My friend, Anissa, is a grocery store guru. I consider her a "coupon queen" because she often gets things free or for a fraction of the original cost. With her help and expertise, many women in our church congregation are becoming shrewd shoppers. I invited her to share some of her wisdom with us and write an article about saving money on groceries. Enjoy!
Savvy Grocery Store Saving Strategies
by Anissa Telle
I am what most would call an extreme couponer. It is not unusual for me to buy 16 to 20 of a single item if I can get it for free or very cheap. One caveat I practice is awareness of shelf life and whether the product is something my family likes. The last thing I want is to end up with items that spoil before we use them or are not appealing for my family, so I do exercise caution before stocking up!
I maintain an awareness of sale cycles and try to buy enough to ensure that I never have to pay full price for an item and to make certain that I have the quantity needed to tide us over until the next sale.
My family for the most part is not brand loyal to anything with just a few exceptions. By saving on staples I am able to have room in my grocery budget to splurge on excellent produce and other specialty items not typically found in those who have similar limited grocery budgets.
I don’t advocate my shopping methods for everyone. I do think that everyone can cut some grocery expenses by just having a better awareness of sale cycles and being more purposeful in grocery shopping.
For example, we have just gone through the back to school grocery specials. Did you know that this is the time of year that oatmeal is at its lowest price of the year? Similarly, breakfast cereal, juice boxes and lunch time snacks were also at the lowest price of the year. I don’t give my children many juice boxes as I prefer to fill up their personal bottles and limit waste but I did get several boxes for picnics, soccer snacks, and the occasional lunch box treat. Paired with a coupon from the Sunday coupon inserts or online coupon sources resulted in free packages of Apple & Eve juice boxes.
Some upcoming sales are holiday baking items. Butter, flour, sugar and chocolate chips will all be at a large discount. Consider stocking up. Most items can be frozen. If you are unsure just do a google search and you will find out the shelf life and recommended methods. Hams and Turkeys will also be at great prices – usually under $1 a pound. You can and should buy a few extra if you have the freezer space. These are great protein sources way below my personal price point of less than $2 a pound for meat! The point here is that just like any other consumer good groceries have a sale cycle – learn it and your grocery budget will benefit!
You wouldn't go on a date without spending a little time to get ready. Grocery shopping deserves no less! Everyone needs to come up with their own shopping preparation plan that fits in with their lifestyle, but here are some suggestions to get you started:
• Don't just go blindly to the store. Look at the sales ads first to see which stores have the best sales that week for the items you need. Then write a list for the items that are on sale so you don’t forget.
• Try and plan your meals around what is on sale and what you have in your storage. (This means that you should try to come up with a menu BEFORE going to the store!)
• Check your pantry and food storage before you leave to see what items you are short on to minimize trips to the store. (This saves on time and gas!)
• A stocked pantry will help prevent impulse purchases. A great example is having powdered milk for cooking – even if you don’t drink it this is great to have to prevent last minute trips to the store to just get milk. Very few of us are disciplined enough to just buy milk and we then end up with unplanned purchases.
• Learn to read the price sticker near each item. It shows the name of the item, the size, the retail price, and cost per unit (by pound, ounce, liter, gallon or quart.) Don't assume the bigger package is a better deal. Consider the unit price on the shelf tag and buy what goes on sale. Often, a smaller size costs pennies or is free with a coupon. (In fact, when you are coupon shopping, the smaller item that has been put on special for the week is going to win over the larger bulk size every time.)
• When you are comparing costs, look at the high and low shelves as well as those in the middle. The more expensive brands are often displayed at eye level, with the cheaper or sale items placed where you have to bend or stretch. Manufacturers pay slotting fees to get items at eye level so don’t be afraid to compare using unit prices!
• Go through your coupons prior to going shopping and pull the coupons for any items that are on sale. Place these together in the front pocket of your coupon organizer.
• Budget each week to buy multiples of at least one item that is on INCREDIBLE sale – this is called a loss leader... (an item reduced drastically to get you to come to their store... this is how you can build your food storage).
• Everything that goes on sale will come on sale again within about 8-10 weeks. It is a rotation process, so if you stock up on enough of the item to last that long, you will be able to re-stock at sale prices. Once you get into this you will find that you almost always have everything you use on hand, and you rarely have to pay full price for anything. (This is also a great way to start your food storage.)
• Know what you spend the most on. Keep a list of the items you buy regularly and track the prices over a three-month period by creating a price book. Then you can buy when they reach the bottom of the range.
• Be flexible with brands. If you want to save hundreds of dollars a year on an item, buy the brand that's on sale (or has a coupon or both.)
• Be flexible with ingredients. If the price of the vegetable or other item you wanted is high, don't have your heart set on it so badly that you are not ready and willing to choose something else.
• Buy seasonal produce. This is the cheapest and best way to get great produce for your family. You should also look for long-lasting vegetables, like cabbage and carrots, so you have time to cook with them before they spoil. "Anything you throw away, that’s the most expensive food you buy."
• Bags of produce are usually less expensive per pound than loose produce.
• Meat extenders such as rice, potatoes, pasta, dumplings, and grains can help stretch a meal.
• Don't think that you can always buy it cheaper at a warehouse club. Meat, frozen fruit, frozen vegetables and non-grocery items are often a good buy there but most other name-brand merchandise can be had even cheaper on sale at a major grocery chain.
• Some items are just cheaper regular price at one store than they are at sale price at another. Aldi’s is a good example of this. There are many basic items that I pick up here because they generally don't go on sale (or at least they don't go on sale for less than Aldi’s charges for them.)
• Always, Always, Always check the scanner prices as the cashier scans everything. Often the computer makes an error which can cost you. If you don't think it is worth bringing it up for some cents, think again. Some stores have scanner guarantee's which promise you correct prices or you get an incentive. The little amounts that you let pass can add up to quite a bit in the course of a year.
• Avoid frequent trips to the store. If you’re running to the grocery store every day, you’re not planning your grocery shopping. Unplanned shopping doesn’t allow you to take advantage of the sales and coupons that can make your groceries so much cheaper. Try to keep these grocery trips down to a minimum so that you aren’t making hasty choices with your grocery budget.
• Use up what you have – First In, First Out Principle. On Frugal sites they call this Eating Down the Fridge/Freezer Challenge. This helps if you sometimes end up with food in the fridge or pantry that you may have forgotten about. Plus, you have already paid for these items so it makes sense to incorporate them into your meals.
• Use your leftovers – keep a healthy fridge and use up extra ingredients in future meals. Leftover nights, enjoying last night’s dinner for tomorrow’s lunch, soups, smoothies and casseroles are all great ways to ensure you are not wasting anything!
Don’t feel the need to implement all of these suggestions at once. Even a small change in your current grocery shopping method will help in this economy where everyone is trying their hardest to spend less and save more. The last thing I want is for anyone to become disappointed or overwhelmed. So, start small and once a particular tip is implemented, add another one and watch your savings add up!
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