Grocery Shopping Tips

Everything is getting more expensive today. From gas to groceries, our hard-earned dollars are challenged to stretch further. Here are a few simple tips to try when shopping for groceries.

1. Clip coupons. They put those in the newspaper for a reason. If there are new items you want to try, use a coupon to get it at a discount. If you like it, you have saved some money. On the other hand, if you don’t like it, you didn’t pay full price. For me, coupons save me an average of ten or more dollars per visit. That’s money in my pocket that I can put towards gas for the car or a pay down a bill or save for that something special. Don't forget to watch for rebates also, combined with coupons for even greater saving and sometimes free.

2. Buy more staples than prepared foods. It is easier to buy a box of macaroni and cheese, but is it more economical? A large box of macaroni and a block of cheese will make more servings for your family than one box of prepared macaroni and cheese. The next time you go shopping and pick up a box or bag of an already prepared item, ask yourself if you can make that at home for less. If you can, then put that item back in favor of less expensive staples. Compare, compare, compare.

3. Buy in bulk. Consider the food items that you use most often. Cereals, meats, vegetables, condiments, juices, and paper products can be bought in bulk usually at a lower price at food warehouses like Costco, BJ’s, and Wal-Mart. If you have coupons, you’ll save even more money. We like buying our meat in bulk and then cutting and vacuum packing in the serving sizes we want. This is probably on of the biggest money savers for us. A small food vacuum packer is a great investment. How about taking those coupon savings and saving for one.

4. Don’t shop when you are hungry. This is a definite no-no. Shopping on an empty stomach means that you will pick up more things than you need. You are more likely to pick up that bag of chocolate chip cookies or that box of donuts when the growling gets underway. Everything looks good. So make sure and eat or at least have a filling snack before you go grocery shopping.

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5. Take a grocery list with you. This is another protection against picking up things that are too costly. Check your cabinets and the fridge to see what you need and write them down. Remember, the goal is to stick to the list as much as possible. You’ll be surprised how much you save with this one little tip. Next time you’re out without a list pay attention and see what all you bought that was unnecessary.

6. Shop at the same stores. When shopping in a new store, you spend most of your time looking for things and walking up and down every aisle, which many times leads to forgetting an item or two or even picking up something you don’t really need. Going to the same store each time makes you more familiar with the prices so you can estimate your bill as you write your grocery list. Remember you’re not saving much money if you have to run all over town for a few cents in savings, your gas may cost more than that as well as your time.

7. Grow your own vegetables. This could also be a family activity. There are many easy vegetables you can grow seasonally. When your garden provides an over abundance on a vegetable freeze some for when the vegetable is out of season. And just think of how tasty and healthy fresh vegetables are for you and the money you’ll save.

Finally, rising prices don’t have to mean a lean dinner table. There are ways to make your food dollar go further and if you take the time to implement the grocery shopping tips listed above as well as others of your own, you’ll see savings each and every time you go shopping.

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Start Small and Watch Your Savings Grow

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It is better to have tried and failed than to fail to try.