Perfectly Imperfect Family and Finances

Posted By Mr. Imperfect on May 13, 2008

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The cost of transporting the goods to the store has increased; Last years crop yields were less than desirable; China is purchasing more meat as rice slowly fades from being the staple as income increases. Regardless of the reason, the simple fact is that we are all experiencing a higher total at the grocery store cash register. What we were once able to do for $40 a week, now cost almost $60. Here are a few ways that we are trying to reduce our grocery expense:

1. Check sales weekly All the stores in our area produce a weekly sales paper. Start by focusing on the front and back page of the paper. The items on these pages are the “loss” items that the store generally loses money on just to entice you into the store.
2. Use coupons wisely Do not use coupons with reckless abandon. Only use coupons for items you plan to purchase anyway, not just because you can get a dollar off. A little trick that we learned via The Simple Dollar, is to place your coupons in a rotating four folder system. When you get a Sunday paper with coupons in it, place them in a folder and wait four weeks before you pull them out. Sometimes the items you have coupons for will be on sale due to normal sale rotation. This can often allow you to get these items for next to nothing, and if you are lucky, get them free with “overage” to apply toward the rest of your purchase. The only time that we purchase items that we do not currently need is when we can get them free this way, and be able to take a little off the rest of our purchase. Also check with the stores in your area to see if any of them offer double coupon days.
3. Create a list, and stick to it I am sure that you all have heard this preached before. Thus, I will not go into much detail, just remember that it is one of the most efficient ways to save money and avoid impulse buying. Also, we found it extremely helpful to start a price list . We were amazed to find that the store we thought had the best deals, was actually outrageous on a good deal of items that we purchased regularly.
4. Plan your meals based on sale items Once you have your sales papers in hand, you coupons on stand-by, create a menu for the week based on the sale items and coupons that are available. Granted, we do not always want what is on sale, but we are sacrificing today for a better tomorrow.

One item that we have found to be the most help to use is a course called Supermarket Savings 101 . The course is literally packed with information that can be put to use instantly. Be warned though, this is not a course to complete in one day, there is just too much information. For our review of this product, check here .

We hope that you find some of this information useful. Please leave any tips that you may have in the comments. Have a great day!

Category: Family, Finances, Frugality, Saving on Expenses
Tags: cost of groceries, coupon use, save money at grocery store