How to Save Money when Grocery Shopping

Today’s suggested topic for the Ultimate Blog Challenge is to come up with a list. I’m share a few easy tips on how to save money when grocery shopping.

Make a shopping list

I find it’s best to make a shopping list before I go to the store. One reason is because if I don’t write down what I’m running out of when using the item, I would forget by the time I went shopping. The other reason is it saves money to go by the list and not just randomly add things to your cart. Yes you may see potato chips that you might want later but did you remember you already have three bags in the pantry you already bought last week when they were on sale? Also price check when you decide on which item you want. If you don’t have a particular brand in mind, the prices can vary.

Don’t shop when you’re hungry

This is something I have to make sure I listen to! If you go shopping when you’re hungry you may tend to add extra items to your cart because you’re craving something. Now I think I need to teach Lia about impulse buying! She was going through the aisles picking up items and saying, “Oh we need this chocolate sauce…pop needs this yellow cake…ma needs caramel sauce and mommy and I need ice cream cones!”

Check store ads before shopping

I have always been a huge coupon shopper and would go to the store with a stack of coupons. Now it’s easier with digital coupons. Check the store flier on your phone before shopping and click off the digital coupons you want to use. It’s that simple! I still use some paper coupons, mostly from printing them from my online earning sites where I also get points (that turn into cash) for using them! But make sure you have them organized with the products because this makes it easier for the cashier if she has to add the price of the item on the coupon. My hubby always tells others not to get behind me in the checkout because I have so many coupons. LOL

Friday, Saturday, Sunday Deals

Kroger has weekend deals with awesome pricing. The specals are listed on the front page of their ad so it’s easy to scan quickly when making my shopping list. The one item I also look for being on sale is butter. Lia and I always bake and cook with butter so we can never have too much. Just last week butter was on sale for $1.99 (up to 5 packages) plus I had 50 cent off coupons! Now that was a deal! Our freezer is always filled with butter! Oh that reminds me, I need to whip up a batch of Italian drop cookies today because my ricotta cheese is nearing the expiration date!

Also if you use Challenge butter, there are coupons inside the box for additional savings on your next purchase! I always carry those with me in case I see it on sale.

Watch the prices when being rung up at register

You may not think this isn’t necessary but it’s an easy mistake for things to be rung up wrong. Also if a cashier has to type in codes for an item, sometimes one number off will be a totally different product. I had two donuts in a bag and it rung up two DOZEN donuts! When I saw the total I knew something was off. Since that time I’ve watched the prices like a hawk.

Buy larger quantities

If you have a freezer this is a great way to save money especially on meats. As an example, the store may have ground beef for $6.99 per pound but if you purchase a package with five or more pounds the price can drop a few dollars per pound. Two years ago we purchased 40 pounds of chicken legs and breasts from the chicken farm and froze them in packages. That was a lot of chicken but for 80 cents a pound it was well worth it! This past year we purcahsed another 40 pounds of chicken breasts at about $1.00 a pound but my neighbor and I split it, each freezing 20 pounds. You may have read my blog about my Costco shopping trip where besides great savings on meat, I also got a dozen huge muffins for only $7.99. Now there is no way our family can go through that many muffins so I freeze them two in a bag! If I only need one it’s easy to just take one out because they are frozen seperately. Another tip on huge bakery items is to cut them in half if oversized. Yes I can devour the entire double chocolate muffin but half is more than enough.

Muffin Tip

So I just came up with an idea that really doesn’t have anything to do with saving money when shopping but look at my muffin cereal! I had a few muffins sitting on the counter that I didn’t listen to myself and freeze. They were starting to dry out along the edges but the inside was still soft. So I invented muffin cereal! I broke half a double chocolate muffin in pieces, added it to my cereal bowl and covered it with milk. Since I always drink milk with the muffins, this is basically the same thing and I don’t have to waste money and toss out a good muffin. I think this would be super delicious if I added some of the white chocolate/raspberry coffee creamer that my granddaughter Alexandra got me hooked on! My next muffin cereal I’ll try the cinnamon muffin!

Did any of my tips on how to save money when grocery shopping help you? I’m always looking at ways to save money, even a few cents here and there adds up to dollars saved. I’d love to know if you have any great ways you save money when grocery shopping. Have a great day, I’m off to bake my Italian drop cookies!