Lifestyle

Easy Methods for Saving Money at the Grocery Store: 25

It’s not as difficult as you would imagine to pare down your spending plan to the essentials. While your mortgage and childcare expenses may be out of your hands, there are many other areas in which you can cut costs significantly. These include food, utilities, cell phone and cable bills, back-to-school supplies, transportation, personal care expenses, a new car, bank fees, prescriptions, dental and vision care, seasonal merchandise, entertainment, and more. Here are 25 simple strategies for cutting grocery costs.

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1. Set and strictly adhere to a weekly or monthly food budget.

To save money, buy whole fruits like watermelons and pineapples instead of already chopped up. Avoid pre-made salads and coleslaw for the same reason. When a single cabbage can be purchased for as little as 49 cents a pound, it seems wasteful to pay $2.19 for a 16-ounce package of coleslaw.

Third, don’t overlook the chemists. CVS, Walgreens, and Rite Aid have excellent food and cleaning materials sales. Sign up for SavingStar (next suggestion) and save even more money by linking your CVS and RiteAid loyalty cards.

Recently, we saved quite a bit of money at the CVS near us by combining a coupon with a sale. This is how it functioned:

Brand-name paper towel packs from CVS are now only $5.00, down from $8.79. Two packages were purchased. A can of solid white albacore tuna was likewise marked down from $2.19 to 88 cents. Ten cans were purchased. We also used a $5 off coupon that was valid in-store when we spent $10.

The total cost of the paper towels and tuna was $14.15. It would have cost us $40.71 if we had paid the total price. A staggering $26.56, or 65%, separates the two.

You can use your SavingStar e-coupons at any of the more than 25,000 participating supermarkets and drugstores in the United States. The procedure is as follows:

There is no need to clip coupons or print them out to become a member.

Enter your zip code into the search bar on SavingStar to locate nearby participating stores. For instance, entering the zip code for Steubenville, Ohio (43952) yielded results for four different supermarket and pharmacy chains: CVS, Giant Eagle, Kroger, and Rite Aid. We tried it with the Philadelphia area code of 19148 and identified six stores that were taking part: Acme, CVS, Pathmark, Rite Aid, ShopRite, and SuperFresh.

Simply register your grocery and drugstore loyalty cards with SavingStar, then browse their website for the e-coupons you’d like to use.

Pay with your loyalty card. The total amount will not alter at checkout, and discounts will not be shown on the receipt. Depending on the business you spent at, you can expect to see the funds in your SavingStar account anywhere from two days to two weeks. You will receive an email notification when your Saving Star account is credited.

Once your balance reaches $5.00, you can withdraw it in one of the following ways:

Money deposited into your checking account or PayPal balance

Amazon.com Gift Certificate

Charity contributions

SavingStar updates with fresh e-coupons for your favorite stores and products every week. Some of the brands that are taking part are as follows:

Here are some of the names you’ll recognize: Classico®, Green Giant®, Pillsbury®, Betty Crocker®, Old El PasoTM, Progresso®, Chex®, Cheerios®, Mountain High®, Wheaties®, Right Guard®, Little Debbie®, Purex®, Smart Ones®, BUSH’S®, Truvia®, and Diamond Crystal®.

Here are some examples of supermarkets and pharmacies that are taking part:

There are many different grocery store chains out there. Some of the most well-known ones include A&P, ACME Markets, Albertsons, BI-LO, Buehlers, Copps, Country Mart, Country Market, CVS, Dollar General*, Farm Fresh, Food City, Fred Meyer, Giant Eagle, Giant Food Stores, Hy-Vee, Ingles, JustSave, Kennies, King Kullen, King Soopers, Kings Super Markets, K-Mar We deliver to Winn-Dixie, Wegmans, Walmart*, Tops Markets, Village Market, Waldbaums, Walmart*, QFC, Rainbow, Ralphs, Rite Aid, ShopRite, Stop & Shop, Super Fresh, Target*, The Food Emporium, Tops Markets, Tops & Co., and Super Fresh.

You’ll need the SavingStar app on your iOS or Android device to scan your receipts here.

5. Reduce your meat consumption and increase your intake of fresh produce. When oranges, for instance, are in season, you may get them for as little as 20 cents per. That’s much less than the $4.99 you’d spend on a pound of 85% lean ground beef.

Make do with what you already have rather than making an extra trip to the store.

Seven, your hairdresser’s suggested bottle of shampoo costs too much at $12.99. Not everything that costs more is of higher quality. A 15-ounce bottle of popular shampoo can cost as little as 79 cents when on sale.

8. Look at the weekly ads Before heading out to the supermarket. Take advantage of sales when making purchases. If you spend a lot of money on vitamins or steak, take advantage of “buy one, get one free” bargains.

9. Learn the math behind “buy one, get one free” discounts at your local grocery store. To receive the “buy one, get one free” deal at several grocery stores and pharmacies; customers must purchase both items. A single purchase will result in full pricing rather than a 50% discount.

For instance, you only pay half price when you buy one item during a buy-one-get-one sale at Giant Eagle® in Pittsburgh. However, if you only buy one thing from a BOGO sale, CVS will charge you a total price.

Ten frequent grocery stores with gas reward programs. For every $50 spent on food, medicine, or approved gift cards, you might receive a discount of 10-20 cents per gallon at the pump. How to Get Free Gas at the Grocery Store contains helpful information regarding gas station discounts and freebies.

Eleven. Opt for store brands or generic alternatives rather than significant brands. In one Ohio grocery store, a generic 42-ounce package of oatmeal costs $2.69. The generic version costs only $3.99, whereas the name brand costs a staggering $5.99. Where can I find your calculator?

The number twelve tip is to shop for seasonal fruits and vegetables. When in season, a pound of red seedless grapes costs as little as 99 cents, while out-of-season prices can reach $3.99.

When a pound of healthy bananas can be had for as little as 39 cents, it’s hard to justify spending $4.29 on 10 ounces of potato chips.

14 A 6-ounce name-brand macaroni and cheese package costs $2.49, whereas the supermarket brand sells for only $0.59.

15 If the same brand of dish soap goes on sale from $2.00 for a 25-ounce bottle, why spend $1.99 for 9 ounces?

When a box of wholesome oatmeal costs only $2.69, there is no reason to spend $3.99 on a small breakfast entrée containing only 6 ounces.

When a 20-ounce can of spray starch is on sale for only 99 cents, there’s no reason to pay $2.29 for it.

When you can get a gallon of windshield wiper fluid for $3.49, but 32 ounces of name-brand window cleaner would set you back $4.29, what’s the point?

To save money, prepare your salad dressing rather than buying a 16-ounce bottle for $2.99.

Twenty, if you’re going to buy cottage cheese, you might as well have 32 ounces of the same brand for $3 or less rather than 16 ounces for $2.49.

21. A 15-ounce can of kidney beans from a famous brand name sets you back $1.49, but the same amount of store-brand beans will only set you back $0.80.

When you prepare it at home, it costs far less per serving than the $2.19 for a 15-ounce can of chili.

When the generic version of hydrocortisone cream costs only $3.04 for the same amount, it seems silly to pay $6.99 for the name brand.

When the same brand of canned coffee goes on sale, why pay $4.99 for only 15 ounces when you can get 35 ounces for only $6.99?

When 25 feet of aluminum foil is on sale for only 99 cents, there’s no reason to pay $2.19.

Here are 25 simple strategies for reducing your weekly food costs. Remember this famous quote from Henrik Ibsen the next time you’re tempted to spend your Saturday at the mall: “There can be no freedom or beauty about a home life that depends on borrowing and debt.”

Professional writer and financial advisor Gregory DeVictor. More than a hundred books and articles on budgeting, saving, and getting out of debt have been written by him. Gregory is also connected to CuraDebt, a prominent American debt settlement industry player. He’s assisted countless people in getting out of debt and into a stable financial position throughout the years.

Have you racked up credit card or other unsecured debt of $10,000 or more? Do you manage to pay the bare minimum each month? Or have creditors contacted you by phone or mail to inform you of overdue payments? Is your debt affecting your health, happiness, relationships, or ability to do your job? Is your debt preventing you from living the life you want to live? If you responded “yes” to any of these questions, it’s time to receive the help you need from a debt reduction program and break the vicious cycle. If you want to know where to receive a free debt analysis and how to get out of debt, check out this.

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