Save Money On Groceries!
Need to save on your grocery bill? Each week I’m sharing one simple tip that you can implement to start saving on your grocery bill right away.
Many of the tips will be familiar, but if you take the Save Money on Groceries Challenge with us, you will actually take the steps each week instead of just filing them in the “I should do that” file. 🙂
[Click here to see all the tips in this series.]
Today’s Tip:
Save money by knowing your prices! Every week stores tell you they have the lowest prices, but how do you know for sure?
Create a price book.
One way to keep track of the prices at your local grocery stores is to make a price book. You can buy a small notebook and divide it into sections like Dairy, Produce, Meat, etc., then within the sections, list the items you frequently buy (in alphabetical order if you want to be super organized). Choose a different store to shop in each week for the next month and record the prices of the items you buy.
A sample page might look like this:
If you prefer an electronic price book, check out this post about how to create a price book on your phone.
Use a website.
An easier way to get started is to use a website that tracks prices for you. My favorite is Coupon Mom. Sign up for free and then access weekly sale prices for your local stores complete with coupons you can use. My favorite feature of the site is the fact that the percent off the regular prices is listed for each item. I try to buy only the items that are 50% off or more.
Why It Works:
When you know the prices of the items you buy most often, you will know when an item is actually on sale rather than just believing what the store tells you, which may or may not be good deals for you.
You can then choose to buy only the items that are truly a good price, and therefore save money on individual items and your overall bill.
For more ideas to save money on groceries (and a more in-depth explanation of how to make a price book), check out my ebook Save More–Clip Less: Cut Your Grocery Bill in Half Without Extreme Couponing.
Click here to see what others are saying.
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photo credit: Danilo Rizzuti
This is my favorite tip! (maybe because I am a number nerd)
When I first started my budgeting and trying to live within my means, I took a notebook and went to my usual grocery store and wrote down the price and size for every item I use by aisle. I did figure out which size was the cheapest while I was there as well (bring a calculator). It took me well over an over to do this. I did go later at night when the store was not busy.
Then I made a table in Word, listing everything with the price per size and a blank space. I used this sheet as my grocery list each week. I then matched it with the sale ad from my grocery store. I found out that often times the size that was on sale was not really a deal compared to what I had in my notebook. I wrote down the sale price in the blank space and highlighted the items I needed. It made shopping super quick and easy as it was set up by aisle.
I used this list for many months and started looking at ads from another local store and would check it when I was at Walmart.
I no longer need to use this as I now know what “good prices” are. I have also found which things I like in the store brand.
It takes time but is do worth it. I was able to stock my pantry by watching the sale ads and comparing them to my list. Now I know to stock up on creamette pasta when it is .99. I have a hard time buying things that are not the best price. I had to do this last night and it made me cringe but our dinner plans changed and I needed the items.
I also lost my coupon organizer…talk about panic! I will build up a new one and it will work out in the end.
Publix has a feature where you can save grocery lists on their website. Instead of making multiple lists, I have made a master list. You can put the prices in the notes section of each item. Also, they tell you what aisles everything is in, so you can get through the store faster (thanks to this, I know my Publix well; very helpful in my first year of marriage).
Great series! I keep track of prices by doing my shopping lists in Evernote. It syncs between my computer and phone and is searchable, so if I want t know what I paid for something, I can find it quickly anytime. And I don’t have to do the extra work of creating a price book.
Terrific idea Viola! I love Evernote.
Great tips! I just found your series through a Pinterest link. Thanks for everything you are sharing! Last night I was shopping, and realized I had forgotten a coupon expiring on 4/30 for 4 cans of soup. Someone had left that very coupon on top of some of the cans. I am going to start doing that. My store doubles coupons up to $.50, so I got that dollar off. What a nice gesture, especially if the coupon is expiring that day anyway.
I am now off to find Evernote. Looking forward to the rest of the series!
Welcome Sylvia! It is so nice to find a coupon that someone has left. It’s a grwat way to help someone without it costing you anything except a little time. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
I’m going to start a price book this week. I only use 3 stores, Walmart, Dollar General and our local grocery store. So hopefully this won’t be too hard to do.
Once I lost a really good coupon for free batteries and I was SO SAD. I guess someone probably ended up really happy though….
Another suggestion is to go over your receipts, if you save them, to get the prices.