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Cut Your Grocery Bill

Cut Your Grocery Bill

Purchasing groceries is one of those necessary expenses that go with paying for gas and electricity or providing maintenance on the car. We don't necessarily want to do any of these things but they are a part of everyday life and required to function. However, the fact that we have to do these things doesn't mean we have to break the bank or spend more money than necessary. Some expenses are fairly rigid such as a mortgage or car payment, but food is the one area when there are many different ways to save money and cut costs if you shop smart and look for opportunities.

TV shows are a dime a dozen but some of the more helpful ones pertain to coupons and maximizing their use to save money. Many shows and magazine articles will go on to detail on how to get organized and cut your food bills in half by using store coupons and coupon sprinted from online sources. Coupons also come in the mail and can be found in products that you commonly use to incentivize you to purchase more of the same. Back in the day, using coupons used to be frowned upon and stigmatized as it was a sign of poverty. Luckily this viewpoint has done 180 degree change and now clipping coupons and saving money is the smartest thing a family can do to get ahead financially.

Getting organized when using coupons is simple but it has to be a system that you embrace and adhere to for years. Whether it's using envelopes, a binder or plastic bags, use the system which allows you to be efficient and easily get to your coupons when making purchases. Once your coupons are organized and you start shopping try to find a grocery store which will double the coupons when used at the checkout counter. Clipping and using coupons however can be viewed as a waste of time unless tangible evidence can be provided otherwise to prove that your family is saving money. Keep a log or journal as well as receipts from the past and present to provide valuable feedback and provide further incentive to keep using this cost cutting tool.

Coupons are like free money given to you by manufacturers to purchase their product but that's not the only way to cut your grocery bill. Weekly flyers for multiple grocery stores will have fruits, vegetables and staples like milk and sugar at incredibly low prices to lure shoppers. This competition allows you to buy products at low prices and get healthy food for your family resulting in significant savings. And even better scenario however is when stores honor each others prices with price matching guarantees. This means you can limit your shopping to one store but use price matching from multiple competitors. The hope for retailers is that by getting you into the store for $20 worth of goods you will then stay to purchase hundreds of dollars of additional food and other products. Don't fall for their trap so make a list based on a budget and stick to that number when shopping for groceries.

There are additional techniques like buying fruits and vegetables when they're in season and shopping at local farmers markets. Cultivating your own garden and participating in store incentive programs will also help cut your grocery bill by a significant margin. In reality however, the sky is the limit when saving money on groceries and it is limited only by your creativity and dedication to making cutting costs a priority. Cutting your grocery bill is similar to reducing electricity use or upping the deductible on your car insurance. Taken individually they may not feel like you're accomplishing much but together they save thousands of dollars a year which can be put to better use for you and your family.

Image by: Patrick DB