Save Money on Groceries

Unlike a fixed monthly cost such as your mortgage or car payment, the amount you spend on groceries each month is somewhat flexible. While the common advice of clipping coupons and buying generic brands to save money while shopping is sound, by far the best way to truly keep your grocery shopping expenses under control is by understanding how grocery stores entice you to spend more than you really want. By fully understanding the ways grocery stores encourage you to spend, many of which you probably never even noticed before, you can combat their strategies and spend money only on the merchandise you really need.

Although a grocery store may appear to be simply a place to purchase food and other household necessities, in reality it's a cutting edge example of "how to sell more than consumers really need." Since you are the consumer, it's important that you realize these sales tactics so that you walk into a grocery store to get only what you need while avoiding everything else that the grocery store wants to sell you. Here are some ways that grocery stores manipulate you into spending more than you had planned and some simple steps you can take to counter them:

Smell: One of the first things you'll notice when you enter a grocery store is the mouth-watering smell. There is a specific reason why grocery stores smell of freshly baked goods, and also why the bakery is almost always found near the store entrance. The reason is that a bakery making bread and desserts gives off an enticing smell, and that smell is likely to make you hungry. The grocery store also knows that if you feel hungry while you shop, you are likely to spend more money - a lot more - than if you are not hungry.

A simple way that you can combat this is by going grocery shopping only after you have had a meal and are full. If timing doesn't allow for you to do this, at least drink a couple of glasses of water before leaving to make you feel full before shopping. Shopping while you're full makes it much easier to resist the great smelling temptations that the grocery store will flaunt in front of you.

Overall Store Layout: Did you ever notice that when you only need to buy a few staple items, you have to travel the entire grocery store floor in order to get them? While one might assume that the convenience of putting basic staple items in the same general area would make happier customers, grocery stores know that the longer that they can keep you in the store, the more money you are likely to spend. They also know that making you walk as far as they can inside the store will make it more likely that you'll pick up impulse items. Stores are specifically designed in such a way as to make you spend as much time as possible inside them and walk the entire store floor to get the basic staples that everyone needs.

Although there is no way around going to the far corners of the store to get the groceries you need, you can avoid the trap of impulse purchases on the store floor by taking the time to make a list of the items you need and sticking to it when shopping. Getting into the habit of making a single trip once a week to take care of all your grocery shopping needs instead of several smaller trips throughout the week will also greatly reduce your time in the store and the chances that you'll buy items you don't really need.

Item Display Layout: Manufactures of brand named products pay hefty stocking fees to stores to have their merchandise placed on the shelves at adult eye level (and child eye level in the case of products aimed at children such as cereal). Manufactures are willing to pay these prices because they know that you are much more likely to purchase something that you can easily see as you are walking down the aisle than something you have to stop and search for. The result is that the products placed at eye level are usually the most expensive.

Before grabbing the first item you see, take a few seconds to look at the upper and lower shelves. Similar products are placed together and simply looking will often reveal the same product at a much better price.

"Sale" Merchandise: Grocery stores will advertise a certain number of items at rock bottom prices (called "loss leaders") to get you to come to the store. While these can be genuine bargains, don't get fooled into thinking that everything that has the words "sale" or "bargain" above it is really that. While aisle ends are reserved for these "bargains," they aren't always the deals they seem to be and the discounted products are often displayed along side higher price products. You can sometimes even find similar products in the regular aisle section that are less than the end of aisle "sale" merchandise.

The important thing to remember when grocery shopping is to focus on the price of the product and not all the fancy advertising and slogans promoting the product. Take the time to check the other brands and see if there is a better deal. Also, remember that if you weren't planning to buy the item and you don't really need it, then it really isn't a bargain for you no matter what the price. Only consider those items that you regularly use and you have a need for.

Product Appearance: Product packaging at grocery stores is bright, usually in red and yellows since these colors attract the eye. Just because something grabs your attention, however, doesn't mean that you have to buy it. Keep focused on your shopping list and don't get distracted by products you don't really need.

Packaging will also be much larger than the actual product for many food items. Manufacturers know that shoppers assume that larger sized packaging equals a better deal. It would make sense since bulking items together saves the manufacturer on packaging, shipping and stocking which they can pass along to you. With a mantra "buy in bulk" now firmly grounded in most people's minds as a way to save money, manufacturers are taking advantage of this. While still not the norm, more and more larger sized packages are less of a deal than their smaller sized counterparts since manufacturers know you will make the above assumptions and probably not compare the per unit cost.

Before grabbing the largest box of a product, take the time to calculate the per unit or per weight cost. More often than you would expect, smaller packages of an item are actually a better deal than buying the same item in a larger package.

Check-Out Layout: The check out aisle of a store is like a mini mart in itself. This is because grocery stores know that they have a captive audience while you wait in line to pay for your groceries. They squeeze in every little thing that might remotely peak your interest to rack up a large amount on impulse sales.

The best way to avoid these temptations to is plan your shopping during off peak hours. Avoid the weekend if at all possible since this is when grocery stores are most crowded, as well as the evening when everyone has just gotten off work. With many grocery stores now staying open 24 hours a day, late night and early morning trips when the aisle and check out lanes are practically bare are the perfect time to get in and out of the grocery store as quickly as possible.

By taking the time to understand how the grocery stores try to influence your shopping and spending habits, you have now put yourself in control. Utilize the suggestions about how to counter the grocery store's selling techniques and you will be able to control your grocery spending to a much greater extent and should have a much easier time keeping to your monthly food budget.

About The Author

Jeffrey Strain has published hundreds of money saving articles and the creator of the Daily Money Saving Challenge Program. He is the co-owner of http://www.savingadvice.com -- a website dedicated to saving you money.

Copyright (c) 2004, by Jeffrey Strain

My local grocery store, HyVee, has a great website and newsletter with recipes, weekly menus, and articles to help you eat healthier or to save money on groceries.

On my last visit to their website, I noticed the article 30 Meals for $3. True to the title, this article shares 30 different recipes, including:

- Ginger and brown sugar glazed salmon (I love salmon!)
- Chicken alfredo pizza
- Steak and potato kabobs

And many more! Check out 30 Meals for $3 for some great, inexpensive meal ideas today.

One of the greatest benefits of meal planning is that it saves you money on your grocery bill. It does this in a couple of ways:

1. You only buy the food you need for the following week; this cuts down on the amount of groceries you buy as well as the amount that spoils each week.

2. When you're preparing your menu for the week, it allows you to use foods you already have on hand, so that you don't let any food go to waste.

3. When planning your meals for the week, you generally look for food that is on sale (using the weekly grocery sale ads), and plan your meals around those foods. Need I say more? On sale = save money!

In addition to saving you money, meal planning is also a huge time saver, and it helps you eat healthier.

If you're worried about saving money on groceries, you're probably worried about saving money in general.

Well, one of the best ways to save money is to know where it's going each month, and to plan for future expenses.

I know most people cringe at the "B" word (that's budget!), but setting up and living by a family budget is very important so you know where your money is going each month, and so you can make decisions regarding your money.

My friend Cara of TheHouseholdHelper.com loves to budget (I'm a financial planner and I don't like to budget, so I think she's crazy, lol!).

Knowing that most people DON'T like to budget, Cara wrote a step-by-step guide to show families how to setup a budget and how to stick to it without sacrificing the things you love to do or buy.

In her guide "How to Set Up a Family Budget", Cara shows you:

- the secret to why we spend, spend, spend and not know where the money went

- how to sit down with bank statements, checking accounts and investment statements and to find out your true financial status

- why this guide is different than other budgeting" books. (It has to do with our "hands-on" approach)

- 26 simple tricks to help you keep to your budget (without grinding your teeth)

- 3 most common reasons why budgets fail. Know what to look out for and you'll avoid these budget busters

- what to do if your expenses total more than your income

- how to handle your paycheck strategically to make sure your bills get paid. Hint: This trick is so good, you won't notice how responsible you are being

- and much more!

The "How to Set Up A Family Budget" report is very reasonably priced (at $8.97), and combined with your meal planning can help you save more money so your family can do more of the things you enjoy :)

You shouldn't have to break the piggy bank just to put food on the table, but sometimes it sure feels that way. Especially with the price of food going up these days%u2026

Here are some tips on how to have a frugal dinner any night of the week:

1. Cut down on the meat. If a recipe calls for a pound of ground beef, use 3/4 or even 1/2 pound instead. I generally will buy ground beef in bulk (especially when it's on sale), and then will partition it into 1/2 and 3/4 pound portions. Thanks to my trusty food saver, the ground beef stays fresh for much longer.

Continue reading 'Frugal Dinner Ideas'...

Your best source for grocery coupons is most likely your local newspaper, with Sunday editions having a large selection of grocery coupon insert. Another source for obtaining the grocery coupons is the magazines. Another place to look for grocery coupons is online. Coupons are quite popular these days, shoppers all around the world have always been enthusiastic about the discount coupons. They are like paper money that you can use like cash while making any purchase. There are different types of coupons.

Manufacturer's Coupons: These are printed and distributed by the product manufacturer to entice shoppers to try their products, or to encourage continued use of classic favorite items.

Store-Specific Coupons: These discount coupons are only valid at specific grocery stores and typically apply to local or regional products rather than nationally distributed items.

Combination Coupons: These deals are valid only if more than one product is purchased from an approved list.

Rebate Coupons: These discounts must be mailed in with a receipt and proof of purchase in order to redeem the value, usually a specified dollar amount or a free item. All of these types of coupons can be found for free if shoppers know where to look for the best deals.

Online coupon codes and the promotional coupons can save lots of money on the stuff you would buy. Specialized websites feature categorized listings of hundreds of coupons for registered users to print for free. Despite a few setbacks, however, coupon-related websites are a tremendous resource for consumers interested in free grocery coupons.

Did you know grocery coupons can save you anywhere from 40%-85% of your family's grocery budget. Anyone interested in saving money on groceries can easily find free grocery coupons, but knowing the best tips and tricks for locating dynamite deals not only saves money, but also saves time and effort in the long run, making the savings even more substantial.

Store and manufacturer websites may offer printable coupons for interested consumers. Printable grocery coupons have unique IDs which can trace back to the printer from which they were generated. Printable coupons are redeemed by printing them out. Another great thing about printable coupons is that they roll, meaning, if I print only one today, and then go back in 3 days, the expiration date is going to be different, giving me a date further out on the 2nd print than the first, which means more time to use the coupon. Studies have shown that the average coupon value for printable grocery coupons is slightly higher than newspaper grocery coupons, and they are available for many popular brands.

One of the best ways to save more money with grocery coupons is to match them with items that are already on sale.

Look through your weekly grocery store sale flyers (they are often first published in the Wednesday newspaper and are also available at the front of the store for free) to find matching items that you'd like to purchase. free grocery coupons come in several varieties, and savvy consumers educate themselves on what types of coupons are available before hitting the aisles.

If you would like to learn more about how to save money with coupons visit:
http://www.Couponsforanything.com

I do most of our grocery shopping at the local HyVee store. They also have a great newsletter that I've subscribed to for at least a year now, with articles and some very tasty recipes. This week's newsletter included this article on new habits to help you save your food budget. I just had to share this article... enjoy!

We live in interesting times. With great challenges come great opportunities. Take the economy, for example. At first blush, the challenge of dwindling financial resources brings thoughts of smaller meals, fewer treats and finding the cheapest foods available to feed our families. Perhaps a familiar "dollar menu" comes to mind. Not so fast! Let's look at six new habits that can save your food budget without sacrificing nutrition, flavor and fun.

Habit 1. Save money by cooking at home. Do you really want to pay someone else to prepare your dinner? Even fast food comes with the overhead of labor and operating expenses. By cooking the meal yourself, you have more control over the ingredients and nutritional value, too.

Habit 2. Plan ahead. How many times has 4:00 p.m. rolled around and still we wonder, "What's for dinner?" It's often those occasions when we lose our creativity and ambition to create healthy meals at home and so we revert back to old habits and fast food. Once again, now we're paying someone else to prepare our dinner. With a little planning, you can walk into the grocery store confident that you'll shop the bargains, have the menu already at hand and proceed home to "wow" the family with a great home-cooked meal.

Habit 3. Shop with a list. Hy-Vee launched a weekly budget-friendly menu back in July, 2008. Our goal was to provide daily dinner menus that used our advertised specials. Well, even though our economy was in trouble back then, the challenges have become even bigger. Last month, we took our budget-friendliness a step further. Now we have 30 beautiful, healthy meals available on our website for under $3.00 each per serving. Go to www.hy-vee.com and click on a meal that looks delicious. From there, you can print the recipe and build your shopping list. It's so easy and economical.

Habit 4. Have fun with a new recipe. Take an adventure and have your family try something new. Your kids would love to look at the pictures on our website and pick something new and exciting. Let them help in the meal preparation, too. Now you have the added benefit of teaching children how to cook and time for learning about how their day went at school.

Habit 5. Take the left-over challenge. Serving exactly the same foods that you served last night might not get cheers of excitement from the family. When you're planning the week's menu, think of ways that you can remake those leftovers into a new meal. Baking a whole chicken one night makes an economical start - but then pick off the extra meat and save it for barbecued sandwiches the next night. Cook it once; serve it twice. You can even simmer the bones and save the stock for a soup meal in the future.

Habit 6. Shop for seasonal fruits and vegetables. You know that seasonal produce is usually on sale and may even come from a local farm. But think about freezing some to use in a few months. Blanch some ears of sweet corn, then remove and freeze the kernels. When you bring out that favorite in the cold of winter, everyone will remember how they enjoyed it in the summer fun.

Here's a sneak preview from our 30 meals for $3, complete with the shopping list to make your life easier and help you take the challenge of eating healthier on a budget. This delicious recipe is only 120 calories per serving. Enjoy!

Chipotle Sour Cream Chicken Meal

By Stephanie Nelson

Over the past five years there has been a dramatic increase in the number of grocery coupon offers available from printable coupon websites. There were only a handful of printable grocery coupons available on a couple of sites five years ago. Today, you can print a total of over 200 coupons from several credible websites.

However, there are some individuals who sell counterfeit grocery coupons over the Internet on auction sites. These coupons are not from legitimate coupon sites and are actually forgeries. Sellers may sell several printable sheets of coupons for a nominal fee of $5 to $10 per set. Unfortunately, shoppers who buy and use these coupons are committing a criminal act and are risking severe penalties. Therefore, to avoid the confusion of knowing how to identify counterfeit coupons, your best bet is to avoid buying any coupons over the Internet. Simply find the free printable coupon sites and use their coupons!

You will get plenty of free grocery coupons if you learn what the legitimate printable coupon sites are and how to get more of their coupons. Studies have shown that the average coupon value for printable grocery coupons is slightly higher than newspaper grocery coupons, and they are available for many popular brands. You can expect to find many coupons from General Mills, Pillsbury, Betty Crocker, Aquafresh, Red Baron, and more. You can also visit the websites of food manufacturers and sign up for their email newsletters to receive free printable coupons.

When you sign up for a coupon site, you may be asked if you would like to receive their email newsletter notifying you of new offers. You should select "yes" so you receive their reminders when new offers are added.

Check the printable grocery coupon sites when you are creating your weekly shopping list to make sure you take advantage of free offers for items you are buying.

The printable sites will require you to download a coupon print manager. You can trust that the coupon print managers from the sites we recommend are safe and will not damage your computer.

The printable sites limit the number of coupons you can print for each offer (either one or two per offer, depending on the site). Once you have reached your limit, you will not be able to print any more coupons for that specific offer. However, when the site's advertiser renews their offer you will be able to print more, so it pays to check each site on a weekly basis.

Ask your grocery and drugstores if they accept coupons printed from the Internet. Because of some counterfeit coupon problems, some stores will not accept them. However, most stores do accept them. This policy also varies by store and even by individual store manager, so it is worth asking nearby stores if your store doesn't accept them readily.

Stephanie Nelson's free grocery-saving system at http://www.couponmom.com is used by millions of shoppers a year. Stephanie is a regular contributor on ABC News’ Good Morning America and writes a bi-weekly savings column for ABCnews.com. She is the author of the book “The Greatest Secrets of the Coupon Mom” and writes a weekly syndicated newspaper column, "Supermarket Shopper."

by Cara Mirabella of TheHouseholdHelper.com

The cost of food is continually on the rise, not to mention the added expense of finding the leaner cuts of meat or the specialty "diet" foods. You don't have to spend twice as much of your hard earned dollar to eat healthfully. There are several techniques to making healthier food choices without putting unnecessary dollars in the merchant's pocket.

Plan your meals: Create a weekly menu. Then make a shopping list and check your pantry and refrigerator against the list. Mark off anything on your list that you already have on hand. This will save you the added expense of purchasing something that is already occupying your food pantry.

Keep it clean and organized: Cleaning out your pantry, fridge or anywhere you store food on a regular basis is essential to knowing what you have on hand and what you are running low on. Throw away items that have passed their expiration date or smell or look rancid. Keep these areas organized and put the items that are nearing their expiration date toward the front. This will make them easier to see and to reach and will cut down on unnecessary waste.

Stick to your shopping list: If it's not on the list, don't buy it. The majority of unnecessary expense is impulse buying. If it isn't on your list, chances are you don't need it. Sticking to your list will also keep you from sabotaging your diet with that needless bag of cookies.

Clip coupons and watch for sales: You can shave several dollars off your grocery bill by checking sales adds and clipping coupons. Place your coupons in your purse immediately after clipping them to they don't get left behind when you head to the store. Don't purchase something you don't need just because it's a good price and you have a coupon; and don't waste your valuable time cutting out coupons you won't use.

Go meatless: Prepare vegetarian or meatless dishes one or two nights a week. It will save you money as well as fat. To still get your protein, however, serve red beans or fish in place of the meat.

Buy in bulk: Buy your lean ground beef and boneless, skinless chicken breast in large variety pack and divide them up by the pound or the chicken breast. You can use what you need per meal and you have saved a ton of money.

You work hard for your money. You certainly don't want to throw it away trying to eat right. With just a few simple steps you should be able to save money and be on your way to a healthier, slimmer you.

Frugal Living: How to Stretch Your Hard Earned Dollar is a downloadable ebook that will show you that you can live a frugal life without sacrificing the things you love. It shows you that saving money by living a frugal life can be easy and enjoyable.

Saving money can be a headache for many of us. If you're like most people, you live from paycheck to paycheck hoping you don't have to rob Peter to pay Paul. Saving money? What's that has always been my situation. Until I read this ebook. Now I know what saving money really is and I can do it without sacrificing my daily living.

Learning to be smart about managing money is the basis of this ebook. No they aren't telling us we have to stop living our lives the way we like. It just shows us that we can change a few things or do a few things differently. The differences we make by using the ideas in this book will help us save money and continue a life we can enjoy.

Making a budget can be daunting. Many people make a budget, stick to it about a month or so and then go back to my old way of doing things. This ebook shows you how to make a budget that works for you and that you will stick to. It gives you step-by-step guidance on how to figure out what your budget needs, how to plan for your budget, how to keep track of it and most importantly how to stick to it.

Having trouble making ends meet? Have more month left than money? Many people struggle with this issue. One of the best ways to save money and truly stretch your dollars all the way to the end of the month is to live a more frugal lifestyle.

Yes, frugality is key. Being frugal with one's life does not mean that you will live a life, doing without and hoarded away. Frugal living is actually very freeing. Frugal living frees up your finances to work harder and smarter for you so that you in turn do not have to work so hard to actually bring in an income.

In a time where 40% of Americans live beyond their means, meaning they spend more monthly than they make, finding ways to save and learning to be more frugal sounds like a winning idea.

There are a few key concepts that one must adopt in order to begin living a more frugal lifestyle.

Smarter money management. A person must begin to not only spend less money, but also manage the money they have in a smarter way. This can take some time and discipline but will truly pay off in the end.

Spending less. A person must also learn how to spend less than they make. This can be a difficult process for some who have spent more than their paycheck for a long time, however if they adopt some frugal living ideas they can be doing this in no time.

Saving. With the money that they save through not spending as much, they can begin to put away money into savings; another key to frugal living that will help a person to get ahead.

Continuing the process. Continuing to spend more and save less is key.

Adopting some key concepts to frugal living can truly change the way you live your life, and the way that your money works for you. Become different from the norm and begin a smarter, more frugal lifestyle today.

About the Author:

Cara Mirabella is a WAHM with one toddler from New Jersey. She owns and manages TheHouseholdHelper.com - a site dedicated to saving your time, money and sanity when managing your household. She has written several articles, reports and e-books including Frugal Living - How to Stretch Your Hard Earned Dollar.