How do you save money on groceries?

Question

I've found that buying frozen juice instead of bottled, cube butter instead of the tubs, powdered laundry soap instead of liquid are all much cheaper ways of buying these products. Do you have any others?

Answer 1

Sam's Club can save you money if you have a big family. Not on ALL things though. You really have to look at how much you are paying per item, when buying bulk. Sometimes you can get a better deal somewhere else. (Walmart's 10lb bag of sugar is cheaper)

Shopping for the staples (bread, sugar, eggs, milk, canned goods, etc) at a store like Aldi's can save you a great deal of money. We used to do that and then get the name brand stuff we wanted at Meijer's.

Buying a WHOLE chicken and cutting it up yourself, will save you a ton of money. You can go to this site; http://home.howstuffworks.com/how-to-cut-chicken-cooking1.htm

to see how to cut up a whole chicken. This is a huge way to save money. When you buy already cutup chicken breasts that have been skinned. The money you are forking out is basically for having them do all the processing for you. It is so much cheaper to do it at home. Plus you can use the backbone for stock for soups and sauces. I usually freeze mine until I am ready to make some chicken noodle soup or something.

Also, do not shop when you are hungry and when you do not have a list. You are more likely to buy things that you do not need. (Impulse buying). And just because something is on the end cap at the store, DOES NOT MEAN IT IS ON SALE. Sometimes items are placed there that are not on sale, knowing people are more likely to buy them since they assume end cap=sale items. Not true!

Stocking up on staples (and items that are not perishable) when they are on sale (buying 2-3 instead of 1) will save you money. You won't be getting those items every week (or when you shop). If you get a great stockpile of those items going, you should only be running to the store for perishables and produce.

http://www.thegrocerygame.com is a great way to help you save money and work on that stockpile.

Another thing is freezing. Make meals ahead of time and freeze them. Don't buy canned spaghetti sauce, buy tomato sauce, tomato paste, and diced tomatoes instead. Use that to make your own sauce. Make a bunch and freeze it in meal sized containers. When you need sauce, just grab out a contained the night before and thaw it.

Answer 2

Coupons are good if you're careful to only use them on products you already buy. Too many times the store brand is still cheaper even if you have a coupon for a brand name product. I make a small inventory of what I have at home to use and then look at the ad for my favorite store. I pick out a few great deals and then use the two lists to plan a menu for the week. Then I compile a list of what I will need to make all those meals and go to the store. It takes an hour sometimes to do all that listing but I save time by only going to the store once and since I'm only there once I only have one chance a week to pick up a few extra "great deals" so I end up saving money by lowering my impulse buying.

I also find that the stores cycle their great deals on and off so if I can do a little loading up when something is on sale I can hold off on buying it again until it's on sale again. My husband was aghast when I brought home 12 jars of peanut butter once but It was only $10. Those small jars are quite often cheaper than the "economy" size ones! Peanut butter keeps well and we use it a lot. I didn't have to buy it for $1.50 a jar for 6 months!

Answer 3

Buy in Bulk. I almost never buy anything on an 'as need' basis. Everything is either frozen or canned.

I also have a huge garden in the summer, so the majority of my veggies are canned or frozen. I can't tell you the last time I opened a metal can of beans, or tomato. I just pull them out of the freezer and pop them into the microwave, or put them directly into my crock pot.

Another way to save money at the grocery store is to pre-make dinners. If I'm making pasta one night, I'll make extra sauce and meat. Use what I need, and then I have it for next time - quick and easy - no need to run to the store to 'find something for dinner'.

Answer 4

Having just one retailer inside 25M is somewhat of a challenge. This takes the sting out.. But there are nonetheless a number of things that you are able to do. 1) do not buy all set or proceed meals. Attempt to buy simply general gadgets and prepare dinner your self. 2) purchase Gross. I comprehend that you do not like to purchase more than 1 object at a time, but by way of doing so you are giving up a powerful device of shopping in massive quantities and reducing the fee per unit. Make room for a small pantry. In the long run it's going to save you some huge cash. Three) Do you use a shopping list? If no longer, utilizing it and follow IT. That will have to prevent some on impulse purchasing. 4) compile a fee record. It is a list where you list items consistent with their UNIT fee. That is the one option to understand which gadgets are rather low-priced, and which simplest seem like their inexpensive but are honestly highly-priced. 5) do not go browsing when you're hungry. This may occasionally save you on impulse purchasing. 6) do not go searching with your youngsters. Keep on my own! This will additionally save you on impulse buying. 7) Does this store elevate revenue? If this is the case purchase in this present day (by and large Tuesdays), and use the sale to replenish your pantry. Hope this helps

Answer 5

Having only one retailer inside 25M is slightly of a predicament. This takes the edge out.. But there are nonetheless a couple of matters that you'll do. one million) Don't purchase ready or continue meals. Try to shop for simply elementary models and prepare dinner your self. two) Buy Gross. I realise that you do not like to shop for greater than one million object at a time, however through doing so you're giving up a strong instrument of purchasing in colossal amounts and lowering the rate in line with unit. Make room for a small pantry. In the longer term it's going to prevent plenty of cash. three) Do you employ a searching record? If no longer, begin utilising it and STICK TO IT. That will have to prevent a few on impulse purchasing. four) Compile a fee record. it is a record in which you record models consistent with their UNIT fee. This is the one strategy to realize which models are quite low-cost, and which most effective seem like their low-cost however are honestly pricey. five) DON'T move searching whilst you are hungry. This will prevent on impulse purchasing. 6) DON'T move searching along with your youngsters. Shop on my own! This may also prevent on impulse purchasing. 7) Does this retailer bring earnings? If so purchase today (most commonly Tuesdays), and use the sale to refill your pantry. Hope this is helping

Answer 6

I agree with 'buy in bulk' answer. It pays even in a small household.
I would also like to suggest buying store-brand products. I used to NEVER do this...everything had to be a national brand until I found out that the national brands actually make the products for the store brands and allow the stores to put their lables on the items. :-) It's pretty much the same quality.
I clip coupons and try to make some food that I would normally buy boxed or canned. I.E. I've made my own salad dressing, macaroni and cheese (as opposed to buying it in the box), spaghetti sauce, etc.

Answer 7

I use thegrocerygame.com, they come up with a list every week to tell you when your local supermarkets are going to put items on sale, so you can get the best deals when using coupons. I have saved so much money since starting to follow this. It takes a couple weeks to get your coupons saved so you can follow along but once you start saving it is amazing the results. They offer a free four week trial so give it a try!

Answer 8

I like to shop at Costco's or Sam's club. Since it's bulk, it lasts longer and it's much cheaper than buying at the local supermarket.

Answer 9

I freeze EVERYTHING!!!! I buy huge packs of meat and seperate them to the right portion for our family, big can of spaghetti sauce and freeze what I don't use, etc. Freezing is good for a long time.

Answer 10

i buy family steaks and freeze then frozen vegtables and take out what will be eaten and never have left overs