Saving on Groceries

Have you tried Aldi's yet? I don't shop there exclusively but they do have really, really good prices on lots of stuff and most of it is really, really good. Good luck.

Mitzi's answer was spot on.
I use Angel Food Ministries here in Mississippi and my sister does in Kansas. We really like the value and the quality of the groceries. For my son and I it is really the bulk of our monthly groceries.

Coupons are great - I use several of the coupon sites plus I will just type the item + coupon into the Google search bar for things I particularly want.

Happy shopping!

Coupons, sales flyers, set rotation/options for your grocery store (that are on your way somewhere so you save or double-up trips), menu planning, and portioning. I use coupons to pick our snack foods and try to use the coupons when things are on sale and stock up. If we decide we want burgers one week, we buy the club pack, portion it, and have three or four burger-based meals with only a few "ingredient" varieties (tacos, then use leftover soft shells for sandwich wraps, burgers on fresh rolls, burger and macaroni casserole, biscuits and "glop," etc.). You could check out Angel Food Ministries (sorry if someone already posted that) at www.angelfoodministries.com to see if you like any of their menus. They are actually less expensive by $25 to $30 for a box of food (I compared to my favorite grocery store) and it can help supplement your menu.

We have found that saving leftovers and planning our meals has made the biggest difference. I'm also tracking our spending by item and cost to see where we are indulging more and saving more and that is really helping me budget better.

OTHER THOUGHTS

I was also thinking that other areas that are boring but can be pricey might be foods like cereals, which you can find good coupons for sometimes, or switch to something bearable and off-brand for breakfast. My husband likes craft beers and usually picks them just based on which one is on sale (not always though). I buy a lot of things in bulk like toilet paper when I can or tissues since it is cheaper in the long run. You might not save on fancier areas that are really important to you, but if you save in others it trickles over.

shop around. i dont do all my shopping at one store. i live in the middle of nowhere so u have to drive a half an hour to get to a good store anyway, but things like spices i buy at the dollar store, most dried foods (pasta, beans, canned goods) i buy at walmart ect i also try to buy in bulk (like the huge 3 pd bags of birdseye veggies at walmart...i love those!) and freeze things. this yr my husband and i are planning on investing in a deep freezer, so we can have more room, also my family keeps an eye on sales and then shares food. example: a local grocery store had pork tendoloin buy 10 pds get 10pds free. my uncle bought it for my grandma and she didnt need all 20pds so they gave half of it to me. (i cut it up and its like 21 servings!)

I don't like coupons but they do help especially when you match them up to sales. What I do is look at all the sales flyers and shop accordingly. I plan my meals a week in advance and only get the items I need to make them (I will wait for the flyers to plan the meals so I buy what is on sale). There are some regular things I do to save like I buy all my produce from a farmers market (usually much cheaper than the store). I used to participate in coupon sense and if you have the patience and time to do it it can save you a lot of money.

I like to go through the sale ads and plan meals around what's on sale, especially meat and fruit, since those are generally the biggest part of our food budget.

My family and I are eating better since I started couponing and bargain shopping. Find a blog in your area that will do the leg work for you and tell you where to shop and what coupons to use. I also shop the clearance meat section at my grocery store. The day before the meat expires it goes to 50-75% off at 6pm ( it is different for all stores). I just drop in the stores a few times a week to check the section and buy if there is anything good. I am very picky about the brands of meat I buy and I usually find them in the clearanced meat section. I then take it home, repack it and freeze it for later. I also do mostly stock up shopping when there are good sales which I match coupons to and then I plan my menu from what is in my pantry/freezer. You can find yogurt and cheeses on clearance prices when they get close to their sell by date, I buy those and match them with coupons to get them for free or nearly free and then freeze them. There are certain name brands that I prefer for personnal items so I save coupons for those things when I find them so I at least get them cheaper.

Sign up for the Briefing:
http://www.dallasnews.com/briefing/

This is a free, condensed version of the Dallas Morning News newspaper. It contains all the ads and coupons and is delivered to your door Wednesday - Saturday. Yes, it does contain the Sunday coupons in the Saturday edition.

Check online coupon sites. I use coupons.com and a few others. You click, print, and save. I normally only get a few off this site weekly, but they add up. Also, if there are certain brands that you love, you can sometimes send them an email telling them how much you use their product and they will send you coupons.

Sign up for store savings cards. I use Tom Thumb and CVS saving cards a lot.

Know that you can use a store coupon AND an advertiser coupon at the same time. Store coupons are exclusive to the store and will normally have the store's logo on them. When grouping the two, you can many times get things for free.

I do shop the circular ads for things I purchase regularly and meat. Like Sara said, I plan my meals based on what meat is on sale this week. I try not to spend more than $2/$3 per serving on meat.

Be mindful of what you are spending. Make a budget and stick to it. I plan around $90/week for a family of 3.

Not sure if this blog will apply to your stores in Tx, but it at least has links to a bunch of different sites for printing coupons or e-coupons on your grocery shopper card.

We have been eating much better since I started using her site and saving TONS of money.

Have fun!

I use Grocery Game, it's a paid service that matches grocery sales with coupons in the paper and I save about 50-55% each week when I check out at the grocery store. The premise is you stock up on things when they are on sale, and then shop from your pantry when you cook. Works for me and I feed my family of 5 (2 adults, 10, 9, and 2 year old kids) for about $400-$425/month. If this sounds like something you'd like more info on, I'd be happy to talk to you about it. Email me privately and I'll give you my phone number. It's really easy to use and I get all name brand stuff. On another note, there is a free site called Coupon Mom that is similar in concept, but I don't find their info to be quite as accurate. So, for about $5.00/month, I'd rather pay and have it accurate than use couponmom and get to the store and realize that some item I needed isn't actually on sale.

There are a ton of great websites out there that will list all the sale items, along with what coupons to use and how, for most grocery stores. If you can find a website based in your region, it will be more tailored to your options. But there are websites which cater to almost every different grocery store out there. A good place to start would probably be moneysavingmom.com, if you go there and click on the store deals tab, you can find the weekly deals at almost any chain grocery. Know what constitutes a "good" price on the foods you like and eat most. Then whenever the price falls below that, be sure to stock up on those things.

I don't know if they have them where you live but I recommend shopping at grocery thrift stores like ALDI or GFS. I am still a stickler on buying some things name-brand but you can save a lot of money by buying some things at the bargain stores. :) Happy eating!

COUPONS! They help alot--- buy what you have coupons for and you will learn how to save more $$. Also, skip the middle isles of the grocery store---go to the produce isles first--stick with your list, and make sure you eat before you go to the store. You won't be as likely to impulse buy.

M

My husband and I use www.e-mealz.com and really like it. The food is not gourmet, but it saves you a lot of money that you can then use to splurge on a nice meal every once in a while.