How to Save Money at the Grocery Store

Tips on how to Save Money at the Grocery Store

So many times I read about people needing help on how they can save their family groceries. It seems as deals on the items like body wash, shampoo, deodorant, etc are more easily found and acquired than on food items. Here we share our tips on how to Save Money at the Grocery  Store.

1. Shop Sales

Often times you will find your area has local grocery stores. For New York, we have a Tops Markets and a Wegmans grocery store. At these grocery stores you should find weekly ads with sales and offers in them. These sales offer products at a discounted price for that week or period of time. When items are on sale, or marked down is when you want to purchase them. Sometimes I personally wait for an item to go on sale before I buy it (with in reason of course). I can remember my mother telling me to use the sticks of butter from the fridge because she was waiting for a sale on the butter spreads! 🙂

2. Make a List

Making a shopping list not only helps you to stay organized, it helps you to stay on track. When you make a precise list you will be able to calculate about how much money out of pocket you would be spending at the grocery store. With out a list you are more likely to just toss the items you see in the store into your cart and over spend. Having a list will also save you TIME (my favorite thing saved 😉 ).

3. Use Coupons

Obviously use coupons when you can! This may depend on your stores, their sales, coupon policies, your availability to coupons and what items your family uses. There are numerous ways to find coupons. When you use coupons you are saving money instantly when you shop. That is less money you have to come off of when you shop.

4. Take Advantage of Cash Back Offers

There are a ton of programs out there that offer us to get cash back on products including groceries!! I personally use ibotta and Checkout 51. These are programs that you can use on your mobile device and get cash back. In order to get that cash back you need to purchase the qualifying items shown and submit your receipt (so they know you purchased said items). Then you will get cash either in form of paypal or check (depending on program). You often will find offers on bread, milk, and produce from these! So even though we don’t see many coupons on those items there are ways to save on them!

Another way to save is using a program called Savingstar. Savingstar now works at many stores and you earn cash back easily just from loading the offers to your account and purchasing them at the grocery store! Easy enough, right?!

5. Don’t Stray from Your List

This is one of the most important keys to saving money on your groceries. Do not stray from your list the best you can! You will find that if you make a specific list and have a certain amount of money to spend that will help you cut your grocery bill cost down. Impulse buys can be the most costly – oooo, donuts….oooo, cookies. Stay focused and stock to your list and you will find that you can get in and out and stay on budget!