Ways to save Money at the Grocery Store

Hi M.,

I have a big family now, and we have been spending about $200.a week, I have since cut that down to $100.wk. What we do is buy in Bulk at Sam's,food 4-less and Costco, I have a list of each items we use and the cost for each store. I have to feed a family of 8.Mind you 4 are all teenagers, I also sell tupperware on the side and have to thank Tupperware for also helping me saving some money, we buy fresh fruits and veggis, I wash them cut them and store them in their Fridgesmart container's and also use the Modular mates.These Items help perserve and maintaine their freshness, I swear our veggies,fruits and herbs last alot longer with them.Also since I do buy in bulk I freeze alot of our food, ie:meats especially when they are on sale. Also When the sale ads come out I go through them and write what is on sale and also to save gas, change my route home to make sure I stop by the store with the sales.This saves time,money and gas. I hope these suggestions will help and if you need any products I can help you with them especially when they are on sale.

yes you can freeze bread (just take it out the night before you need to use it). have you tried buying store brand items? a lot of the time they are just as good. also a good way to shop is to only shop on the outside border of the store where theres not boxed food. try getting your fruits and veggies at a fruit market (thats what we do and its a little cheaper). another good thing is only buy what you know you will need so you dont buy to much and waste it. like dont buy 10 apples if you know youll only go through 4. plan your meals and make a list to shop by. my daughter and i live by ourselfs (well with my family and not with my hubby) and i have to penny pinch a lot. i can feed the 2 of us and get other needed things for about 150 every 2 weeks. thats getting fruit veggies milk eggs pull ups cheese dinner and lunch foods with a few snacks. i seriously just spent $89.00 this last shopping trip and the food will last about 4 days past when i need it to. just look for deals if its something that isnt going to go bad anytime soon or its something that not edible then buy a few if its on sale so you dont have to buy it the next few trips to the store. good luck and i hope this helps!

A friend of mine uses grocerygame.com and swears that it is saving his family of 4 a lot of money. I kind of tried it, but honestly didn't take the time or effort to make it work for us. You may want to check it out.

I freeze bread every week. I buy in bulk bread or bread that is on sale and freeze it. It works great although not all bread freezes well but most do.

Also I keep most fruit and veggies in the frigde and that last a pretty long time without going bad.

I buy yogurt in bulk and then freeze part of it and take it out as needed taste fine.

Use coupons from the Sunday papers, and maybe some online coupons, too. Use the store's rewards program (Ralphs has a great one, it even mails you vouchers to deduct several dollars off your next shopping trip if you earn enough points). Recycle beverage cans at a grocery store if available, they will print out vouchers that you can use towards the shopping bill.

Also, I found that fruits and veggies are much cheaper at ethnic markets than at supermarkets, so if there's one near you, go there for produce!

I have heard the grocery game website is good but they charge (BOO if you're trying to save money!!!) so I go to www.afullcup.com and find GREAT deals and savings there. I am due soon with our second child so I haven't been doing it like I should but when I was I saved hundreds per month. My name is LindseyLouXOX there if you want to say hi or need help around! :)

I used to be a Costco shopper spending $200+ each week. Now that there is a Fresh and Easy near my house, I shop there about every other day. They give $5 coupons if you spend $20+. They keep handing them out and I keep coming back. I no longer buy bulk, separate, and freeze. I have the bags and machine to vacuum suck the air out, but I still misjudge my needs and throw out food. Now I buy 2 - 3 days worth of food and throw out a lot less. BONUS and I eat less.

Otherwise, I use retailer coupons and use the calculator in my phone for the best deal per size. Ie, laundry degergent will sell by 20 loads on one container and 27 loads for another, I always measure by price/ounces to be sure I am paying the least per ounce because you and I may fill the laundry scoop at different levels, so they can't tell me how many loads I will get out of a box of soap.

I also buy cheap soap and good soap. The cheap soap is used for bath & dish towels and rags and good soap on my clothes.

Where possible, I use generics, many times it is the same with a different label.

No retailer coupons at Fresh and Eash though =(

If an item at the store is discounted for the date, I will buy it if I can use it the same day. I don't take a chance unless i can use it the same day.

Green bags save produce much longer. I shop the "day old" section of our bakery then freeze the extras. I also clip coupons and look for super deals in the weekly grocery ads

If you have a Fresh & Easy near you - go there! They have a great 1/2 off section for foods that will be past their "best by" date either that day or the next.

You can freeze bread, milk, butter, most pastries, cheese (but it will effect the texture so only freeze what you will be melting later), soups, lunch meat, eggs (separate or blend first), lots of things - just google it!

I look for sales on meat & chicken then plan a menu accordingly. I buy them fresh, prep everything according to the menu, and freeze what needs to last more then a day or 2.

Check out angelfoodministries.com - you can buy a food box (feeds a family of 4 for a week) for $32. This includes dairy, meat, poultry and fruits and veggies.

I try and create 2 for 1 meals (baked chicken one night - shredded chicken enchiladas the next).