How do you save money on your grocery bill?

My husband and I (one job, one graduate student, no kids) are trying to save some money and we also end up spending what I consider WAY too much at the supermarket. We have already cut out going to dinner and eating prepared foods. Any suggestions. |||Buy store brands. They are often manufactured at the same plant as the name brands, just with a different label.





Use the weekly specials flyer BEFORE you go to the store. Make out menus for the week, then make a complete grocery list of everything you want to buy and stick to it! Do not buy anything that is not on your list ahead of time. If you eat a little bit before you go, you will be less tempted to buy things that are not on your list.





Meat - do not buy boneless, skinless chicken. You will pay double to have someone else remove the skin and bones. It is an easy thing to learn.





BTW - just because something is on *Special* does not mean it is cheaper than usual. When I worked in the grocery store I changed the price tags on the shelf for about 9 months and was shocked to discover that some of our *specials* were actually higher price than normal.|||Thank you! I saw a lot of good advise here. I wish I had the patience for coupons, but I don't. I could probably save a lot more if i did, but as soon as I see an expiration date, its in the trash!

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|||Consider switching to store brands -- they're usually not much different than the brand names. You've already cut back on prepared foods so keep that up; the more cooking you do from scratch, the cheaper it is. (And no, a box of mac and cheese doesn't count as cooking from scratch. It takes a little more time but all you need is butter, flour, milk, cheese, pasta and basic seasonings.) Also start cooking in big batches and using your leftovers creatively.|||Living in a large city, I have a lot of options available others don't. So that said, here is what we do...





Coupons!!! Major bucks here. Our local Krogers doubles coupons up to $1, so we start here with our shopping list. We look for items already on sale to save more.





We get cleaning items at the local Dollar Store (just up the road from Krogers) and save about $10 a week there.





We visit another independent grocery store that has good deals on fresh chicken and marked down meats. Then we stop at another store that deals with outdated and "generic" brand products.





In between we hit stores like Target, WalMart and Walgreen that carries other items, but may be on sale that week.





Our big problem is finding fresh fruits/vegi's at a reasonable price.





All I can really suggest is to plan out your shopping carefully. If you are stuck with only one local grocery store that is really going to limit your options, as they have a monopoly on your neighborhood. That's why these stores are so scared to death of having a WalMart drop into their neighborhood.


|||I use a budget and try to stick with it.


I use Excel to track what I buy and after doing this for three months I then have the budget.


But I note that groceries is not household items. That is separate from food. Adding household items to groceries will give a false impression of how much you spend on food. If you kept household in the budget with food, it will be hard later to justify food at work versus bringing in your own lunch.


I also use mint.com to track after I budget and mint will email me at the end of the month/week to tell me if I am over or under my budget.





Once I track that I then start looking for better pricing. I use Costco for larger items like dinner entres where I freeze the items for later use. This way I go to the store less often, which wastes money and time.


I then go to Trader Joe's for some items and Safeway/Abertsons for others.


I also use Costco for household cleaners since I use them only once a week and a large container of such lasts longer and costs less from the normal grocery store or even Target.





planning ahead of going to the store saves money. How? by not buying on impulse, impulse will kill your budget.


good luck


tony|||Plan your weekly menu around what is on sale and use fresh seasonal fruits and vegetables. Try the certified farmers markets because produce grown locally is usually cheaper than what is in the stores. Buy in bulk because it's cheaper per pound and freeze whenever possible. Cook only what you will eat in one meal. If you make a soup or a stew, freeze what you don't eat instead of eating leftovers all week.|||Check fliers for sales (stock up on things that you use when they are on sale) and use coupons. Some stores will double coupons. Plan your meals at least a week ahead prior to shopping and make a list based on that - this helps to eliminate wasted foods. Don't shop on an empty stomach - that's a recipe for impulse purchases - stick to your list! Also - coupons can be found online. |||-coupons help a lot ... search for them online too.


-buy a food basket at the local food pantry - you'll save a ton of cash and the food will be good - and you may even try something new


-shop the ads for all your local stores and buy the items you need that are on sale at each store.





check out this article for other money saving tips at the grocery store and beyond!


http://www.ehow.com/how_4547469_save-mon鈥?/a>|||Use coupons for everything you do shopping going out to eat If you are going to buy something big price compare on different sites Keep lights turned off to save on Energy bill |||Use coupons you get in your sunday papers. You would be suprised to know how much you can save if you have 20 coupons for 20 different items. The money adds up even if one coupon is to save .50