What are the best ways to save money on groceries?

Answer 1

Both of the previous answers are good to do ( getting Sunday paper, clipping coupons, making a list & sticking with it ), but I'd like to add a couple more ideas for you.

1. Only grocery shop every 2 or 3 weeks - you'll
spend less than going every week. (i.e. If your
weekly grocery bill is $130 then you'd spend
$390 shopping every week. If you only shop
once over that 3 weeks you'll spend $320.)

2. Buy in bulk to pay less per pound on items you
can freeze or store for long periods of time. You
can break down the packages once you get home
into the size you will use the item in, then store it;
or cook up large amounts of food, then freeze the
meals to defrost later.

3. Don't shop for food when you're hungry or craving
a certain type of food to eat.

4. Even if you're just running in for a few things you
need to tide you over until your big shopping trip,
use coupons & check ads.

This works for me. I cut 28% off what I used to pay for groceries by doing all these things.

Answer 2

These are my best ways.
1. Make a List...keeps you on track and makes it easier to pass up things you don't need.
2. Cut coupons...some places have double coupons.
3. Buy off or generic brands...for example: Wal-Mart generic brand great value are surplus of name brands which means you get the same product for less.
4. Don't take the children...they will run up your bill faster than anything. "I want this, I want that...blahblahblah"
5. Set a time limit...gets you through the store quickly. No time to browse, no unintended purchases.
6. Pay no attention to the things around the counter. Stay focused on the task at hand.
7. Don't pay for groceries with a credit card. Paying 12 to 19% interest is just nuts.

Hope this helps.

Answer 3

I totally agree with the answers above me, but I live in Australia where we don't have coupons to clip. We do have weekly specials at the different supermarkets which are the same thing, I guess. For instance, we use a lot of olive oil. We buy it in four litre cans and so we buy three or four at a time. They are usually half price. It is usually on a "special" somewhere.

Our main expense is dog and cat food. Because if they like what they eat today, you can bet they don't like it tomorrow so we have to buy different varieties. And they can tell the difference between brands, I swear they can!

What we personally do is just do one HUGE shopping trip every five or six weeks- it can go up to $600 but that's it - if it runs out, stiff luck.

We also buy the largest size of everything or bulk as it does same money in the longrun.

I know that most no-name products are well known products with a plain label. And they taste the same as well known products.

Answer 4

Read the grocery ads in the newspaper. Buy on sale. Use dicount coupons. Never buy anything on impulse. Only buy items you know you will use. Avoid pre-packaged meals that come in boxes or are sold in the freezer case. Don't buy baked goods from the bakery. Buy store brands instead of national brands. Check out the discount bin. Avoid boxed cereals. Mak oatmeal instead. Cosider every item you pick up in the store as (do I really need this). Avoid sugary snack stuff. It's expensive and besides it's noy good for you. Buy more chicken and turkey, It's generally less expensive than red meat. Well, I could go on forever vut you've got the idea now. Excuse typos, please.

Answer 5

By far the biggest cost of groceries is convenience. You can save a lot of money if you are willing and able to do more of the work yourself. For instance:

Buy whole chickens on sale and learn to cut them up yourself.
Buy whole vegetables and cut them up for salads instead of buying bagged salad.
Avoid the freezer and prepackaged sections of the store entirely if you can.
Buy items on sale and in bulk. Watch for case-lot sales of foods you actually use.
Cook from scratch. Homemade bread, pies, cookies, even candies are much cheaper than store bought.
Once you are doing all you can for yourself, the other ideas like clipping coupons can help even more. Just don't buy any "convenience" foods just because you have a coupon for it or it comes on sale!
Be careful buying fresh items in bulk that need to be re-packaged before storing. Be sure to account for the added cost of the material you need to buy to do that!

Bert

Answer 6

Make 2 weeks worth of menus, breakfast, lunch and dinner for all 14 days. Make a list of ingredients needed for those menus. Check the pantry and fridge. Write a list of all things needed to make the menus you will need from store. Purchase at different stores according to sales and coupons.

At home,, divide up the foods into baggies, chopping and measuring. label each one according to the menu. Store in fridge or freezer .

Kill anyone who messes up and eats something that you needed for the menus. cook only according to preplanned menus.

Answer 7

Buy the sunday paper and clip coupons. Also, make a list of exactly what you want to get and take it to the store with you. Then you will avoid impulse buys.

Answer 8

clip and use coupons