...you are over 70 miles from the nearest Walmart!

Grocery Store Edition

I am always looking for smart ways to save money. The easiest place is on my grocery bill. My current monthly grocery bill is around $300 a month for a family of four with a 30 pound dog, new kitten, 3 fish and a snail. This includes people and pet foods, personal hygiene and hair care products, paper products (toilet paper, tissues, etc), OTC medications and cleaners (what few I buy these days)-everything you get in a typical medium sized grocery store. Now I'm sure there are many of you who spend TONS less on all these same things but all the traditional money saving ideas are not easily applicable when you live over 70 miles from the nearest major retailers (grocer and non-grocers alike) so I have to take a different approach.

I don't clip coupons unless it's a great (I mean a great) coupon. There's usually too many to go through, creating paper chaos which I have to recycle-pain in my tail. Besides, I hate those coupons where you have to buy 3 of this to get xx$ off the next purchase. It's just not worth it! No one in my area doubles coupons; not even the big retailers in the city 70 miles away so there is no big advantage. I've signed up for coupon and newsletter sites like Homemade Simple, P&G Everyday Solutions, Vocal Point, Kraft, and Red Plum. These are all free services which enable me to print the best coupons for the things I regularly buy.
I look high and low at the stores-literally! Normally the better priced items are either on higher or lower shelves. The highest priced items are routinely placed on shelves at eye level. The pricey kiddie products (gummies, fruit roll ups, candy, etc) are placed at their eye level so beware of those traps as well. I highly recommend leaving the kids at home when you do your shopping to help fend off the "I want..." syndrome.
BUY GENERIC whenever possible. I recovered from brand loyalty disorder years ago when our wallet was so tight brand loyalty was no longer an option...at least if I wanted to feed my brood! There are only a few brands I avoid purchasing from a few bad past experiences-certain cheeses taste funny, sodas with a flat taste, etc-but most of the generic brands are just as good as their more famous counterpart!
Make sure you eat BEFORE shopping. You will buy more if you are hungry. If you take the kids, make sure they're fed well too and keep a few suckers, gum, or other treats in you purse to hand out throughout your trip-works very well with smaller kids!
Instead of buying the high priced convenience food items, try making them at home. TIP: Hamburger helper is nothing more than noodles, meat, rice, and a flavoring powder packet, toss in some mixed veggies (fresh, canned or frozen), tomatoes, or shredded cheese for extra umph. Flavored Instant Oatmeal packets-Measure one serving of dry quick cooking oats, add some cinnamon, brown sugar, and powdered (or other flavor combo) and put it all in a ziploc bag. 100 Calorie Chips/Cookie packs-Divide a bulk sized bag of chips or cookies into serving sizes in ziploc bags (or try making a homemade version yourself)!
Shop the sales! I only buy products on sale and plan my meals accordingly. I've managed to stock up a small pantry of canned goods and meats in relatively no time at all. I'm not forced to do without or make a last minute purchase at regular price by planning my meals based on what's on our shelves or in our freezer.
Save even more by buying in bulk or family sized packages (when on sale of course), dividing, and freezing portions. Milk, bread, cheese, meats, and veggies all freeze well.
I make one trip a month to the city. It saves us money when items like milk is $2 cheaper in the city stores than in my local store. Breads, dairy , meats, and canned items are restocked in my home pantry with my monthly trips. Some of my favorite stores are Walmart, Super Kmart, Super One Foods, Hugo's or Hornbachers. Their non-sale prices are about 25% cheaper than my local store's sale price. Before heading out, I check the store's online ads for sales, make a list of what I'm buying and where, then map out my route. I make a note of any coupons in the store's flyer so I remember to pick one up when we get there!. I'll post more details about my monthly city trips in a later post. (TIP: Walmart has a price match policy & price adjustment policy but call ahead to find out your store's participation details. If you experience trouble with the associate's compliance with the policy, stop by or call the store's customer service department or speak to the manager.)
My local store always has a really good selection of severely marked down products about to go out of date or with dinged up packaging. This is a great time to score a bargain. Chips, candy, salad dressings, salsa, bacon & hot dogs are usually in the bargain bins around the store. Last week I picked up a box of 12 frozen pancakes for $.99 just because the box was dented in the corner! Compared to a 3 pack box of generic pop tarts, I saved over $1.50 on breakfast snacks. Deals like that are where I save a ton!
I haven't mastered the art of gardening YET but when I do, I'll save even more by canning or freezing some of my own veggies.
Cook from scratch. It's not that difficult and can stretch your grocery bill tremendously! Dry rice, beans, and pasta make hearty meals while costing very little!

I'll post more of my money saving ideas and tips over the next few weeks but hopefully these tips will help you save on your grocery bills. What are your creative grocery saving tips?