7 Money Saving Tips for the Grocery Store

Raw Produce

Buying prepared salad mix is quite a bit more expensive than buying a head of lettuce. The same is true for cut fruit versus uncut fruit. Always buy raw produce as opposed to the prepared stuff, cut it yourself and you'll save money.

Advertised Prices

This area alone saves me a good amount of money. Many times grocery stores will place what looks like a sale sign by items they're promoting. Always check the original price of the product as there may not be any difference. Also, grocery stores like to advertise multiple items for a certain price. This doesn't mean you have to buy the specified number of items in order to get the deal, often times you can buy just 1 item and still receive the discount; check the advertisement or ask an employee for details if you're unsure.

Price to Ounces Ratio

If you're a real bargain seeker you can check to see how much you're paying for each ounce of food you're getting. Many grocery stores will list the cost per ounce right on the tag which is very useful. If your local grocery stores don't do this you can easily calculate it with ounces divided by price. Check the costs of bagged cereals compared to name brand boxed cereals, you'll find that the bags can be as low as 9 cents per ounce while the name brands are often as high as 25 cents per ounce -- The savings add up.

Hot Zones

Hot zones are the center aisles and checkout lanes of the grocery store. These areas are chalked full of advertised items that are generally less than a great bargain. The stores put them there because customers spend a lot of time in these areas and are more likely to buy from them because of their convenience.

Shopping List

A good way to make a shopping list is to plan your meals a week in advance. This is not only a great way to keep your grocery shopping to a minimum (thus saving money), but it makes it a lot easier to diet as well.

Cash

After you make your grocery list, set aside approximately the amount of cash you will need to do your grocery shopping -- an envelope works well for this. When you head to the store bring that envelope with you instead of your checkbook, debit / credit cards. This way you can only spend what you've allocated for the shopping trip.

Coupons

This is an art form for some people. Using coupons in conjunction with in-store sales can save you loads of money. If you've never done this before you may want to do a little research on effective methods for coupon clipping.