12 ways to save money on your grocery bill

Groceries are an expensive part of the household budget. Lunches, dinners, breakfasts, snacks...it all adds up pretty fast! Here are 12 tips for slashing that food bill and getting your grocery spending under control.

Tip #1
Ditch the prepared food when you can. Convenience food is not only expensive, a lot of it isn't good for you. Gradually make the switch to buying ingredients, rather than prepared food, and you can save a bundle. This one simple change saves us about $25 per week. When we are able to buy ingredients in bulk from a warehouse store, we save even more. 

Tip #2
Buy what's on sale. If you spot a particularly great bargain, stockpile the item so that you'll have enough to last you until the next big sale. Think you don't have the space to store the extra food?  Think again!  We have a small home, so we stash canned goods and other non-perishables under beds and in closets.  Our freezer isn't huge, but we manage to freeze most of our foods as flat as possible so that we can file them away in the freezer.

Tip #3
Look over all of the grocery ads and plan your meals around what is on sale that week. Is yellow squash a great price this week? It may be time to grab a cookbook and see what dishes can be made featuring squash or ones that can be modified to include it.

Tip #4
Get creative. Does your recipe call for an expensive ingredient that you don't have on hand? Substitute it for something similar that you already have in your refrigerator or pantry. You can also find ingredient substitution lists by doing a quick Google search or by checking the backs of your old cookbooks.  Baking powder, corn syrup, and buttermilk are just a few of the items that can be easily substituted with things you already have in your kitchen.

Tip #5
Use a price book. Tracking both regular and sale prices will help you figure out if that good deal in front of you at the store saves you as much money as you think it does. A price book will also help you spot seasonal savings trends at each store. 

Tip #6
Buy generic. I'll admit, some generic food isn't good enough to make the price break worthwhile. However, most generic items are actually the exact same as their name brand counterparts. The only difference is that the generic version of the item does not have the fancy packaging. Experiment with some generic items to see what works best for your family.

Tip #7
Buy from more than one store. Scout out the loss leaders at a store (those items that are featured on the front page of the sales ad because they are such a great deal) and buy just those. Then, move on to the next store's loss leaders to take advantage of those great prices. By doing this, you avoid the trap that the stores have set for you - you have avoided buying all of your groceries at one place, and have avoided paying more on some items to make up for the great loss leader deals. I typically only need to shop at two stores every week to see a significant reduction in our grocery bill.

Tip #8
Check out the clearance section.  There is a dairy case in one of the stores I frequent, and every Wednesday it is stocked with perishables that are nearing their "use by" date.  I have picked up .49 gallons of milk and .25 bottles of heavy cream; what I can't use by the expiration date, I freeze for later.  There are also clearance racks in the meat department, and typically along the back wall of the store (for non-perishable items).  The next time you are at your local market, try making a quick stop at the clearance sections and see how much you can save at the checkout stand.  Just make sure that nothing is too far past its prime, and double check dented cans for punctures to avoid any problems.   

Tip #9
Watch for seasonal savings.  In our family, we see a lot of apple pies in the autumn, zucchini breads in the summer, and vats of cabbage soup in January.  Fruits and vegetables can be much cheaper, and much more delicious, when they are purchased in season.  Don't forget to buy some extra and freeze or can it for later!

Tip #10
Eat your veggies.  Having a few meatless meals every week is a great way to save money and stay healthy.  We substitute textured vegetable protein (TVP) for ground beef or ground chicken and it is delicious; we have served it to carnivorous friends who did not know that it wasn't real meat!  We also use tofu, eggs, peanut butter, beans, seitan, and legumes for inexpensive, plant-based protein. 

Tip #11
Plant a garden.  We don't have a large yard, but we do have it loaded with fruits and vegetables.  Trellis structures work for growing food vertically, we pack the sunny areas with compact growing plants, and we purchased hanging planters for things like tomatoes and peppers.  Not only are these fruits and vegetable inexpensive to tend, but we know that they are high quality foods since we grew them at home.  Inside we grow herbs on the windowsills which saves us even more money at the market - herbs at the grocery store are expensive!

Tip #12
Use coupons when they make sense.  By all means, use coupons for things you would normally purchase, or for items that you rarely purchase because of the price.   If you are going to use a coupon for a 5lb. can of tuna, even though you hate fish, you may want to re-evaluate whether or not the coupon is actually a good deal.  Also, make sure to take advantage of double coupons, triple coupons, and stacking (using multiple coupons for one item) if your stores allow you to do so.  Last but not least, if you have a bunch of coupons that you aren't going to use, consider swapping them with friends or through one of the online coupon swap sites. 

Try these 12 tips for yourself and see how much you can save every week!