What's the best way to save on groceries?

Question

Every 2 weeks I spend $250 on groceries for a family of four. That does not include bread and milk runs in between. I do not use coupons. I've tried The Grocery Game .com and it didn't do much b/c it doesn't list Walmart as one of their stores. Is this normal? How can I cut done on cost? I also don't buy name brands all the time and I look for weekly specials.

Answer 1

I buy what the store has on sale and stock up. That way when there is no reduction of price, I still have one on hand.
Know the prices; don't just buy because it's on sale. They may offer it for $1.19 one week and .80 the next. Know what you're willing to pay.
Pop goes on sale around big holidays; July 4 and Labor Day.
Use the BOGO. Buy one, get one free.
Potatoes are cheaper than boxed potatoes.
A freezer is a good investment. Bread, pizza, extra meat can be purchased ahead and stored.
Stores usually offer something for sale cheap; a loss leader. Many times it's butter, canned goods, etc. It's to get you in the store.
I buy ground beef when it's on sale and freeze in patties or smaller portions. When it's higher priced, I don't buy it.
Store brands are good in most cases.
When you make the bread/milk run, the more people you bring along, the higher the bill will be, if you give in to 'I want that'.
Also, shop the outside perimeter of the store more than the aisles. That's where the produce, meat, dairy, etc is. The processed food is in the center of the store.

Answer 2

Go to the Dollar Store or a Dollar General, believe it or not they have things like milk there and even name brand foods that are way cheaper than going to a grocery store. Try it out and see what happens. Also if it's a family of four, $250 isnt ridiculous or anything. When you go to the grocery store have every dinner planned out for that week and just buy the ingredients you will need for each dinner. Leftovers are always good too. Do the same if you pack lunches.

Answer 3

Make a meal plan for the week, then buy only the stuff needed to make said meals. Limit the amount of snackage bought. Make meals that can be stretched out, like chicken soup. Freeze leftovers, eat the left overs. Walmart's prices aren't very good anymore, find a store that has really good sales (Food Lion). Clip coupons, and if you have to, go to different stores to get the best deal on what you need.

Answer 4

I was going to suggest not buying name brands. They cost more because of all the money spent on marketing, branding and advertising - not because the product is any better. In fact, many of the private label tomato soups, for example, come from the very same processing plants as the brand name tomato soups. They just stick a different label on the can.

I know it's time-consuming, but it could be worth the effort to intensely comparison shop. Even the 'comparison shopping' competing stores do are rigged to make you assume their store has the "low prices - everyday". In fact, you can go into a store at 10:00 a.m. and see a different price than you'll see on the same item at 10:00 p.m. -RKO-

Answer 5

Go in on bulk with someone. If you buy $500 worth of groceries together and then split the purchases (mostly bulk and family pack sizes), you will save money in the long run. Also, go late at night right before the store closes to get the discounts on meat products, which are some of the most expensive items you will put in your cart. Finally, remember when you are shopping that the most marketable spots to put groceries are at eye-level. Remember to look down and up for deals.

Answer 6

Read sales ads that come in the mail and check them off on your list.We have a store called Sav-A-lot and I save $150 by going there the prices are cheap.