Smart Shopper: Save Money On Your Grocery Bill

Groceries are a necessity that can get extremely expensive if you aren't taking the time to cut corners. However, it's almost impossible to skimp on grocery money without leaving yourself short of food for the week. So how do you go about buying groceries with little or no income and still find ways to save money on grocery expenses? Here are some money saving ideas that might just allow you not only to live frugally, but also to purchase a few extra grocery needs each week. You won't have any trouble coming up short on cash again if you try these easy tricks.

The key word here is ‘need’. Be sure that you take a grocery list with you to the store that states exactly what foods you need for the week. Stick to this list. It’s important that you do not go overboard when purchasing groceries because a lot of time this is where people come up short on cash. Sticking to a pre-made grocery list helps to ensure that you get all the food items you and your family need. Estimate ahead of time how much each grocery item will cost (most of us know that a gallon of milk is around $4 and butter costs about $2 so just do the best you can). Have a total in your mind before going to the grocery store and bring only a little over that amount in cash to the store with you. This way, you won’t be tempted to go over your allotted grocery amount and you’ll save money in the process.

Check out the deals at a couple different grocery stores and subscribe to their flyers. Find out what stores are having the best deals on the groceries you normally buy and purchase them at that particular grocery store that week. Yes, this does take a little time and planning, but the money you can save is amazing. It can mean the difference between a $200 grocery bill or a $150 grocery trip. You can literally save $50 or more buy shopping at a few different grocery stores for your food items. If you sit down ahead of time and make a grocery list that includes items you want to buy from each place, you’ll really use no more time than maybe 20 minutes extra. The money you can save by shopping at a few different grocery stores is more than you realize. I have friends who taught me this and when I finally decided to shop at a few grocery stores myself, I actually saved a total of $25 in groceries that week. And we are only a family of two, so that’s quite a feat.

Yes, grocery coupons clipping can be time consuming, but is a must for anyone who wants to save money on grocery expenses. It’s amazing the amount of money you can save just by taking a few newspaper coupons to the grocery store with you. Most Sunday newspapers include a whole section of grocery coupons that can be clipped and used for a few months. If you find coupon clipping too time consuming, enlist the help of friends. Offer to clip and swap coupons with friends to save even more money and to help you use less time clipping all the coupons yourself. Most friends are happy to help another friend save money, especially if they are getting a bargain out of the deal as well. You could even have a weekly coupon party when friends get together and swap coupons for added money savings. Make a day of it and invite friends for snacks and drinks while you all clip and share coupons to help each person save money on groceries.

There are many online sites that offer printable coupons. Most grocery stores except printable coupons and you can save a pretty big amount with these types of coupons. However, unlike newspaper coupons, online printable coupons cannot be doubled, but they are usually worth $1 or more off in savings anyway. Printable coupons sites require that you download a printer file that easily transfers onto your computer. If you ever choose to stop using printable online coupons, you can simply uninstall the printer file. Printable coupons are great because they are absolutely free (even the Sunday newspaper costs at least $1.75 or more), easy to print, and accepted at almost any grocery store. Plus, there are always new coupons coming out on the web weekly and many correspond with the grocery store flyers and food items on sale. For more information on online printable coupon sites, check out the links at the end of this hub.

Sellers on eBay actually sell coupons through auctions. They are very cheap and pre-cut so there is no time to be wasted on clipping coupons to save money. I’ve purchased coupons online through eBay and got great deals! I usually pay about $2.00 and get nearly 500 coupons. That’s quite a deal considering the Sunday newspaper costs about $1.75 and I only get about 20-30 coupons I can actually use. While it may sound funny to purchase coupons from an online seller, it’s very convenient, and the coupons are shipped pretty quick. The expiration dates are always good and I’ve never not been satisfied with my purchase. Each listing tells you exactly what types of coupons are being sold, how many are in a package for sale, what the expiration dates are, and how much they cost. Shipping on coupons is almost always free since they can just be mailed out in a regular letter envelope. See the links below for more information on purchasing coupons through eBay and saving even more money on groceries.