Save Money on Groceries Without Coupons by Shopping Weekly Sales

Everybody is looking to cut a little bit from their budget these days, and a great way to do that is by saving money on groceries. Although there are many methods that work, such as clipping coupons, or buying in bulk from club stores, I have found that I can save even more money by following a simple method: shopping weekly sales.

Save Money on Groceries: The Big Picture

The main idea is that pretty much everything you buy at the grocery store goes on sale at some point, and often, it's a big sale. Therefore, as much as possible, you should only buy items that are drastically marked down, and you should avoid paying full price for items as much as possible.

This may seem silly because then you will be stuck eating only those items that were on sale for that whole week. However, that is where the other side of things comes in: you will stock up on sale items and store them, to enjoy them over a longer period of time.

Save Money on Groceries: Have a Large Pantry and Extra Freezer

The key to this method is that you need to have a lot of space available for storing food, especially frozen foods and non-perishables. If you don't have a large pantry, then consider allocating additional space for it by putting a bookshelf in the kitchen or converting the lower areas of a coat closet near the kitchen. You could also put a shelving unit in your garage and store food there, assuming you don't have rodent problems.

Having a deep freeze is also very useful because many basic food items, such as bread, cheese, meat, butter, and even lowfat milk can be frozen and defrosted without any detrimental effect. In addition, if you have a powerful blender, you can freeze a lot of fruits and use them to make healthy and delicious mixed fruit smoothies.

Save Money on Groceries: Make a List with the Weekly Ad

Before going to the grocery store, sit down with the weekly ad and make a shopping list. Focus on the items that are on the best sales, and that you will be able to effectively store until using them all up. If eggs are on sale, they are probably not the best items to stock up on, but definitely buy the meat that is on sale, or stock up on bags of shredded cheese, both of which can be frozen until you have need for them.

The other element of this is that you should try to, as much as possible, avoid buying foods that are not on sale. If you are out of an essential, such as flour or bread, then do put it in a separate section of your list and buy that in small quantity, and try to use it more sparingly while you look for it on sale.

If you have multiple large chain grocery stores in your area, shop at them all, getting the best deals at each store every week.

Save Money on Groceries: No Impulse Purchases

The most important part of this all is that you make a list and stick to it, rather than buying things that catch your attention in the store. Often there will be displays of items that seem to be on sale, but a closer look at the shelf label will reveal that they are only discounted 2-5% rather than the highly discounted items on your list. It will take a lot of will power to only buy things on your grocery list, but you will save a lot of money in the long run!