by Renee Gallman-Jones

Created on: August 08, 2008   Last Updated: August 22, 2008

"How much did you save this time" my grandfather questioned when I returned from grocery shopping. I never thought about how much I saved when I went grocery shopping; I just knew that the coupons that I clipped and shopped with allowed me to stretch my family's budget a little further. Therefore, when I saw this topic I again thought back to my grandfather's question, and began to tackle the pending question of ways to save.

The most widely practiced method of saving on your grocery bill is to clip coupons from your Wednesday and Sunday newspapers and head to the grocery store. Unbelievably, this is actually a way to spend more money if not properly executed. Before clipping coupons, you should first determine what your budget is and what you need. Then, you should only clip coupons for the items on your grocery list. Otherwise, you will end up buying things that you did not need just because you have a coupon.
Another method widely utilized technique is to buy items that are marked down in the store. You should familiarize yourself with the store learning which items are marked down on what days. The downside of this is that you can end up heading to the grocery several days during the week. Visiting a local bakery outlet will yield you steep discounts on bakery items. On the other hand, the items are usually day old or rejected items that could not be sold in the grocery store.
Store hopping is another means of saving money, some stores have certain items cheaper than others, I personally shop at one store for my meats; visit another for my can goods and fresh vegetables and a third one for dairy and paper products. This process has saved my family hundreds of dollars a year over the last few years.
The method least known is talking to the manager of the store sometimes the manager will offer discounts when you are purchasing large quantities of a particular item. Avoid stores that advertise as wholesale warehouses or clubs to buy bulk; normally their saving is not as great as you would receive from your neighborhood grocery store.
The best way to save on your grocery bill is to plan and prioritize prior to heading out to grocery shop.

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