How I Keep My Grocery Bill Down

It never fails. Every time I go to the grocery store, I'm shocked by the high prices of food. It isn't that I begrudge the farmers, ranchers, truckers, and grocery staff a decent living, but not at the expense of me only being able to afford dry cereal and canned tune fish. In order not to give into the temptation of having a shouting match with the store personnel, I developed some strategies to help lower my grocery bill.

Make That List
Sure, you make at that grocery list almost every single time, but how are you making it out? I start off by having a basic list of what will be bought each week no matter what. This includes things like milk, bread, and certain produce items. Second, I take my pencil and paper into the kitchen, open up each cupboard, and move the cans, boxes, and packages of food so that I can really see what I have and what the amounts in each container is. Whatever I'm low on or out of is written down. I do this with the refrigerator too. After doing the inventory, I get out my cookbooks so that I can figure out what I'll need to make meals for the next eight days. Why eight days? This way I'm planning for the unexpected circumstance that may pop up. I add what I will need that already isn't on the list. I then review the list and omit items that I know I won't be using in the next eight days.

Snip And Use Those Coupons
Before the age of computers, the best place to find grocery coupons was in the magazines like Family Circle, Woman's Day, and Lady's Home Journal. You can still find coupons within their pages but there isn't as many. I don't even buy those magazines anymore. The cost just isn't in my budget. Instead, I get those same coupons on the Internet. The websites I use most are Coupons.com, EverSave, and GroceryCoupons.com. You can find plenty of other places online that have coupons just by doing a Google search on the phrase, "grocery coupons". I also make sure to look at the grocery ads in the local paper because often there are coupons just for the particular store I shop at. Another place you may find coupons is at the grocery store. The one I usually shop at has a basket where people can trade their coupons for ones of the same value but a different product. And don't miss out on the discounts associated with the store card! I can usually shave $7 to $15 off my grocery bill using coupons and the store card.

Shop For What You Need
Most grocery stores have their produce at one end, there bakery goods at the other end, their meats along the back of the store, the frozen items in the middle, and everything else fills in between these things. I plan my course so that I am usually bypassing the aisle where the cake mixes are, the greeting cards are displayed, and where I would find the throwaway baking tins. These aisles are distractions and hold items that are not usually on my list so, therefore, I will not be buying them. As I walk down the aisles, I have my coupons in front of me so that I can associate each one with what I'm putting in my cart. This helps avoid some of the confusion that may occur at the checkout stand. I've gotten to know what brands are cheaper and which brands aren't very good quality. Nevertheless, I do scout the lower shelves for bargains, especially for those items I don't buy every week. In addition, most grocery stores have an isle where they display staple food items that they are trying to sell fast due to overstocking or the expiration date.

Pay Attention At The Checkout Stand
The checkers usually do an outstanding job but that doesn't mean that they can't or won't make a mistake. The scanner can also mess up. Pay attention! I also make sure to give the checker my coupons and store card before he or she starts moving the items over the scanner. Some stores have a rule about that. Does yours? The last thing I do before I leave the store is I check my receipt. After all, I can make the mistake of letting one of the checker's mistakes get by me.

I can usually walk out of the grocery store with five paper bags of groceries for under $100. In this day and age, I feel that I'm doing rather well with this.