How to hone your money saving skills at the grocery store

Being a tightwad is not easy, but well worth the effort. If you are REALLY committed to learning how to save money, then the one most important skill you should master is knowing how much things NORMALLY Cost.

Here is an example:

Butter is on sale; buy one get one free (BOGO) $1.69. That would be 84.5 cents per pound. Well, when you KNOW that butter is normally 79 cents a pound, then you would know it’s not a good deal. The draw of the BOGO shelf tags and ads is what many people fall for the most.

Here’s another gimmick some stores use, but they raise the prices of other items to cover the cost:

A store in my area runs a promotion that I will call “Gas Money”; For every 10 dollars worth of store brand items you buy, you will get one dollar coupon good for the purchase of Gas.

Well, since I know how much everything is “Supposed” to cost, then I know that they have added 10 cents to dozens of frequently bought items…so where is the savings? It’s like taking money out of one pocket and putting it in the other. If you are on the ball, you can avoid those items and buy only the items that were not raised. This way you are REALLY getting the free gas.

Beware of “Triple Coupons”. The first time I saw this, I gathered up all of my coupons and trekked across town, only to find out that they hiked the prices up….I mean it was unbelievable!

The grocers know when the manufacturers are going to release the coupons. That is when they push the Triple coupon promotions. They raise the price enough to cover the coupon. An example would be: $5.00 for a box of cereal, then you get triple a 50 cent coupon, so 3.50 for a box of cereal? I think not! After all, $1.50 off “overpriced” does not equal a good deal. I never even waste my time trying to orchestrate “triple coupon” shopping, it’s not worth it.

Here’s a better idea. Clip the coupons out of the Sunday paper. Now, put them in an envelope and write the date on the outside of the envelope. In approximately a month, the items you just clipped coupons for should be on sale. The manufacturers put the coupons out to get you to try the product. After a few weeks go by, they put the same products on sale in an attempt to get repeat business. If you can get it on sale AND you have a coupon, now that’s what I call a good deal.

Plan your grocery trips and get the most for your food dollar. I mean, everyone has to eat, right? You are going to have to go to the grocery store anyway, so why not take an extra few minutes to plan? It is much easier to plan when you are sitting at home than when you are at the store (Especially when you have a little one with you).

Log on to your local grocery stores’ web sites and look over their current ads. Chances are you will have to drive past at least one store to get to your preferred store, so look at both sale papers online, compare the prices and print out your lists. Better yet, save all of the sale papers and head over to Wal-mart. They will match the price of any advertised competitor sales except BOGO. They will even give you their store brand for the price of any other store brand as long it is advertised.

You may have heard this advice: Always make a list and stick to it. This is not necessarily true. Making a list IS a good idea, but if you make a list and stick to it, you may miss out on something you frequently use being on sale. This will cost you money in the long run. This is why I suggest reading your local ads AND planning your menu around the items that are on sale that week.

If you don’t mind the extra work, use the self-checkout. This way, when you scan your items you can see the prices on the terminal and make sure they are priced correctly. If you check your receipt EVERY time, you will probably find you are being overcharged on at least one item per shopping trip. Do the math…if you go to the store at least 3 times a week, and they get you for at least a quarter every time…that’s around 3.25 a month. I am sure you could find better ways to spend your money!

Another advantage to using the self checkout is you can bag your groceries without anything getting smashed or broken.

Using “store brands” will really save you some money. When “generic” items first gained popularity back in the 80’s (if I remember correctly), some of the stuff was really bad. Things have changed though. I actually prefer some store brand items to the brand names. Most stores offer a full satisfaction guarantee. Just look on the package. Here’s my rule…I will try the store brand of anything once. If I don’t like it, I simply don’t ever buy it again. Get yourself in the habit of trying the store brands, you will be pleasantly surprised. You have to be careful though, sometimes the store brand is more expensive than its brand name counterpart, so ALWAYS read the shelf tags. This way you can see how much you are paying per oz., lb., unit, etc.

NOTE: Most stores will honor the shelf tag, even if they simply forgot to change it. One store in my area even gives you a refund and the item for free! (One time I got a 25 dollar table runner at Wal-mart for 7 dollars because the shelf tag was wrong, so don’t be afraid to ask!)

If you are new to Penny Pinching, I hope this has shed some light on how to squeeze a little more out of your food dollars!

Key things to remember:

- Plan, plan, plan!

- Take time to familiarize yourself with prices of items you frequently buy.

- Try at least one store brand item per week.

- Remember to check your receipt for accuracy.

- Read the shelf tags

- Happy Saving!