One of the simplest ways to save money on groceries is to stop wasting food. Approximately 12% of food bought for the home is wasted. If your family wastes an average amount of food then you could cut your grocery bill by 10% or more without even changing what foods you buy. One way to reduce food waste is to plan out your meals so you only buy groceries that you will use in your meal plan. If you take leftovers for lunch you can save money two ways. One, by not wasting the leftover food and two, by not having to buy lunch. If you get tired of leftovers then you can figure out a way to incorporate your leftovers into a new meal.
Another way to save money on groceries is by using coupons. I have to admit that I don’t use coupons very often. My food budget is already pretty low at about $100 a month. It doesn’t seem like there is much more to save with coupons to justify the time involved. That being said there are a couple of ways to use coupons that don’t involve a lot of time. One way is to go to a site like MoneySavingMom.com. At this site and similar sites, you can find posts with a list of the items on sale at your local store and matching coupons. If they are printable coupons the site will usually include a link. You can also use a paid service such as SavingsAngel.com that will make a customized shopping list with sales items and available coupons for you that is based on your food preferences and local grocery store. I will be trying the service out this month since I am moving into an apartment and will be trying to eat mainly at home. This service should allow one to save time and money while using coupons.
Shopping at a discount grocery store like Aldi or Save-a-Lot is another easy way to save money on groceries. These stores have fewer items than a regular supermarket but their grocery items are generally significantly cheaper than at the supermarket. Another grocery saving strategy utilizing the discount stores is to make a price book of your most commonly eaten foods using the discount store prices. Then when your regular supermarket has a sale you can compare it to the discount store price in your price book and determine if it is a good deal.
There are a lot more strategies than this that you can use to save money on groceries. I usually spend a little over $100 on groceries and meals out. Next month I will break down all my food spending for December and show all the different ways I saved money on food.
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Something which helps me a lot is to use subscribe and save from Amazon. A lot of times the grocery items are much cheaper and are shipped free.
I watch for BOGO deals at publix and stock up on items this way. I also only purchase meat on sale. I recently transferred a prescription to publix and got a free 16lb turkey.
During the holidays, I keep my eyes open for rebate forms. The most generous are from beer companies. I live in a state that manufacturers cannot require the purchase of beer. So, $5 back on produce, meat, snacks, etc. with very few strings attached is a way to save. Even better is if the products are on sale and I have a coupon and can file for a rebate!
I go to the bargain section in the store to save money.
You’ve got some good ideas here…I use coupons less than I used to, but still keep them — you can get some screaming deals when the item’s on sale, as well! Kroger was advertising Betty Crocker potato mixes for $1 each…and I had a coupon for 50 cents off two. But my store also offers double coupons. Ka-ching…that meant I was buying scalloped potato and triple cheese potato mixes for 25 cents each. Not bad.
Coupons, weekly specials, and making sure I am going to a store with the lowest prices.
I agree with you that not wasting food is a great way to reduce food costs altogether. I tell my kids (and myself), if the leftovers don’t sound good, you must not be very hungy!
Aside for getting a coupon to save money on our groceries, I also make sure that our supplies will last for a week to save gasoline for my car. Avoiding daily buying of groceries will also save you much money.