I know I do my weekly roundups each week, but I thought I would do a post with the things that I have found really help me save on food each week at the grocery store.

I have listed a lot of things.  If you are new at the food budget/couponing thing, don’t be overwhelmed.  Start with one or 2 things and gradually work in other things that work for you.  The most important item is item #1 on the list below - this alone can transform the amount of money you spend on groceries.

1. Have a grocery budget.  This is non-negotiable.  Set it to what is reasonable for your family.  Take it out in cash if you have to (I recommend this when you are starting out).  This will force you to shop smart or else you will be eating a lot of beans and rice at the end of the week/month.  If you are a warehouse shopper I have found that a monthly budget works better for me.  Then I don’t feel bad spending a good portion of our weekly money in one trip to Costco.  It ends up being spread out throughout the month.  But if you don’t know if you can be that disciplined, then do a weekly budget.

2. Have a weekly meal plan.  Plan it around what is on sale at your grocery stores.

3. Stock up on items when they are on rock-bottom sale.  Buy meat on sale and freeze it for future use.  This prevents you from having to ever buy things at full price.  Just don’t go over your budget to stock up.

4. Use coupons when you can.  There are a LOT available online, you do not need the Sunday paper to have coupons (although it helps).  Use websites such as Southern Savers and Money Saving Mom to know what deals are out there with coupon match-ups.  Know your stores’ coupon policies.

5. Try to do all your grocery shopping in one day for the week.  Fewer trips prevent impulse buys and just spending more in general.

5. Be courteous to the cashiers, and even try to use the same one if you can each time you shop so they get to know you.  Introduce yourself to the manager as a coupon-user and ask him or her first-hand what their policy is.

6. Stick to a grocery list.  Really stick to it.

7. Shop with a calculator to know how much money you are spending before you get to the checkout counter.

8. Pay attention when your items are being scanned.  More than once I have gotten home to see that they charged me for pears instead of apples, for example.  Or that the wrong price rang up for an item.

9. Do not be afraid to go back to the store with an incorrect receipt or food that isn’t good.  It doesn’t have to be right away, I usually just take it with me on my trip the next week.  Publix has always immediately corrected the problem on my word alone, and all stores have taken back fruit or vegetables that were bad.  Maybe returning a 2.99 watermelon that was gross when you cut it open sounds crazy, but that’s 2.99 more you have to spend on your groceries that next week.  It’s a lot when you add it up.

10. Price compare your stores for the items you use the most.  Determine if Costco really is cheaper for some items (I find that it is not, generally).  Along those lines, do unit price comparisons - sometimes the smaller quantities of things actually are cheaper than the larger ones.

11. Don’t be afraid of store brands.  I rarely buy store brand food because I find that with sales and coupons I can get the national brand much cheaper, but if there is no sale or coupon, I have found store brand to be comparable for almost everything.

12. Make things from scratch.  It’s really not as hard as it seems, and you avoid  over-priced packaged food (and the not-so-great ingredients most of them contain).

13. When making a meal, double it and put it in the freezer, if possible.  It will only take slightly longer than making one batch, and knowing you have something in your freezer to pull out on nights you don’t feel like cooking or don’t have any food will prevent you from resorting to pizza or take-out.

14. Have a handful of recipes that are frugal.  Try to add one or 2 in to your meal plan each week to balance out recipes where you have to buy a lot of ingredients.   I plan to post some of my frugal recipes sometime soon.

If I think of any more, I’ll add to the list.  I started my frugal shopping habits with items #1 and #2 on this list, and built up from there.  Some of these I am just starting to do (like getting to know the managers).  Good luck!