Easy Ways to Save Money on Groceries

During times of economic crisis, like we are facing now, people naturally begin to look for ways to save money.  If you’re looking at your family budget, one of the places you may look to trim down is the grocery bill.  The great thing is, you don’t need to sacrifice quantity, nutrition, or taste to save money on the food you buy for you and your family.

There are a few different avenues you can look to when saving money on your grocery bill.  The first consideration is the places you choose to buy your groceries.  It’s no secret that some grocery stores are simply more expensive than others.  Most people start by choosing one of the ‘big box’ grocery stores such as Costco, Wal-Mart, Smart & Final, and Sams Club.  Buying in bulk can shave off a good 20% on your grocery bill if you do it wisely.  By ‘wisely’ I mean, stick to your shopping list and try not to get distracted when you’re shopping .

Some people choose not to shop in these types of stores for personal reasons.  They range from not liking the crowds to not agreeing with some of the company policies.  I can respect that.  If one store’s principles do not agree with you, try one of the others. And shopping at odd hours can help any problems you may have with large crowds.  Since many of these stores are open 24 hours a day, being creative about when you shop is easy.

What you buy is just as important as where you buy it.  Take a good honest look in your fridge and in your pantry and you might be surprised at the many not necessarily nutritious, non-essential food and drink products you’re purchasing.  Many people have a soda addiction, for some it’s those yummy sugar cereals, and then there are those who need their evening bowl of ice cream (ok, ok, I admit it - I love ice cream!).

Take this opportunity to save money and improve your health. I’m certainly not saying you need to deny yourself those indulgences - just purchase them in moderation. Instead of  four boxes of cereal per month, how about two or three?  And instead of a half quart of wine per person per day, maybe you can reduce that to a couple of glasses in the evening.

When you add up these little reductions over time they add up to a lot over time. A dollar here and there, multiplied by a few hundred items per month, totals up to over two thousand dollars you will save over the course of a year. During these tough times, that’s nothing to sneeze at!

Another traditional way to save is by using coupons. Once thing you should know is that you don’t have to just clip coupons out of the Sunday paper anymore. These days, you often get handed coupons from the store upon checkout. Be sure you look at those and save the ones you can use for next time. Plus, thanks to the Internet, there are coupon websites like Coupons.com that allow you to print coupons right from your computer.

Coupons can save you a lot of money on your grocery bill when you use a good strategy. Here’s my personal strategy: Make your shopping list and hop on Coupon.com to see if there are any coupons for the items on your list. Then, when you’re at the store, check your coupons for the savings to make sure that there isn’t already a cheaper alternative (sometimes there is). And remember, don’t buy something you have a coupon for just because you have a coupon. Stick to your list!

The thing you want to remember is to be creative, explore, be flexible, and change those old habits. It sometimes takes changing your routine and ditching a long standing habit to fatten your wallet.

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