To say times are tough is an understatement. Many people are looking to save money any way they can. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2007, the average American consumer unit spent a total of $49,638 and out of this amount, 12.4% was spent on groceries. That's a whopping $6,155 or $513 a month. Furthermore, the increase in spending for food rose 5.1% in 2008. Considering the amount the average American spends on food, how to cut your grocery bill is important. If you are diligent, it could result in substantial savings.

One way to cut your grocery bill is to buy foods when they are in season or on sale because of the holidays,

• January - turkey, apples, grapefruit, oranges, pears, soda, diet foods, frozen finger foods
• February - Valentine's Day candy, chocolate, seafood, oatmeal
• March - frozen vegetables, meats, breakfast items, TV dinners
• April - eggs, brocolli, cauliflower, easter candy, ham, cheese, mustard, ready-made dougn, pie crusts, dinner rolls, frozen pies, cake mix, cake frosting
• May - Soda, condiments, hotdogs, hamburgers. buns, asparagus, pineapple, chips, ice-cream, popsicles, bottled water
• June - dairy products, tomatoes, ice-cream, popsicles, frozen pies, soda, bottled water
• July - strawberries, raspberies, blueberries, corn, cherries, squash, watermelons, cantalopes, tomatoes, plums, peaches, nectarines, hot dogs, ground beef, condiments, salad dressing, chips, bottled water, tea bags and instant tea,
• August - Squash, green peppers, salad fixings, berries, apples, melons, peaches, apricots, fresh fruit, cereal, breakfast bars, peanut butter, jelly, lunch meat, american cheese, yogurt, chips, snack cakes, cookies
• September - apples, broccoli, cauliflower, canned goods, broth, soups, drink boxes, soda, bottled water, ground beef, hot dogs, hamburger and hotdog buns, frozen pies
• October, pumpkins, cranberries, grapes, oranges, sweet potatoes, yams, canned goods, dried fruits, soups, broth
• November - Turkey, sweet potatoes, yams, post-Halloween candy, butter, cheese, baking supplies, pie crusts, ready-made dough, dinner rolls, frozen pies, cake mixes, frostings, mashmallows, pie fillings, spices, nuts
• December - Oranges, apples, grapefruit, ham, butter, cheese, baking supplies, dinner rolls, cake mix, frosting, frozen pies, pie crusts, dried fruits, nuts, oatmeal, soda, spices, refrigerator cookie dough

Buying groceries in bulk quantities can save you money. However, there are certain factors you should consider first.

• Will you use it up before it goes bad?
• Do you have the space to store the extra food? If you don't have very much space or it will take you longer than six months to use up, you may want to pass on it.
• Compare unit prices. Sometimes, it's not cheaper to buy the bigger packages, especially if there is a sale.

Many shoppers swear by coupons. Avid coupons clippers will tell you that you can save more money buying name brands with a coupon in comparison to store brands. Is this true? From my experience, it is generally cheaper to buy a store brand than a name brand with a coupon. However, there are variables.

Do any of your local stores offer double coupons? If so, there may be a price advantage to using coupons with a name brand. Furthermore, if you can combine a coupon with a sale's price, it can also be cheaper to use coupons with name brands. Therefore, you will have to think about your shopping style. If you watch store sales and don't mind clipping coupons, it may save you money. However, if you don't want to bother with coupons, watching sales, and going from store to store to take advantage of the sales, it is easier to buy the store brand. If for some reason you don't like the store brand, by all means, use coupons with the name brand.

As expensive as food is, it's a shame to let it go waste. Leftovers can be frozen or used in other recipes to save money.

• Use leftover vegatables and meat in stir fries, casseroles, omelets, soup, as salad toppings, or anything else you can think of.
• Save leftover vegetables in freezer containers for soups or other recipes. One suggestion I saw on the net was to freeze small amounts of left over vegetables in ice cube trays. After they have frozen, store all the frozen vegetabe cubes in a zip lock bag.
• Freeze leftover meat or use in sandwich spreads the next day.
• Use leftover bones to make soup stock.
• Blenderize fruit that won't last too much longer and mix it with fruit juice. Freeze it to use as fruit popsicles or use in fruit smoothies.
• Use extra mashed potatoes for potato pancakes.

Meat can be the most expensive part of a food budget. Therefore, if you can cut corners here, it can save you a significant amount of money. The following are some cost-saving tips in the meat budget.

• You can buy cheaper cuts of meat.
• You can buy family packs and divide them into smaller packages.
• You can buy whole chickens and cut them up and package them yourself.
• By a roast and cut your own steaks from it.
• Cut up your own stew meat.
• Use your crockpot or marinade to use tougher cuts of meat.
• Eat less meat.
• Buy it on sale.
• Buy a side of beef.
• Check out the prices at the local meat locker; they may be cheaper.
• Buy leaner hambuger. The 70% fat hamburger doesn't save you money since so much of it cooks away.
• Eat more ground turkey than hamburger. You could also mix hamburger with ground turkey.
• Stretch your meat with fillers. For instance, if your making hamburgers, add cracker crumbs.
• If your spouse or significant other likes to fish or hunt, you can supplement your groceries with fish and wild game.

• Never go the store hungry.
• Shop by yourself. Bringing the family with, especially chidren, will almost certainly raise your grocery bill.
• Minimize convenience foods. You pay extra for this. Use your crockpot more or learn to make your own convenience foods.
• Make a weekly menu. This helps you spend less on impulse purchases. More than half of all grocery purchases are unplanned.
• Don't look at things you don't need.
• If you're going in the grocery store for one or two things, don't grab a grocery store cart. It will encourage you to purchase items you don't need.
• Look at the grocery store circulars before you leave so you can find out what is on sale.
• Rather than make a lot of small trips to the store, do one or two big shopping trips, it will prevent you from buying more impulse purchases.
• Track prices. Take a little notebook to the store with you, and write down sale's prices of products you frequently use. By doing this, you will know a good sale's price from a bad one.
• Keep a grocery list of the items you frequently buy and update it each time before you go to the store. By doing this, you won't buy groceries you already have in stock.
• Ask for price matches when available. For instance, Walmart will match other grocery store's sales.
• If you don't have a freezer and you can afford it, buy a freezer. This will enable you to stock up on sales.

If you're low income, you may qualify for food assistance. To qualify for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programs (SNAP) or more commonly called food stamps, you need to meet certain income guidelines. For a one-person household in 2009, you can make no more than $1,174 gross or $903 net and have no more than $2000 in countable resources. One common myth about food stamps is that you cannot receive them if you're homeless, this is untrue. To find out more about the food stamp program, click here. In addition to food stamps, there are usually food pantries and other organizations that can assist with groceries.

Groceries continue to go up and up. In 1998, the average annual expenditure for food for a household was $3,748. In 2008, it was $6,443. That is almost a 72% increase. Therefore, learning how to cut your grocery bill will save you now and years into the future. By living frugally, it will release money for other uses.