Reduce Your Grocery Bill

Most people would love to learn ways to cut their monthly costs. Some are seeking ways to cut costs in order to pay off debts, to save for an item or a trip, or even to save for retirement or a child's college education. One of the easiest and quickest ways to cut your monthly budget costs is in your grocery bill. Often people assume that this step will be too tedious (many hours cutting coupons) or will be too difficult (buying cheaper foods and learning new ways to cook them). While some of that might be accurate, because in truth changing your eating habits and cutting coupons DOES help, it doesnt have to be that hard. Here are a few tips to help you cut costs at the grocery store. Try a few or try them all. If some of them sound too hard, just start with one or two!

Do NOT shop when you are hungry
You've probably heard that you buy more food, or make impulse decisions on food when you are hungry. Unwanted items make their way into your cart, and end up adding many extra costs to your grocery bill. Also dont take a hungry spouse, roommate, or child unless you can say NO easily!

Buy generic or Store Brands
You might be saying as you read this "but generic doesnt taste as good" or "but I can really taste the difference in Brand X and the store brand". Some of this is true, but some of it is really a mental block. A large majority of items that are sold under a brand name are also packaged in the exact same factory, just under a different label. Brand X green beans are also packaged under Sams Choice green beans. Sometimes they are of the same quality, and in some products the store brand or generic brand is a lesser quality, but still the same ingredients. For example the green beans might still contain strings that are removed for the Brand X cans. However, the taste and product are often exactly the same. If there are items that you just wont sacrifice for (many people report Ketchup is one of those items), then continue to buy that item. But if you switched your breads, canned vegetables, and many other items, you can make a large cut in your bill.
If you have an Aldi's or Save A Lot in your town, frequent those for cheaper items as well.

Plan your weekly or bi-weekly menu
This might sound like alot of effort, but in reality its not. If you poll your family on their favorite easy meals, or merely write down your meals each night, you'll start to see a trend in the meals you make the most often. Write down the ingredients to these meals and stick to it when you shop. It can take a small amount of time to plan your meals, and you'll be shopping for specific items instead of guessing what items you might need (and can't afford). Also only shop when you need to shop for these items. If you fail to plan, you will find yourself at the grocery store multiple times per week, buying more than the one item you ran into buy.
You can also use free online programs that allow you to plug in your weekly menus and make your shopping list for you.

Reduce the number of "easy" foods
It is true that the more you make yourself, the less you'll spend. Frozen dinners, many packaged items, or individually wrapped items often cost more. You can often make those frozen meals for your family for much cheaper without adding too much time your night time dinner schedule. Ask your grocer or butcher to cut you meat and cheese instead of buying lunch meat or processed cheese.

Coupons
Yep.. I said it. You dont have to spend hours clipping coupons. You can scan the coupon page in your local paper, or even sign up for online programs that email you coupons for your local grocers.

Avoid Grocery store "tricks"
More money is spent researching marketing and how to entice shoppers to buy more expensive and impulse items, than in any other area of the grocery business. Remember that items placed at eye level are more expensive, while your less expensive, yet similar items are on higher or lower shelves. End aisle displays or bright and flashy displays are meant to pique your interest. Avoid these if possible. You probably dont need the new item anyways!

Frequent multiple stores and use Loss Leaders
This step might sound like alot, but for the serious shopper looking to drastically cut their bills, this option can really help. Start by gathering all the local "circulars" or the coupon insert of each store. Scan each one and write down the cheapest of each item. I do this by writing down my needed items, scanning the circulars for which store carries the cheapest, and then writing the store name down on the list next to the item. I then write a list for each store (say one for WalMart, one for Aldi's, one for Krogers).

Grocery stores also use what are known as Loss Leaders. These are items which have been reduced to the point that the store is not making money on the item. But they are counting on you doing more shopping by luring you in the store with the Loss Leader items. If you ONLY shop at the stores for those Loss Leaders, you save money.