How to Save Money on Groceries

Guide Note Grocery shopping can be an expensive task, but it's something you have to do. As with any shopping experience, though, there are plenty of things you can do to reduce your bill. By following some of the simple steps on this page and keeping a close eye on your purchases and purchasing habits, you'll find lots of innovative solutions to the problem of how to save money on groceries.

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Be Prepared
• Shop Wisely
• After the Store
• Other Tips
• Resources on How to Save Money on Groceries

• By Jason W

Introduction

Don't let a trip to the supermarket intimidate you... or your wallet. (Creative Commons photo by Simon Shek)

• Whether it was that expensive (but tasty) steak, that bag of chips you just had to have, or even a staple like detergent or toilet paper, we've all spent more than we intended at the grocery store at one time or another. Grocery shopping is an unavoidable situation—after all, you have to buy groceries—but the constant drain on your bank account can be depressing at best and fiscally dangerous at worst.

• Fortunately, ever since there have been grocery stores, people have been looking for ways to spend less money while shopping at them. With a little preparation, a few coupons, and one or two key strategies, you can cut down on your bill at the supermarket. There are a lot of good tips out there and, hopefully, you'll find a few here that will suit your tastes and budget.

Be Prepared

• Saving money at the grocery store begins before you even set foot outside your home or get in the car. A little pre-trip preparation can go a long way toward making sure your grocery bill doesn't get out of hand.

1. Scour the newspapers and flyers you get in the mail for sales announcements and coupons. Stick to coupons for items you actually need—otherwise you may end up spending even more money because of all the "money saving" coupons you clipped.
2. Make a list of what you need and stick to it when you go shopping.
3. Don't shop when you're hungry. Then everything looks good and you're likely to buy things you don't really need.
4. Plan to take trips at certain times, like "Thursday evening" or "Saturday afternoon." This will save time and gas, and, if you'll be less likely to make "mini-trips" for impulse buys.
5. Go it alone. The fewer people you have with you (especially children), the less you'll be tempted or coerced into buying things that are too expensive or you don't need.
6. Shop around. If you have two or more grocery stores relatively close by, don't be afraid to take a little extra time to go to more than one if there's a good deal elsewhere. And avoid shopping at convenience stores!

Shop Wisely

Buying canned items in bulk can help you really capitalize on a deal. (Creative Commons photo by Christian Razukas)

• Not all stores and products are created equal. Once you're there and pushing the cart around, you can find bargains down each aisle if you know where to look and how to properly judge each product's true value.

1. Pick up the store's in-store flyer to catch any deals or coupons you might have missed.
2. Sign up for your store's discount card, if it offers one. In most stores, you'll only get the best deals if you use their discount card. (Cards aren't without some controversy, however, as you're sacrificing some of your privacy about your purchases to get the store's discounts.)
3. Try different brands. Generic or store-brand items typically cost less than big-name brand items and offer similar quality.
4. The most expensive brand-name items are typically located at eye level, to make them more available to shoppers. To find the best bargains you'll have to literally search high and low.
5. Even if you stick to name brands, you can still save by rotating your tastes among different brands, buying whatever's on sale. Don't be afraid to sample a new brand that's on sale—you might find something you like!
6. When you find a deal, especially on non-perishable items, buy in bulk.
7. For perishable items, such as meats, stores typically mark them down when they're close to their sell-by date. Buy them up and prepare them that night or the next or freeze them.
8. Avoid pre-made meals, like TV dinners. They might make for a convenient meal for the kids from time to time, but you're better off (both financially and health-wise) preparing similar meals yourself.
9. Double-check your receipt. If your store has a digital display at the checkout line, you can keep track of each purchase as the cashier scans it. If you find an error, bring it up immediately or, if you've already checked out, take it up at the customer-service desk. Many stores will reimburse you partially or fully for a mis-priced item.

Do the Math

• You don't need to have a college degree or know differential calculus to find the best deals. Sometimes the best savings can be obscured through "two for the price of one" or "buy three, get one free" offers, but a little number-crunching can go a long way toward reducing the most important number of all: the one at the bottom of your receipt.

1. For items that are typically packaged in multiples (such as garbage bags or paper towels), divide the price by the number of items.
   • For example, $3 for four rolls of paper towels works out to $3/4 = 75 cents per roll. $6 for 10 rolls works out to $6/10 = 60 cents per roll.
2. For items packaged by weight or volume, such as meats or vegetables, divide the cost by a whatever unit of measurement (typically gallons or fluid ounces for liquids and ounces or pounds for other products) is used.
   • For example, $2.19 for a four-pound bag of sugar comes out to $2.19/4 = 54.75 cents per pound. $3.50 for a 13.25-ounce bag of potato chips comes out to $3.5/13.25 = 26.4 cents per ounce.
3. "Buy one, get one free" or "X for $Y" deals work the same way. Take the number of items you're getting and divide by their total price.
   • For example, if the deal is "Five cans of corn for $4," divide the price ($4) by the number of cans (five): $4/5 = 80 cents each.
4. Compare prices across brands to find the least expensive item. In the paper-towel example, above, for instance, $6 for 10 rolls is cheaper, in the long run, than $3 for four rolls, even though the raw price is twice as high.

After the Store

• Once you've got everything tucked away in the cupboard, fridge, or freezer, it's time to take another look at what you bought, how much you paid, and how you might be able to save more the next time you go out for shopping.
• Keep a journal or notebook of what you buy, where you buy it, and how much you pay for it. The lower a sale price or a similar product from a different brand, compared to your "standard" price, the greater your savings. If you don't want to do a lot of bookkeeping, you can still save money by keeping mental track of your most frequent purchases, like "$4 for a gallon of milk."

Other Tips

Fresh veggies are healthy and can save you money. (Creative Commons photo by Karin Dalziel)

• There's more to saving on food than just finding sales, clipping coupons, and keeping good records of your purchasing habits. Even better, saving money can be good for you, too!

1. Avoid excessive trips to restaurants. The food you get at a restaurant is almost always going to be more expensive than what you'd pay to prepare a similar meal at home.
2. Fresh fruits and vegetables are often cheaper than meats, processed food, and other snacks, not to mention healthier.
3. Avoid impulse buys, like candy and magazines. If you have a list, stick to it unless you find something you really need (or something you forgot) at a really good price.
4. The grocery store isn't the only place to buy food. You can find many items at big-box retailers like Target and Wal-mart, often at lower prices than at your local grocery store.

• Finally, don't be afraid to treat yourself every once in a while. Maybe you want to buy the more expensive brand of chips or feel like having steak tonight. As long as you keep such splurges a relatively infrequent experience, you can still save in the long run without feeling like a pauper.

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Resources for How to Save Money on Groceries

• Get Rich Slowly: Save on Groceries with 'Strike-Point Shopping' (July 24, 2007)
• About.com: Ten Grocery Shopping Tips  
• Bankrate.com: 20 Ways to Save on Groceries
• The Bargainist: 23 Ways to Save on Groceries
• My Lifetime: Great Ways to Save on Groceries
• The Simple Dollar: Five Minute Finances: Make a Grocery List (February 23, 2007)
• About.com: The Truth Behind Grocery Store Discount Cards  
• Get Rich Slowly: Shop Around for the Lowest Price (March 19, 2007)
• The Simple Mom: Simple Ways to Save on Groceries (May 27, 2007)
• Associated Content: Tips to Avoid Impulse Buying at the Grocery Store  
• USA Today: For Some, the Net Turns Grocery Savings Into a Science (February 11, 2005)  

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