by S B BLACK

Created on: June 28, 2009

When times are good most people don't give a lot of thought to their weekly trip to the grocery store. They want to get in, get their shopping done and get home. Buying name brand or generic items isn't much of a concern. However, times aren't so good right now. Our economy took a nosedive and many people are either trying to live off of their unemployment compensation or looking for ways to save money in the event of job loss. There are some simple ways to cut your grocery spending in these tough times.

One of the most important things you can do to cut your spending is planning ahead. If you shop weekly, make a menu for the week. This allows you to take stock in what you already have on hand in your kitchen and make a list of the items you will need for the week. Always take a list when shopping for groceries. This may not seem like a cost cutting idea, but when you wander into a grocery store with no idea what you need you always tend to overspend. Taking a list and sticking to it limits you to only those items that you need for the upcoming week.

Do some research and keep a price notebook. Make a list of the most used food items in your home and do some comparison shopping. Keep a small notebook handy with these prices when you are making your grocery list. Many people tend to shop at more than one store, so this allows you to always pick the best buy when shopping day arrives.

Look at buying generic brands over the name brand products. Generic brands are usually just as good in quality and taste as their name brand counterpart, but cost much less. Most grocery stores have their own store brand product to compete with each name brand. Along with shopping for generic brands is shopping at some of the discount grocery stores. These stores carry mainly generic brand food items, which are always lower in cost than a name brand item. You may find these stores lacking some of the more unique items, but all of the basic food needs can be found in a discount grocery.

If you have a large family or you use some items quite frequently and are replacing them weekly, try buying in bulk. Most of the time you will save money by buying items in bulk. That being said, always do the math and check the per unit price before buying a bulk item to be sure it really is the best deal.

Always watch store ads for good deals. This may go a bit against the idea of making a list, but sometimes can save you money if you are buying items that you use frequently. If you have a freezer and use a lot of frozen vegetables, stocking up on them when on sale makes more money sense than waiting to buy them at regular price only when you need them. Keep in mind you should only do this for items that you will use.

During tough economic times, these are a few of the simple ways to cut your costs at the grocery store.

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