Ways to Save Money at the Grocery Store

It never fails, it seems like most people always spend more money than they'd planned when they go grocery shopping. You go in the store with plans to only spend so much money and you come out of the store pushing a shopping cart with twice as much stuff as you planned on buying. Through my years of grocery shopping and accompanying others as they shopped, I've picked up some tips to help you save money.

First of all, those coupons that come in the Sunday paper aren't there for nothing. Clipping coupons can save you quite a bit at the checkout. Many people don't bother to clip the coupons which often offer great savings. Some coupons have buy one get one free deals or you can save on a new product that has come out. If your store has double coupon days, be sure to take advantage of it so you can save even more. Coupon savings along with sale prices can keep some extra money in your wallet.

Speaking of sale prices, be sure to look for sales! In many stores you can catch overlapping sales. Pay attention to when your local grocery store's new sale starts. They usually put the new sale prices in the computer before the actual day the sale starts so if you go to the store the day before the sale, you can get existing sale items along with the new sale items at the same time.

Is it really necessary to buy everything name brand? Store brand products often have the same ingredients as name brand products. In most cases they taste the same and in some cases store brands taste better. You're getting the same product but will pay way more if you opt for the name brand product. Name brand products are just that-names! The quality of the product isn't always better. I admit, in some cases name brand might be worth the extra money but in most cases it's not.

It can be helpful if you buy certain things in bulk. What are things you use a lot of? Tissue, paper towels, drinks, snacks, etc. Rather than buying a 2-liter, buy a case of pop. Instead of buying a bunch of small bags of chips, buy a variety pack or buy a few big bags. Buy the mega rolls of tissue and paper towels instead of single rolls. In the end you'll save yourself some money and you won't run out as fast.

Here's something we've all heard before: Don't shop when you're hungry! If you shop when you're hungry you will do a lot of impulse buying and will probably buy more junk food than you'd planned. If it's possible, leave your children at home when you grocery shop because we know how much they love to throw things in the shopping cart. Another little tip is to avoid those free sample displays. If all they wanted you to do was have a free sample and nothing else, they wouldn't have someone posted at the display trying to persuade you to grab a couple of whatever it is you're sampling. I've fallen for this a couple of times myself. Now whenever I see those displays I avoid them because I don't want to end up buying anymore than I planned.

If you don't want to buy more than you planned, don't bring any extra money with you. If you plan on spending $50 but you bring $100, more than likely you're going to spend closer to $100. Write out a list before you get to the store and stick to the list as best you can once you're shopping. You're last test will be the checkout lines where those magazines and candy are lined up just staring you in the face. Some grocery stores even have a sale item placed by the cashier who tries to get you to buy it when they're ringing you up. Be strong here and politely decline. In most cases it's something like cookies or candy which you probably already have some of anyway.

If you apply these tips and any of your own that have helped you, you will see that you're starting to save money in the grocery store. If all fails and you are just a sucker for putting things in your shopping cart, perhaps a grocery delivery service like Peapod is a better option for you. All you have to do is click your mouse and they will deliver your groceries right to your front door.