I need some cost cutting tips for the supermarket

[momof3disneyholics]

It seems my grocery bill keeps going up and up. I buy for 2 weeks at a time, I don't use coupons because I have no time to cut them out and I like to use alot of generics anyway. I have 3 growing kids and 2 dogs and a cat and I need some help in learning how to save money at the grocery store. Anyone of my thrifty disers want to help me?

 

[pajamommy]

Do you have one of those Walmart Supercenters near you? That's where I've begun to shop for groceries and I've been saving quite a bit of money compared to the regular grocery store!

 

[momof3disneyholics]

I shop at a combo of the Walmart supercenter and the commissary on base.

 

[Pop Daddy]

CindyB has a list of things to do

 

[swea_pea1]

The meat department seems to be where my dollars normally go. I stock up on chicken breasts when they're on sale for $1.99/pound rather than paying the normal price. If you take them out of the packages and put them in ziploc bags, you can typically fit more in your freezer. Or cheaper yet, you can buy whole chicken breasts and cut off the bone yourself. That's not always cheaper, but sometimes is.

Also, I buy a shouder roast instead of an eye of round. You can cook it in the crockpot and it comes out very tender. I also buy the fattier ground beef (like the 80/20) and then drain off the excess grease whenever I cook it. I have less "usable" meat that way, I know, but it's not so much that it justifies the higher prices for the lower fatted ground beef.

Also, they sell the newspaper in the grocery store I visit. So, if I'm shopping on Sunday I open it up to look at the coupons. If the coupons save me the same amount of money (or more) as the paper, I buy it and use the coupons at the same time. I don't have to remember to bring them with me, but still can save that little extra. Coupons are inconvenient for me as well, but not if I'm not trying to clip and save them.

You can also visit here Valupage and print out the coupons right before your visit to the grocery store. As long as you're buying the couponed items anyway, you may as well go ahead and use them.

Happy shopping!

 

[Cindy B]

First go to the grocery store about 20-30 minutes after opening. If you work during the week, go and shop first thing Saturday/Sunday morning.

This is when the meat guy marks down everything.. and the fish person as well. I have gotten great prices sometimes up to $6 off.

First you say you dont have time to cut coupons. I save at least 10% every grocery order. One year I saved all the coupon savings only, and guess what... it paid for a trip to Disney world..yes it did! My grand total was about $1100. I'm not as severe as I used to be about saving, but I still do pretty well.
Last week I saved about $12.00, not much but something.

I also save by making my own. I make my own cleaners, reuse things, and shop well. I used powdered milk when baking.. my bread and cookies taste the same!

It may be an advantage to join a BJ's or costco (whatever is in your area). I save about $7 each time I buy a bag of dog food. You have to watch out because sometimes the wholesale club price is higher than grocery cost. My milk/half and half and salad mix is much cheaper, whereas my meat, ice cream and lunchmeat is more.

Price book, price book, price book. Get a binder and write things down, the regular non sale price. Then price comparison among a few stores. I did this and I was suprised that Target , yes a non super target, had the cheapest taco mix.. cheaper than either Bj's.


Dont go out because its easier. I find the crockpot a great friend. Since I am working and going to school at night, the crockpot is a saving grace for my family.

 

[crazyforgoofy]

Never go shopping when you're hungry!

 

[Jenn Lynn]

Make a list and stick to it.

I found that I bought more stuff when I did not have a list with me.

 

[tar heel]

I understand not having much time (I work, have a dh who doesn't know when to leave work, and have three kids), but
I would rethink coupons if you really want to get your bill down. There are some things -- detergent, toilet paper, cereal, deoderant -- that I ALWAYS have coupons for. Do you realize how many big coupons there are for pet food alone? If you still buy diapers, that also is a big coupon area -- that item is what got me started using coupons.

Like CindyB, I routinely save 10% or more off my total bill just with coupons. I save another 30-40% with store specials. If a superviser doesn't have to come and approve my order (happens when you save "too much," I feel like I didn't shop right that day).

The main thing I do is plan what I'm going to buy that week around what is on sale. I spend a half hour or so studying the ads. I also shop at two stores routinely and sometimes visit another or two, although sometimes not the same day. When I make my list, I write down the item and which store I'm planning to get it at. I stock up on things like $1.99 (and lower) chicken breasts; 49 cents a pound whole chickens; BOGOF London Broil (tomorrow's dinner), pork tenderloin, etc. Like CindyB, I make sure I have a good idea of what each store charges regularly for items I use all the time. It is also a good idea to try to be flexible about brands, so you can get the one that gives you the best deal. Also, there are some things I'm just not going to buy at full price -- cereal, for example. When I see varieties we like at a good price (usually with a coupon, too), I buy them then -- if we really need cereal and nothing's on sale, I'll stock up at Wal-Mart.

I also buy some fun items when the price is right. The past couple weeks I've gotten Fruit Roll-ups/Gushers (BOGOF and I coupon doubled), Promised Land flavored milk (BOGOF and a $1 on two coupon); Denali ice cream (BOGOF); frozen pretzels (BOGOF and doubled coupon); Toaster Strudels (BOGOF); and Pepsi (BOGOF).

My other suggestion is to try to shop alone -- it's really hard to follow your list and "plan" if someone with you is asking for things, throwing stuff in the cart, etc.

 

[Dakota_Lynn]

My suggestion is to get the Sunday paper and look for sales. Be willing to shop at more than one store. I shop only once a month because I hate shopping. What I do each month is I get the sales ads for the week I plan to shop. I browse the ads to see which items that I need are on sale. I've found that if you're willing to shop a few stores, just about everything will be on sale at one of them. I typically write a list for each store. I've saved tons of money doing this. I think it would be too chaotic to do this if I shopped every week, but if you shop every two weeks or every month, then it's really not a bad way to save money.

I'd also rethink couponing. It dosen't take that much effort, and it can save tons. If you live near a store that doubles coupons, you could save huge amounts of money!

Good luck!

 

[ToriLammy]

Like others have said I'd rethink the coupons, especially shopping at the commissary. They often have flyers with coupons just as you walk in the door. My goal every time I shop at the commissary is to have the coupons cover the 5% surcharge, I'm normally right on or just over. Another thing you might check is these websites:

http://www.militaryshoppers.com
http://www.commissaries.com/

Both have pages that show the current sales at Military commissaries. I find that knowing what's on sale ahead of going helps a great deal. On the military shoppers site you can actually have them email you the sales info every time it is updated which is nice. Again, like others have suggested, making a list and finally for shopping the commissary a little known secret, the best time to shop is about a week after payday. Most folks go immediately following military paydays and the shelves are not fully stocked, etc. I have found the best prices and the greatest variety by waiting about 7 or 8 days after payday to shop. I also take a calculator and keep track of what I'm spending as I go along, it can really makes you think twice about what you put in the cart.

 

[shortbun]

Hi! I rarely use coupons but save, save, save other ways. The
coupons are hardly ever for what I'm buying because most of the
time, the coupons just bring the more expensive item down to
closer to the cost of the brand I buy anyway. Watch your store
circulars, they usually have a pattern for sales. I know that my
laundry detergent goes on sale every third week and if not,
CVS often has it lower anyway. I never buy toilet paper unless
it's on sale, I use cloth napkins, sponges and cloth towels to wipe spills so I don't spend loads on paper products. I reuse or recycle
almost everything. Cardboard becomes constuction material for
DS, jars storage containers. I watch buying items that are heavily
packaged, they are often very expensive both to my pocketbook and the earth in general. I plan my meals based on what is on sale each week and shop two stores if necessary....takes a little more time but each store visit is shorter. I live for BOGOF sales;
granted, you pay top price for the 1st item but overall it's 50%
savings. I shop with a list. I actually have a list of all musts in
my kitchen printed to I can put a letter beside each item of the
store with the sale; saves me time. I never shop with my son,
he adds at least $30 to my total-lol! I never shop hungry. I never shop without a list. I don't always complete my list if the
items are too expensive. We went out to dinner last night for
the first time in a month. It was fun and we used a gift certificate
I had gotten as a gift. Out of pocket - $14 including the $11 tip.
DS was having a play date so no babysitter needed. AM I a tightwad? Yep!
Oh yeah, I forgot...I keep a record of what I've paid historically for things. Not every shopping but maybe monthly. When I notice something has really changed in price, I mention it to the
store manager. I ask the meat counter person to point out the
best deals they have and I know which days they mark down
items for quick sale so sometimes I just run in to look the meat
counter over for a good deal.

 

[powellrj]

I use to use coupons, but add me to list of those who don't. I pretty much cherry pick (grocery term for a sales shopper) the stores everyweek and thats what we eat. If they have chicken on sale we eat chicken, if they have beef we have beef... I also cook the food when I get home from the store so when I get home from work dinner is started. If I get chicken breast I will grill some, boil some and bread some. If I get ground beef, I fry it or make-up meat loaf or balls or put together casseroles. I try to keep my meals at around $8 each night for my family of 4, but we eat very well. We usually have a meat, a starch and 2 vegtables or a salad and something for dessert. BOGO sales are what I love too. I will stock up on things like salad dressings and snack foods and only buy those when they have a BOGO. I also use Aldi for stocking up on basics like flour and sugar. I usually make a $50 Aldi stop about every 6 weeks.

 

[my3kids]

If you don't have time to clip coupons, just call the cat and dog food companies whose products you buy. Tell them you love their products and could they send you some money saving coupons. They will generaly send large coupons and most companies will add you to a list to continue to receive them. You can do that with any product. Baby formula or baby food companies are especially helpful, at least they were when my babies were babies!

I agree on looking for the meat, and also bakery goods, that have just been reduced for sale that day. If you don't want to cook the meat that day, put it in the freezer.

Wal-Mart definitely saves me money over the other grocery stores. If you have a Costco, that is a great place to buy things like Ibuprofin, shampoo, contact lens supplies, laundry detergent, and generic prescription medications.

Check your receipts! While I don't have the problem at Wal-Mart, I used to find sometimes $10.00 worth of incorrect charges on my receipt...either they rang the incorrect price, forgot to enter a sale price, didn't take off the buy one get one free item....The store would give me the item for free and refund the incorrect charge. It wasn't even an isolated thing. Every single week the receipt was wrong to some extent.

 

[pjlla]

I find myself now recommending the same book for the third time this week. Go to your library and get "The Tightwad Gazette" series of books (3) by Amy Dacyczyn (pronounced 'decision'). While there are LOADS of money saving ideas in these books, a great majority of them are based on groceries/food budget. And judging by the previous posters on this thread, I would definitely say that some have read these books!

As I said, I STRONGLY RECOMMEND these books. I own all three and they are dog-eared! That said, if you don't feel so inclined to read, let me quickly pass on a few ideas.......

#1. Re-think your meal strategies. Not every meal has to include a large portion of meat protein flanked by a starch, a vegetable and dessert. Try doing a baked potato bar one night. One large or medium baked potato per person with a selection of do-it-yourself toppings cheese sauce( which is very easy to make), chopped broccoli, chili, sour cream, crumbled bacon, sauteed mushrooms and onions. Or maybe have one or two vegetarian nights per week. Rice and beans with corn bread and a green vegetable on the side

#2. Rethink the whole coupon idea. If you have a coupon for .50 off Ritz crackers great.... but what if the store brand crackers, same type, are $1.00 less, even without a coupon? Have you really saved anything? Don't poo-poo the idea of eating more generic/store brand products. THere are definitely a few things we couldn't tolerate, but overall I use a LARGE quantity of store brands from the stores around us. I only clip/save coupons on items I KNOW I will use/buy. That means that some weeks there are three or four coupons I save and other weeks there are none. I can easily manage that small number of coupons without any difficulty. I do pass the rest of my coupons onto my neighbors who like to use them.

#3. Rethink the "luxury" foods or goodies you buy. I don't mean to be disrespectful of the previous poster who mentioned these items, but I never, EVER buy things like Fruit Gushers. Even if they were free I probably wouldn't take them. I just can't tolerate the thought of my kids eating those things. However, I do buy other treats that maybe others would find objectionable. But my point is.... if you are concerned about saving grocery money, be careful of how much you spend on non-nutritious items like these. You can buy a large box of raisins for the price of a box of Gushers. They are just as sweet, have no artificial color, and have some nutritional value.

Sorry to be so lengthy. Please, I urge you to go read those books. I think you will find them quite enlightening.................P

 

[C.Ann]

Coupons; generic brands that you like; don't shop when you're hungry; shop from a list as though you were running a marathon; and leave the kiddies at home!

 

[Spinning]

I hate food shopping and find it is a total chore if you want to really save money!
But I clip coupons and look at the sale ads. Meat is a huge cost so I always stock up when something is on sale! Chicken and pork have been on sale lately so we have tons of it now..
Another thing I have been trying to do, 2 meals out of one. If we have chicken tonight I will cook enough to have left over for tomorrow and we will have chicken casadas! 2 totally different meals.
I also bought from tupper ware platter dishes. Once dinner is over I fill one for my husbands lunch. If I wait til morning it usually doesn't happen with the rush to get out of the house.

 

[Jiminy102]

we do use coupons and tend to buy an item when it is onsale. We also go to stores that double coupons. We do also buy a lot of store brands. If the name brand is the same price or cheaper after our coupons would be taken off we buy the name brand other wise we buy the store brand. We usually save at least 15-20% on our gorcery bill this way!! I also make things from scratch like taco seasoning. It turns out I have all the same spices already so I just keep a container mixed up in the cupboard. We have also started to buy less junk foods and make even more from scratch. I work through the week and so does DH so we have little time but I will clipp coupons and make things on the weekends and freeze them for all week.

 

[doxdogy]

Between the two places, that is about the most reasonable places to shop here in Florida. Coupons would really bring down the bill, especially in the commissary.

Originally posted by momof3disneyholics
I shop at a combo of the Walmart supercenter and the commissary on base.

 

[Mskanga]

I do use coupons. My hobby on sundays is to get the newspaper , go through all the ads and flyers and see who is got what on sale, based on that I make my shopping list.
I have all stores close to home , so where to go is not a problem for me at all.
I do price match whenever possible, sometimes I don't have coupons for an item that's on sale at shoprite , but I don't want to drive 15 minutes to get it, so I price match at walmart that's a 5 minute drive for me.
I stock up on things when they are on sale and I have coupons , but only things that we truly use.
My average savings between coupons and store cards every time I go shopping is 30-40% .
Like CindyB , I saved all the money I used in coupons and shopping club cards one year , my savings for that year added up to almost $1400, that's almost like a tax refund for me.
I make sure to make time for my couponing and my sales, I like doing it but you also have to be very organized for it.
BTW, I go shopping alone, I make sure of that too.
And Bj's or Costco is not always cost effective, there are things that are not that much of savings when buying in bulk , but there are other things that are. I still go to Bj's for some things and it's still good for me because I can use my coupons , so paying the $40 membership it's still a good deal, everytime I shop there I still have $7-10 in coupons or more, and sometimes I also have rebates.