How to Save Money on Food and Groceries

Tips and Tricks to Trim your Food and Grocery Bill

Sep 29, 2008 Melissa Parris

With the cost of living steadily on the rise, almost everyone is feeling the crucial current condition of the economy.

With a just a few minutes per week of super-easy planning, combined with smart-shopping, you can save countless dollars on your grocery bill. By following a few simple guidelines you can have your family on the fast-track to savings in no time!

• Weekly meal planning - Consistently set aside a few minutes on a particular day of every week to plan the meals that your family will eat for the week. Make sure to take into consideration breakfasts, lunches, dinners, snacks, and drinks, too. This technique will help you to then make a very specific grocery shopping list of the exact ingredients that you need to create the meals for the week, and will also help to keep you on track in the grocery store. There are many meal planning charts available online for you to print out and use.

• Keep a magnetic note pad on your refrigerator to write down anything in the fridge or pantry that you run out of, as soon it occurs. This easy yet effective trick will keep you from fumbling through the refrigerator when it comes time to go grocery shopping. Everything you need will be at your fingertips!
• Don’t go grocery shopping when you’re hungry! Being hungry in the grocery store is like letting a little kid loose in a candy store. You may not realize it, but you are far more likely to stray away from your grocery list if you feel hungry, as opposed going into the store with a little food in your stomach.
• Use coupons and shopper loyalty programs - Clipping coupons has always been a great money saving tactic. Nowadays stores have implemented even better programs to retain shoppers. Most chain stores offer money-saving programs for frequent shoppers. Some examples are coupon matching programs and shopper loyalty programs, and some stores will even send you coupons in the mail or online (to print out) if you are a member of their programs. If you frequently return to shop at the same store for most of your groceries, ask about these programs to save even more money. Don’t forget to ask your pharmacy about similar programs that they may also offer.
• Buy store brands or generic brands instead of name brands when possible- When you are shopping for your groceries keep an eye out for the store brands and generic brands. Not every single product on your list will be available in a low cost version, but most of your items should be available for sale in the form of a generic or store brand. These lower cost alternatives are virtually the same exact thing as their name brand counterparts, so try to substitute these whenever possible, and watch the savings add up.
• Do some of your shopping at a “dollar store”- Many dollar stores offer more than just ceramic figurines and cheap picture frames. So many people never have realized that dollar stores offer household necessities (often brand name) such as paper plates, soap, toothpaste, household cleaners and even laundry detergent. Make sure that you are at a true dollar store, where everything is only one dollar. Sometimes dollar stores offer items for three or five dollars, for example, so make sure to pay attention to what you are putting in your cart. Savings are sure to come quickly if you try this trick. Instead of paying, for example, almost $4.99 for a tube of toothpaste at a chain store, you will only pay $1.
• Buy in Bulk.

The copyright of the article How to Save Money on Food and Groceries in Home Management is owned by Melissa Parris. Permission to republish How to Save Money on Food and Groceries in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Food at Supermarket

Grocery Cart