Save on Groceries
Groceries can be one of your biggest yearly expenses, but if you follow these simple steps you can save every time you go to the store.
Use Coupons
Yes, it can be a pain to clip coupons out of the paper, but the money they save makes it worth it. There are also some great coupon sites where you can print out store coupons - some of our favorites are mycoupons.com and thecouponclippers.com. Be sure to check with your local supermarket to see when their double coupons days are so you can save even more. You can do this at... Be careful though--many coupons these days require you to buy two or more of the item before you can save. Be aware of this and make sure that you'll actually use all of what you're buying, or else the coupon will actually cost you money.
Sign up for the Store's Club Card
Using your stores club card can save you money every time you spend there. My card saves me a minimum of 1% - 2%, and sometimes as much as 20% off my total grocery bill.
Buy in Bulk
If you can afford the up-front costs, buying certain grocery items in bulk can save you a lot of cash. Non-perishable items, like paper towels, toilet paper, and detergent, are perfect items to stock up on. You can also stock up on food items, just make sure you'll actually use them before they go bad. Most of the big stores like Sam's club or Costco charge an annual membership fee of $35 - $40--be sure to take this into account when figuring out if buying in bulk is right for you. To get around this, consider splitting the membership with a friend or neighbor. Also, if you don't want to use these stores, a good bulk-buying site to check out is www.buythecase.net.
Use a Cash-Back Credit Card
Many credit cards offer up to 5% cash back on groceries and gas. Examples include... You can get a better idea of the different cash-back cards at...Just remember, don't get one of these cards unless you can pay off the balance each month, or else the interest charges will quickly outweigh any cash you get back.
Try Your Local Farmer's Market
Not only are the prices generally cheaper than at the supermarket, but the produce is much fresher. Plus you'll be helping out the small farmers in your area. You can find a handy list of farmers markets in your area at the USDA's site.
Buy Generic
Most of us pay a lot more for brand-name items when generic, or store-brand, versions will work just as well. The is especially true for over the counter medications, where generics contain the exact same active ingredients at a fraction of the cost. Next time you're at your grocery store, compare a name-brand bottle of cough syrup with its generic equivalent--I guarantee you won't see any difference in the active ingredients, just the cost. You can find generic versions of most of the products you buy, such as pasta, cheese, yogurt, toothpaste, paper towels, and mouthwash, to name a very few. Most of us just ignore these because modern advertising has made us so brand loyal that we won't even consider changing. If you find it hard to switch, try this: Every time you shop switch one or two of your favorite name brands with the generic equivalent. Most of the time you won't notice the difference and you'll save money, and the times that you do you can always switch back. If you do this for a couple of months, you'll probably end up buying the generic versions of most of your groceries, and save a lot of money.