by Jane Vee

Created on: October 03, 2010   Last Updated: October 04, 2010

With dread in our hearts of how much money we think we are going to spend at the grocery store, we all look for ways to cut the grocery bill. It is time consuming and tedious to sit and cut coupons.  Some stores will not even honor them. If there was only a way to save on groceries without using coupons. This list might help if you hate to cut coupons. Here are some great ways to save money on groceries without using coupons.

Grow what you can eat. Regardless of whether you have a garden or not, you can still grow a lot of your own fruits and vegetables. Having a garden will give you a larger supply of food, but you can just as easily use pots to grow what you are going to eat. There are the hanging tomato vines that you do not even need to place on a surface if you have a small apartment, condo, or even house. You can use “flower” pots to grow a few potatoes, onions, or even lettuce.   

Shop at discount stores.  We all know going to the local store is usually more costly than shopping at giant food chains.  You may want to shop at several stores for optimum savings.  Make sure you are not going to spend more money on gas than what you are saving on the food.

Check the ads. Even if you do not want to use coupons, you should still look at the sales flyers for the stores. Every week most stores will list what they are going to have on sale and how much the items are.  If these are items you regularly use and they are cheaper than the other stores, you might want to buy them on sale.  Make sure to calculate cost of gas into your prices.  If it will cost more in gas to purchase items on sale, stick to buying what will save you the most money overall.

Trade food with neighbors. In Brevard County Florida, most residents are lucky enough to have either an orange tree or a grapefruit tree in their yard. If your neighbor has oranges and you have grapefruit, you might want to exchange fruit with your neighbor. Most people are friendly and like to have a change every once and awhile. Exchanging fruit from the trees is a great way to be neighborly.

Local farmer markets or even local markets can be an inexpensive opportunity to purchase fresh food.  Most farmers take the opportunity to sell their left over crops to individuals at the farmers market. You could also approach a local farmer to see if he or she sells to the public. Some farmers sell on a “pick your own” basis.  You may have to go into the field, but you can pick your own food right off the plant.   

Buy in bulk.  When you purchase items in bulk, you usually get a better price than if you buy items individually or in a lesser quantity. If you have storage, you may want to put it to good use by storing larger sized food items until they are used.

Buy pre-made when cheaper.  ou have probably noticed that sometimes it is cheaper to buy pre-made or pre-packaged food. “Fresh baked” items are a good example of buying pre-made items cheaper than making them yourself. Bread and cookies can be bought already made and they are cheaper than making your own. A bag of chocolate chips cost the same as a container of chocolate chip cookies and you do not have to use the electric to run your oven.

These simple tips to save money are a lot quicker, easier than, and not as messy as cutting coupons. Use them to save money on your grocery bill.

Learn more about this author, Jane Vee.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.