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We have three adults, a teen, and a preteen in our household, and over the years I have developed my own strategies for minimizing our grocery budget. Five people and two dogs can eat a lot!
1). I put a master list in a file on my computer. This contains every food and non-food item (like toilet paper and light bulbs) that are used in our home. When I determine that we must make a grocery trip, we check the list against what we have and ask questions like "Do we have enough of this item right now or can we wait to buy it until our next trip?" or "Is this a frill item we can temporarily do without?"

2). We decide how much we can afford to spend on groceries for that one- or two-week period, weighing the money we have available against the bills that must be paid between paychecks.
3). Once we have a list of those things we need, we try to stick to the list when we are in the store. If money is very tight, we add up our purchases as we go through the store. When we get close to the budgeted amount, we either stop putting things in the cart or we put some less important things back.
4). I plan to use a large beef or pork roast, turkey, or roasting chickens more than one way. I might serve the meat as a main dish the first night, use the drippings in a pot pie or hand held meat pie, and the bones and remaining meat on the bones for soup.
5). I always bring a calculator with me to the store so I can determine the cost per ounce of the several brands available, then get the brand with the cheapest cost per ounce. I rarely buy brand names, opting instead to buy store brands or generic.
6). Okay, I'm a cheapskate...I look for the store rack that has damaged or expired date items, and the place the store puts their day old bakery items. If the items look usable or are something we would purchase anyway I buy them. Through talking to others who are on limited budgets, I discover what days the store is likely to have their reduced price meat, slightly bruised fruit and vegetables, or day old bakery, and then shop at those times.
7). I use coupons only when the item is a brand that we purchase anyway.
8). Fresh fruit, vegetable, and meat prices fluctuate quite a bit, so I figure the current best prices for them and buy accordingly. Some meats, fruits, and veggies are seasonal in their lowest prices. I rarely buy out of season.
9). If there are no discards in the reduced price basket so that I have to buy 'fresh' fruits and vegetables, I look carefully for bruises or other blemishes that will cause the item to spoil faster. I don't purchase those at full price. I have been known to sniff the stem end of cantaloupe, watermelon, tomatoes, peaches, and nectarines. If it doesn't have the smell of a ripe piece of fruit, I won't buy it. I don't buy rock-hard peaches, nectarines or kiwis or green bananas. They simply don't get ripe no matter what in our household. (Yes, I know about the put them in a paper bag trick; sometimes it doesn't work).
The above thoughts are things I have discovered over 26 years of marriage. You can go to GrocerySavingsTips.com to find more tips.

Learn more about this author, Sandra Petersen.
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