10 Tips to Save Money at the Grocery Store

1. Gotta Have a List

I remember my single days when I would go to the grocery and come home with maraschino cherries, beef jerky, olives, tooth picks, bag of potatoes, and a box of corn flakes. I would get home and realize that I still have ZERO ingredients for a “real” meal and just pick up the phone and order a pizza. Just make a dam list during the week as you run out of things. Then if you want to plan some meals just make sure you have the ingredients, if you don’t, barter with your neighbors.

2. Shop Alone

Call at least a week ahead of time and rent out the entire grocery store. Not but seriously, try and shop by your lonesome as you’ll be less distracted and less tempted to buy those white Oreo cookies your “dependents” have been asking, I mean begging for. If you must shop with the kids see, Grocery Shopping With Kids: A Dad’s Perspective.

3. Shop Store Brands

The quality of most store brands has really been increasing the last few years, this is especially true with the Costco Kirkland brand. In most cases you’ll never know the difference. I actually like the store brand cottage cheese better than the name brand from our local Winco grocery store. Yes I like cottage cheese, and no, I am not 85 years old.

4. Don’t Shop When Hungry

Self explanatory. If you’re hungry you may very well come home with the following: pre-made Jello cups, Jello pudding pops, the large red vines bag, Drumsticks, 3 frozen Sara Lee pies, and Entenmann’s doughnuts. If you have 4 of these currently in your kitchen take a pic and send it to me, I’ll send you a prize!

5. Plan One Large-Ass Trip

Save money on gas and time by not going every day or two. By reducing the frequency of trips to the grocery store you also reduce the amount of temptation created. If you don’t want to bust your grocery budget then stay out of the store. You can’t spend if you ain’t there. You’ll never spend money on groceries if you never eat. OK, I’ll stop now.

6. Use Manufacturer Coupons

The key to clipping coupons is to only clip coupons on things you would have bought anyways. If you start buying processed food and junk food just because you happen to have a coupon you are doing yourself a dis-service, both financially and health wise. If you are thinking of becoming an extreme couponer see 5 Reasons TLC’s Extreme Couponing is Extremely Lame.

7. Walk Quickly by the Free Samples

You do realize why those people are there giving out free samples, right? They are NOT there to help you save money and they are NOT there to help you make good buying choices. There sole reason for existing is to get you to buy crap you don’t need. Companies know when they get you to touch, smell, lick, and ingest their products they have won. Many will make the impulse purchase.

8. Running In For Milk and Eggs? Try This Tip

Don’t grab a cart or basket. Carry your milk and eggs in your hands. That way you won’t be tempted to throw impulse purchases into your cart. You can’t buy what you can’t carry. A related tip, try not to shop with cargo pants or parachute pants from the 1990′s. M.C. Hammer could have easily stuffed a cart full of groceries into his drawers.

9. Do NOT Be Brand Loyal

When you get caught up in specific brands you tend to neglect pricing. I realize some brands are non-negotiable. For example, somebody that likes Best Foods mayo is not going to buy Miracle Whip just to save .50 cents. But when brand is not a big deal, always opt for the best value, even if that means buying generic. You never know, you may actually like the cheaper brand better.

10. Double Check your Receipt

Make sure your items were scanned correctly. Make sure all your coupons were accounted for. I have lost count of the number of times that sale items did not ring up correctly.  After you are handed your receipt, step to the side so the cashier can start with the next customer. If you notice an error kindly ask the cashier for clarification. If the store is completely swamped, and your cashier is frantically trying to keep up, try the customer service desk at the front of the store. It’s your money so make sure you get what you deserve.

Any tips I may have missed? Looking forward to your comments.

4 Responses to “10 Tips to Save Money at the Grocery Store”

1. John @ Frugal Rules on January 11th, 2013 10:37 am

   Great tips! We just implemented #5, to a certain extent, last year. As opposed to going once a week we now go once every 10-11 days. It has saved us a good chunk of money plus it has helped out a ton in terms of cutting down on food waste.
   John @ Frugal Rules recently posted…Frugal Friday: Posts That Ruled This Week, College Football is Over Edition

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2. Kyle on January 11th, 2013 10:41 am

   Hey John – Speaking of food waste, I should have included buying a deep freeze into this post. We have one and use it to stock up on meats when they are on sale. We also use it to store bread as it lasts a lot longer in the freezer.

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3. Kim@Eyesonthedollar on January 12th, 2013 4:47 pm

   #5 and #8 have been especially helpful to me. You don’t spend money if you aren’t in the store.
   Kim@Eyesonthedollar recently posted…10 Step Program For Getting Out of Debt

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4. Miss T @ Prairie Eco-Thrifter on January 13th, 2013 1:28 pm

   Great tips. We do all of these. I love only having to shop twice a month. It saves so much time. It works great with our meal planning too.
   Miss T @ Prairie Eco-Thrifter recently posted…Friday Links – Too Swamped Edition

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