I know not everyone is interested or able to use coupons effectively at the grocery store. I have many weeks where something has to give and I am just not able to plan a smart shopping trip maximizing coupons. I also find the items I want to buy may not have coupons available anyway- if you are in the same boat not to worry!
You can still stick to a reasonable budget AND save money even without using coupons.
Here are a few tips:
1. Choose a Good Store. This is the most obvious thing but I encourage people to really consider where they shop. Some of you don’t have as many stores to choose from but for those that have at least a few options, you might really want to look at a few grocery store ads and see where you can really get the best deals for the items you want.
I think it is a very common misconception that stores like Walmart or Winco will always offer the lowest prices and best deals. I have not found that to be the case with the items I regularly buy. In fact, I almost never shop at Walmart because I tend to buy significantly more and I tend to pick up things that aren’t as healthy (darn those giant displays of Doritos!)
I tend to do the bulk of my shopping at 3 stores. I have a Sprouts Market that offers amazing deals on produce. Some of you might have Sunflower or Aldi Markets that offer deeply discounted produce. I have a list of things that I stock up on at Costco stores- not everything is a good deal but they do have great prices on several staples that we use. Lastly I buy little things here and there at Safeway or Target. I find good deals at both stores on random items- for example organic eggs seem to be a good price at Target.
So I am not suggesting you run all over town (after all your time is valuable too!)- but you might really take a look at the stores in your city and see where you can get the best overall value for your money. I would suggest looking at the grocery circulars for a few weeks and hopefully you can start to see where the best overall deals are for your family.
I do recommend shopping at least at 2 stores. I find that cleaning products, personal care items and other household goods can be much cheaper at super centers (like Target) or drugstores. If you only shop at the grocery store and buy all your toothpaste, hair care, diapers etc… you are most likely spending considerably more for those products.
Blogs like mine make it so simple as well- you can find a blog that does the matchups for almost every store out there. Typically the site will comb through the ads and create some sort of list of all the very best deals for that week. Click “stores” on the orange navigation bar at the top of this page to see all the stores I cover.)
2. Learn prices for your favorite items. This is really a very simple tip. Most of us tend to buy the same things over and over and if that is the case in your house, you might start really paying attention to what prices you are paying. You probably know a good price already and don’t realize it, so this is really about becoming more conscience of what you put in your cart. If you see a display of Cheerios for $1.49 a box, many of us might instinctively see that as a good price and put an extra box in the cart. If the same display of Cheerios is priced at $3.99 many of us would pass it by because we just sort of know that is too expensive.
This needn’t be overwhelming or a huge task- just take a look at your receipts for a few weeks and see what pops up over and over. Learn what the prices are for those items and when the prices are low buy a little extra. I mentioned one of my favorite stores, Sprouts, they have chicken breast for $1.99/lb this week so I will buy a few weeks worth of chicken and portion it into baggies and pop it in the freezer.
Now “stocking up” means different things to different people. I am personally not a person that likes to have tons of products everywhere so I don’t stock up on lots of things. You don’t need 20 of every item you might ever want but if you just buy a little extra of the things you go through week after week when they hit very low prices you might find your grocery budget stretches a little more.
(See my price book here to get a very general idea of good prices for various items.)
3. Menu Plan! This is not glamorous at all but if you can just set aside a basic plan for your meals for each week it can really help save money in the long run. By eliminating extra trips to the store- or fast food runs or dinner out you can save a considerable amount of money. Plan what you will eat and try to just make one shopping trip to get everything you need.
Most of us might make an extra run to the store for one thing we need or forgot (say milk) and you find you somehow spent $30. If you spend an extra $30 per week for a year on random last minute items that amounts to $1,560 over the year. So menu planning can really be a big help in eliminating the 5 o’clock Whats for Dinner panic and eliminating all those extra little trips to the store.
(One extra night of take out or dinner out to the tune of $40 per week will add up to over $2,000 in a year. Not to mention the savings to your rear end! My favorite Blue Ribbon Burger from Red Robin is a massive 1040 calories and lets not even discuss the steak fries that go with it. I could gobble up an entire day’s worth of calories in just one sitting- boo!)
Get lots of tips to start menu planning here.
4. Have a well stocked pantry. Now I mentioned stocking up on items when they go on sale but another nice tip is to just make sure you have a well stocked pantry. I try to keep a few basics on hand all the time- frozen veggies, bread crumbs, canned tomatoes, broth, pasta, olive oil etc… Just having a few things on hand can help in putting together easy meals. A can of tomatoes can be pasta sauce in like 6 minutes. One of my favorite quick and healthy lunches are the little brown rice bowls heated up with black beans, frozen corn and a little salsa. Just having basic staples available can be a big help when you are scrambling to figure out what to eat.
5. Check the unit prices and read the fine print. The stores will calculate the unit price for you on most grocery labels or if you have a calculator on your phone this really just takes a second. Sometimes the best price is not the obvious choice. I was just looking at Parmesan cheese last night- I assumed the chunk cheese would be the best price but when I checked the shredded variety it was actually half the price. So I saved money and saved myself a little extra work in shredding the cheese.
When I go to the grocery store I see people throw money away all the time by not looking at what they buy. Sometimes a display of crackers will have a huge $1.99 per box sign on it and I see people grab a box and go on their way. Sometimes what the signs actually say is $1.99 when you buy 2 boxes and the price for just one box is significantly more expensive. So you think you got a good deal but actually you significantly overpaid but not taking the time to look at the tag. (I have learned this lesson myself the hard way.)
These are just a few little things you might consider to start saving a little extra at the grocery store. I completely understand having a full schedule so the tips above are things that don’t require a huge time investment and I think almost anyone can do.
If you are a Walmart shopper, you can see my vlog here about price matching in store. It is pretty simple to do and can save you a lot of money by cherry picking the best sales for all the stores in your area.
Does anyone else have any simple tips for saving without using coupons?
Michelle says
Do you have a list of things that you stock up on at Costco?
Melissa L. says
Great advice! Thank you for taking the type to compile these tips and sharing them with us!
momto3 says
I don’t have time to coupon much either anymore–when I did do it I had a bunch of stuff I didn’t really use. But I follow most of what you mentioned (wish I was a little better with the meal planning!) I shop mostly at Costco and Rayleys or Safeway–and then Grocery Outlet. If you don’t mind stuff to be eaten that week, you can get great deals. I just bought Stonyfield Organic yogurt cups–6 for $1. Granted it expired that day, but then again, its yogurt with bacteria in it 🙂 Plus they had SEventh Generation dishwasher gel for $1. I stocked up on that! Costco I get staples mostly and produce and Raleys meats and produce since I haven’t had good luck at Sprouts for produce. HTH!
ES says
In my area, I’ve noticed that some stores (for us it is VONS (Safeway) and Ralphs (Kroger)) have a lot of clearance meats (and other items but meat is the most expensive thing I buy). I always shop the clearance areas first, then fill in what I need that isn’t on clearance. I have TONS of lunch meats and steaks in my freezer that I’ve bought between 1/2 price and 75% off. There is a VONS store on my way to work and I some times stop there 2 or 3 times a week to see what they have. They don’t always have good stuff but sometimes I score big! I also think some stores are more prone to markdown merchandise than others so you probably have to just check around to find the best store for that near you.
Endcapps says
Before setting foot into Safeway w/ my coupons, I hit Grocery Outlet, 99 Cents Only, or Fresh&Easy. Great deals without using coupons! My family (kids too) are not brand-loyal & their palates accommodate whatever I find. Due to their flexibility, I never get stuck paying full price for a certain brand.
Jessica says
We live in a small town in the midwest where it takes at least 25 minutes to get to a town with grocery stores. We do have a local store I try to support, but it’s pricey!! I prefer the gas program at Dillons (Kroger) so I often go to the town where they have a Dillons and a Walmart. I will get the things I want at Dillons and always check for clearance items. Then, I price-match everything else at Walmart. Remember that Walmart policy is a 50 mile stretch, in every direction! There are stores I wouldn’t even consider driving to but you better believe I’ll take advantage of their prices if they fall within 50 miles of that Walmart!
Charlene says
Michelle,
Sorry it took so long to respond. I have a top 10 list of things that I think are great deals at Costco here:
http://costcocorner.com/?p=33
And that is a sneak peak at a new blog I have been working on too ;). Obviously it still needs a lot of work but those are some of my favorite deals.
Endcapps says
I snuck a peak at your new blog Costco Corner 🙂
So excited!
ShopPerk says
This depends on where you live, but check out your local Chinatown for cheap deals on vegetables!
janet says
My husband and I have been on a strict $150 monthly grocery budget for years. We don’t use coupons either, we just employ many of the tatics mentioned. I think one of the most important things is to use EVERYTHING. My favorite “off the wall” use is to cook down chicken bones ( after 2 rounds of stock making) into a soft mush and blend them with an egg and sweet potoatos. I bake that up for super cheap, super healthy dog snacks. we are equally creative with our food!
TheGooch says
If there aren’t any Aldi’s in your area, what is the next best place to shop? I’m thinking about switching from CostCo to Walmart right now. Currently I go to CostCo first and then Target Superstore 2nd for groceries. However, there is a Target Superstore and a Walmart ‘pair’ of stores that are both much closer to where I live than the “pair” CostCo and Target stores. What do you think ? Should I switch?
Charlene says
TheGooch,
I think you should look very critically at what you get. I personally do not care for Walmart. I can never find organic and I always wind up paying more for produce and I come home with more junky temptation foods. With that being said unless you have supreme willpower, it is hard not to break the bank at Costco. Why don’t you try one regular shopping trip as you normally do it and come home and really look at what you bought. Is it quality food, are you really doing to eat all of that before it expires or goes bad, do you have everything you need for the week without extra trips for this and that. Now look at what you spent. Then the following week try the Walmart and again come home and be very brutally honest with yourself. It doesn’t hurt to lay everything out on the counter and snap a photo. Did you seem to get better prices and come home with quality food? Everything you need? Was it a reasonably pleasant trip? Now match the receipts one week vs one week and see what your overall value impression was.
I would try that and it might help you determine what really is the best overall value. Does that help at all?
TheGooch says
I shop from a list, so temptation doesn’t come into play. The only time I would buy something not on the list would be something that isn’t available at the stores I usually shop at that I used to be on my list. For example, Safeway carries Brown rice crackers that I can’t find at CostCo or target. It’s not worth the effort to get there for just that one item, but if I am close to one ( and remember ) I go in and get it.
CostCo has stopped carrying a few items I’ve come to depend on. Some aren’t anywhere else, some I can get at Target but at a higher price. This is what got me thinking of replacing CostCo with Walmart. I spend a lot of time looking at labels and researching nutrition of a product before it’s added to my the grocery database that I use for my shopping list app on my phone. So when a product is dropped, that work is wasted and I have to do it all over again.
Anyway, I do prefer a friendly staff and clean store to shop in, and I do fear that Walmart will disappoint there. If I try it and it works out, I’ll phase CostCo out , trading my CostCo TrueEarnings card for a Blue Cash card. Wish me luck !