless you have a money saving coupon, don't purchase toiletries at your neighborhood grocery store. Drugstore prices are sometimes 25% less for such items.

Copyright © 2006-2012 by Donald R Bell - All Rights Reserved Worldwide