Cut Your Grocery Bill In Half In A Few Easy Steps

With the rising prices of gas and going to the grocery store, we are all feeling the pinch.  We cannot do anything about the price of gas but we can do something about what we pay for our groceries.  We may not be able to change the prices of them, per se, but we can work around them.

I have learned some tricks to help cut my grocery bill.  First of all, you must shop with a grocery list and do not settle for a random list.  Your list needs to be strictly structured and include all necessary ingredients for your menu.  You do make a menu, don’t you?  A menu is essential.  It doesn’t mean you can’t change things up if you aren’t in the mood for tacos but the point is to purchase enough food for the number of meals you will have until the next grocery store trip.

Buy generic whenever possible.  I have found that the quality of generic products is very comparable to name brand products.  We all have our favorites in name brand products and you can keep those.  But when it doesn’t make a major difference, go generic.

Cut coupons.  I am not an extreme coupon expert, although I sometimes wish I were, but a person can easily cut ten to twenty dollars off their grocery bill each week with minimal effort.  The best places to get coupons are the Sunday paper, on the internet and through the mail when you sign up for coupons.  Proctor & Gamble has especially good coupons if you sign up to receive them on their website.  All You magazine has awesome coupons.  I save enough in coupons to pay for my magazine.

Buy in bulk.  It isn’t always feasible to buy in bulk because let’s face it, we can’t all eat dozens of pastries before they expire, but there are certain things that it is beneficial to buy in bulk.  Meat is one such area.  The price per pound drops significantly when you buy larger packages.

With a little creativity and thoughtful shopping, you will be on your way to huge savings.