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Grocery shopping can be an expensive task, but there are plenty of things you can do to reduce your bill. By following some of the simple steps on this page and keeping a close eye on your purchases and purchasing habits, you'll find lots of innovative solutions to the problem of how to save money on groceries.
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Introduction
- Whether it was that expensive (but tasty) steak, that bag of chips you just had to have, or even a staple like detergent or toilet paper, we've all spent more than we intended at the grocery store at one time or another. Grocery shopping is an unavoidable situation, but the constant drain on your bank account can be at best, depressing, and at worst, fiscally dangerous.
- Fortunately, ever since there have been grocery stores, people have been looking for ways to spend less money while shopping at them. With a little preparation, a few coupons, and one or two key strategies, you can cut down on your bill at the supermarket.
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Step 1: Be Prepared
- A little preparation can go a long way toward making sure your grocery bill doesn't get out of hand.
- Make out a food budget.University of Maine Cooperative Extension: Save Money on Food For assistance, check out Mahalo's guide on how to make a budget.
- Plan your meals before grocery shopping so you know what you already have on hand.University of Maine Cooperative Extension: Save Money on Food
- Make a list of what you need beforehand and stick to it when you go shopping.The Simple Dollar: Five Minute Finances: Make a Grocery List (February 23, 2007) Cheap Healthy Good: How 60 Minutes a Week Can Save Hundreds of Dollars on Food
- To save time, organize your list so it matches the way your the grocery store is laid out.Thrifty Living: Saving Money When Buying Food
- Don't shop when you're hungry.About.com: Ten Grocery Shopping Tips Then everything looks good and you're likely to buy things you don't really need.
- Take larger trips to save time and gas while avoiding impulse buys during one-item trips.The Bargainist: 23 Ways to Save on Groceries
- Go alone because the fewer people you have with you (especially children), the less chance you'll buy things you don't need.The Bargainist: 23 Ways to Save on Groceries
- YouTube Video: 5 Things: Grocery Shopping on a Budget (Time: 1:39)
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Step 2: Pre-Shop for the Best Bargains
- Saving money at the grocery store begins before you even set foot outside your home or get in the car. However, it does require you to do your homework.
- Scour newspapers and flyers for sales announcements and coupons.The Bargainist: 23 Ways to Save on Groceries
- Stick to coupons for items you actually need and will definitely use.Cheap Healthy Good: Eating Healthy While Clipping Coupons: The Dos and Don'ts (May 28, 2008)
- Check online for coupons.SmartMoney.com: 5 Best Coupon-Clipping Web Sites Some of the best sites to look include:
- Eating Well: HealthESavers Coupons
- Coupons.com: Homepage
- SmartSource.com: Homepage
- CouponCabin.com: Homepage
- RetailMeNot: Food coupon codes
- CouponMom.com: Homepage
- RedPlum: Homepage
- Shop around.Get Rich Slowly: Shop Around for the Lowest Price (March 19, 2007) If you have two or more grocery stores relatively close by, don't be afraid to take a little extra time to go to more than one if there's a good deal elsewhere.The Bargainist: 23 Ways to Save on Groceries
- Even better, check and see if the store will match competitor's prices.Bankrate.com: 20 Ways to Save on Groceries - Request Price Matching Then you don't have to go to more than one store.
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Step 3: Shop Wisely
- Not all stores and products are created equal. Once you're there and pushing the cart around, you can find bargains down each aisle if you know where to look and how to properly judge each product's true value.
- Pick up the store's in-store flyer to catch any deals or coupons you might have missed.The Bargainist: 23 Ways to Save on Groceries
- Sign up for the store's discount card, which can offer the best deals.The Bargainist: 23 Ways to Save on Groceries (Cards aren't without some controversy because you sacrifice some privacy to get the store's discounts.About.com: The Truth Behind Grocery Store Discount Cards )
- Ask for a rain check if the store is out of stock for a particular sale item.Bankrate.com: 20 Ways to Save on Groceries - Take a Rain Check
- Don't assume that because an item displayed at the end of the aisle (the "end cap") that it is the best deal.YouTube Video: 5 Ways To Save On Groceries (Time: 1:50) Stores will often display higher priced items with sale items here in the hopes customers will impulse buy the high-priced items.The Simple Mom: Simple Ways to Save on Groceries (May 27, 2007)
- "Sale" does not always mean the best price.Kitchen Parade: How to Save Money on Groceries - Part Three
- Don't buy something just because it is "discounted." It may be more expensive than a similar product at a different store.Bankrate.com: 20 Ways to Save on Groceries - Beware of "Discount Store Syndrome."
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Step 4: Know What to Buy
- When you are grocery shopping, it is important that you know what items to buy and what items to avoid.
- When you find a deal, especially on non-perishable items, buy in bulk.The Simple Mom: Simple Ways to Save on Groceries (May 27, 2007)
- Avoid pre-made meals like TV dinners.BCS Aliance: Ways to Save Money on Monthly Food Bill They might make a convenient meal, but you're better off (both financially and health-wise) preparing similar meals yourself.
- Avoid specialty spice mixes which are usually 90 percent salt.Kitchen Parade: How to Save Money on Groceries - Part Three
- Don't buy pre-cut meats.BCS Aliance: Ways to Save Money on Monthly Food Bill
- Avoid junk foods and sugar cereals that are expensive but don't offer any nutritional value.The Bargainist: 23 Ways to Save on Groceries
- For perishable items, such as meats, stores typically mark them down when they're close to their sell-by date.Bankrate.com: 20 Ways to Save on Groceries - Know the System Buy them up and either use immediately or freeze them.The Simple Mom: Simple Ways to Save on Groceries (May 27, 2007)
- Buy produce when it is in season. Out of season produce can cost ten times as much as it would when it is in season.WebMD: 10 Ways to Save Money on Food Shopping, p.2
- Try different brands. Generic or store-brand items typically cost less than big-name brand items and offer similar quality.About.com: Ten Grocery Shopping Tips
- Be willing to change brand names if the price (or coupon) is right.Cheap Healthy Good: Eating Healthy While Clipping Coupons: The Dos and Don'ts (May 28, 2008)
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Step 5: Look for the Best Deals
- In order to save the most money at the grocery store, you need to be on the look out for the best deals. Sometimes that can mean ignoring the obvious and reading the fine print.
- The most expensive, brand-name items are typically located at eye level to make them more available to shoppers.The Simple Mom: Simple Ways to Save on Groceries (May 27, 2007) To find the best bargains you'll have to literally search high and low.
- Double-check your receipt. If your store has a digital display at the checkout line, you can keep track of each purchase as the cashier scans it. If you find an error, bring it up immediately or take it up at the customer-service desk.My Lifetime: Great Ways to Save on Groceries
- Look for purchase limits (such as "Limit 2 per customer") because these often mean good buys.Kitchen Parade: How to Save Money on Groceries - Part Three
- More is not always cheaper.Bankrate.com: 20 Ways to Save on Groceries For the best rates, you often need to compare unit prices. To calculate a unit price, divide the price by the number of units.Kitchen Parade: How to Save Money on Groceries - Part Three
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Step 6: Keep a Shopping Journal
- A good method for keeping track of your expenditures over a long period of time is to keep a shopping journal where you log the sources and prices of foods purchased most often.Kitchen Parade: How to Save Money on Groceries - Part Three
- Start by listing all the items you purchase regularly in a small notebook.The Simple Mom: Simple Ways to Save on Groceries (May 27, 2007)
- As you look through advertisements, write down in pencil the lowest price you see for each item and where it's located.The Simple Mom: Simple Ways to Save on Groceries (May 27, 2007)
- The journal will also help you track sales patterns and anticipate when the best time to stock up will be.About.com: 6 Simple Strategies to Save Money on Groceries
- Make sure you keep track of the cost per unit (ounce, etc.) to determine the exact cost.About.com: 6 Simple Strategies to Save Money on Groceries
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Conclusion
- Grocery shopping does not have to cost you an arm and a leg once you know a few simple tips. While it may be more work at first, eventually saving money will become second nature. Of course, you will eventually need to figure out how to spend all that extra money, but that is a burden you can probably handle.
- For more money saving tips, check out Mahalo's how to save money on food, how to cut household expenses, how to save money, how to stockpile food, how to eat local foods and how to go green and save money.
- YouTube Video: Save Money - Grocery Shopping Tips (Time: 3:40)
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