Saving Money on Groceries

These are the things that I find most useful to save money on groceries.

1. Buy generic. Store brand products, especially things like canned or frozen veggies, are identical to the national brands. Many stores now carry their own brands of organic foods. If you don't like the store brand, try another store. I don't like the mini frosted shredded wheat cereal from HEB. I like the one from Kroger.

2. Find the best grocery store for you. Compare the stores near you to find the one that is generally cheaper on what you buy the most. Some ultra-money savers will suggest that you look at all the sale ads and go to one store for milk, one for bread, a third for eggs, etc. to find the best deal on each item. I tried doing this for a while, but I found it cost me too much time to get 5 items from each of 3 different stores. Also, gas was heading to $4/gal, so I decided to make one shopping trip for all groceries. The store I picked was Kroger (see point #1). Turns out, they send "best customer" coupons in the mail when you spend over some magic number at their store.

3. Plan ahead. Make a menu. Plan around long days and evening activities. Use recipe websites or cookbooks from the library to get free ideas. This is really what is most valuable to me. When I come home tired, but I already know what is for dinner, and I know I have all the ingredients available, it is so much easier to find the motivation to cook instead of order in or go out. I highly recommend having the plan in writing. My mom did this and would stick it on the fridge. I used paper for a while, then I switched to a magnetic marker board. I now keep my menu electronically as a note in my email.
Actual past conversation:
Will: What's for dinner?
Me: I don't know. Let me check my email.

4. Use the sale ads. To get the most bang for your buck, plan your menu around what is on sale. Just don't let the sale ad tempt you in to getting more than you need or will use. Lately all the major grocery stores near me have been running sales like "buy any 10 of these 35 items an get an instant $5 rebate" or "get this fantastically low price on a huge package of meat with an additional $10 purchase". These can be great deals but I don't normally buy any of those 35 items (brand name products), and I don't think I have room in my freezer for 10 pounds of meat right now.

5. Use coupons, but only for things you would by anyway. Many times the store brand product is cheaper than the name brand product even with double coupons. There are coupon sources online. I would never pay for coupons, but I do browse some of the free sites to see what is available. Some think that coupons are THE way to save on groceries. Others think they are a complete waste of time. I'm in between. I like it when I find coupons for things I buy all the time, but I don't try to accumulate coupons for name brand products that can be doubled or tripled and combined with a sale.

6. Eat leftovers. Remember that wasted food is wasted money. Use your leftovers. Reheat them for lunch or dinner in a hurry. Use them in different dishes. Take what's left of a baked chicken and make tacos or chicken soup. Be creative. Put leftovers in your menu plan. Remember that reheated leftovers are like take-out from your own kitchen. By reheating leftovers, you can get dinner ready faster than you could get pizza delivered.