A Few Tips for Cutting Down Your Grocery Bill

Review, Budget, and Create: Review food receipts for the past month to see what you are buying. Were there foods you wished you hadn’t bought? Then set a food budget and plan out your meals for a week. Record all the food items you will need and write them on your shopping list. Keep a magnetized pad of paper on your refrigerator so you can immediately write down other items that are running low and need to be added to your shopping list. Finally, before your shopping trip, sort through your coupons and store circulars for any sales on items in your shopping list. Note that you can also plan your weekly menus based on food you see on sale at stores or the coupons you have clipped.

Track Your Waste: Do you tend to buy large quantities of produce on sale but then only use half while the other half sits unused until it spoils? Resist the temptation to buy more than you know you’ll use. Buy only the amounts you need based on your weekly menu regardless of sale prices.

Bring a Calculator: This will prevent any surprises at check-out. Enter each dollar amount as you place the food item in your cart. If you go over your budgeted amount, put back any “impulse buys” or non-crucial ingredients in your menu (e.g., herbs, processed snack foods).

Coupons: A dollar here, 50 cents there—clipping coupons takes some work but the savings do add up, especially if you go to a store that doubles or triples manufacturers’ coupons or use the coupons in combination with store sales. Use coupons only on foods you usually buy and that are already on your shopping list. Buy an inexpensive coupon organizer to keep in the car, so the coupons will always be handy.

Weekly Circulars: If you don’t receive weekly mailed circulars, check the supermarket’s website for online circulars and sales. Compare prices of a few supermarkets in your neighborhood.

Warehouse or Bulk Shopping: If you have the storage space, buying in large quantities from warehouse stores like BJ’s or Costco can sometimes save money, particularly if buying their generic brands. But this is not always the case; be sure to compare the unit price with the retail price.

Try Generic: Generic or store brands cost less largely because of less advertising. Generic brands often have an almost identical nutrition content as their commercial counterparts with comparable flavor and quality.

Home Delivery: There is a delivery charge of about $10 but this may balance out because online shopping can reduce “impulse buys” that take place with in-store shopping. You may also find that the time and gas saved from a supermarket excursion is well worth the delivery fee.

Skip Highly Processed Foods and Soda. These are expensive because of advertising costs and tend to be high in refined sugars and salt and lower in overall nutrient value.