Saving money at the grocery store

Shopping for food and daily essentials can be daunting. Especially when you’re swiping that credit card to pay for a cart full of groceries ringing up for more than $100, each time you shop. So, let’s find ways to cut that bill in half, at least!

Make a list:
You’ve heard it over and over again. Stick to your list and avoid picking up those extra items you don’t need. Making a list makes you accountable and helps you stay on budget.

Look at Circulars/Weekly Deals:
Yeah, it seems 20th century to be looking through newspaper circulars to find what’s on sale. But grocery stores still rely on circulars to tell you what items they’re slashing down in prices that week. They’re also found online at each store’s websites, and many have phone apps to take it on the go. Good sales are those that mark down prices. For example, a gallon of milk can run around $3, but on a weekly sale, you can find it for less than $2. Shopping for items that are on sale can help you spend less.

Combine sales with savings:
Now that you’ve found the best deals at your favorite grocery store, combine those lower prices with savings tools. Coupons are used now more than ever. You can clip them or load them on to your loyalty-store card online, or from your phone, and they’ll show up at checkout when you swipe your card. Many stores will not only subtract coupon discounts, they’ll also match or add on to that discount.

For example, Fry’s stores in Arizona will take any coupon worth less than $1 at $1. Each store has different rules for use of coupons and they could change without warning, so check their policy before you head to the store.

Buy seasonal items:
Sales come and go, but with some order. Some foods and products go on sale only during certain parts of the year, while others every few months. For example, during the holidays, chocolates, decorations and pastries are normally cheaper. During the summer, fruits, like berries and grapes, are more abundant and so they go on sale more. Being versatile on what foods to get can save you money.

Buys in bulk:
If you like a specific brand of pasta sauce, and chances are you’ll cook spaghetti throughout the year, buy in bulk when it goes on sale. That way when the sale is over you’ll already have a stock you can rely on until the time the sale rolls out again. I’m not talking about buying 50 bottles of pasta sauce. But instead of buying two or three to last you a meal or two, take advantage of when they go on sale and get 10 instead. That way, if after that first meal or two you’re out of pasta sauce, you don’t end up paying full price on the next bottle, you’ll already have extras from when it went on sale.

Generally, sales rotate every three months. Having a three-month supply of items can be helpful. Also, freezing foods that you buy in bulk can help up maintain those extra items you buy until you need to use them.

Technology is your friend:
So it all sounds great right? Clip coupons, sort through circulars. But, who has the time to do all that?

There’s plenty of resources that can speed up the process. My favorite website is GrocerySmarts.com. It puts together all the stores’ circulars in whichever state you live and it puts it in columns with prices and what coupons are available for each item for extra savings. Grocery stores now let you load coupons to your loyalty card through their website. And they remember what you buy. Safeway, for example, keeps track of what you like to get with their “Just for U” rewards program. They give you exclusive savings to things you buy the most using your store card.

Overall, the key to saving at the grocery store is to prep before you go. Having a plan, a list and a process can keep you from being distracted and buy those cookies you really didn’t want nor need to buy, at full price. And, take it slow. Checking out at the register doesn’t need to be an episode out of TLC’s Extreme Couponing.