Tips for saving at the grocery store?

now i dont go for shopping and before i always love to shop alone. here if i go i go to BIG BAZAAR. i prefer that because that because the staff is very trained in making the packets of what u have bought. they pack evrything seperately.

My tips would be go alone (just like yours). Don't go hungry. Go with a list. Make your list using the sale circular so you can not only get things you need but things you normally use at a discount. Stock up when things are on sale and use coupons (especially for the sale things).

I've noticed I spend more when my husband goes with me too. I probably spent more when I took the kids with me when they were younger. My number one tip would be to write out a list and stick to it. I keep my grocery list on the computer. I use Lotus. I have the item I need and across from it, the approximate cost. I also have a dry erase board on the refrigerator to write down things we need. I add those things to my list before I go shopping. With it being on lotus it's very easy to change and update, plus I have each column totalled so I know about what I should be spending too. Works great!

hi peavey, there's some really good advice in this thread of yours - you've done quite a service by starting it. I can only add the following suggestions to all the other good ideas so far expressed - 1. have an explicit list of the items to be purchased, and if at all possible, visit three different stores and assess the prices at each BEFORE proceeding to purchase. sounds like a lot of work, but I've found that the overall bill for the same items can be as much as 30% less by doing this. for some strange reason, each store has different price distributions across the same list of products. it means you'd end up buying some of the list from each store. 2. go for the no-name or generic brands wherever possible. eg, in Oz, the cans of salmon are all the same - same Canadian factory imprints and everything on them - just different labels on them with HUGE difference in prices. same principle applies to most everything else - just need to check the ingredients, but mostly generic or "savings" brands are just as good as the branded products, only heaps cheaper. 3. grow your own - much cheaper to get your veggies and eggs this way if you have the garden, the energy and the time to do it. might actually be an opportunity to put the kiddies to constuctive use, too. hope that adds something useful.

I totally agree with going alone. My husband is worse than our children ever were when they were at home. Sticking to the list is easier when you are alone. I hate to go shopping with my husband. I just want to get him out of there.

That's a nice tip. I don't even bring along my nephew and my nieces while shopping because they tend to get whatever they like and you can't resist in their choice of foods, especially if it's chocolates, or any kids' stuff and food. lol. Anyway, I always bring my sister with me everytime i go for grocery shopping. She knows how to budget than me. =)

list down the items you want to buy --- and follow it to the letter. this way, you won't make additional purchases and search for more items which you have no intention of buying in the first place.

list down the items that you need to buy and follow this list to the letter so you won't have to make additional purchases and search for more items off the rack that you have no intention of buying in the first place.

Make sure you eat before you go otherwise everything will look good and you will over spend. The other is going to stores that cost less overall. Ones like Dollar General Market, Sav-A-Lot or Super Wal-Marts. I also check out the day old bread stores and the dollar stores. You can get some really good deals that way. Those are my main tips for saving money while shopping.

Oh you are so right about that - my dh is a disaster to take shopping - has NO idea at all and I end up feeling like the mother of a toddler saying "no" all the time LOL!!!!!

Here's a good one: don't go when you're hungry; you always ending up buying way more than you should, just because you're thinking in your head that you can eat that particular item as soon as your done shopping, and before you know it, you've got so many 'snack' items in your cart rather than actual groceries. I should know!

Get a Freezer. It is one of the best things I have done. That way, when things are on sale, I have a place to put them. It also saves me on trips to the grocery. Also, I try to organize my shopping list according to the aisles in the store to eliminate me forgetting something.